Penrith Weir, 54 Different Birbs!

A new year means a new birb outing! We made our way back to Penrith Weir in search of the Bee-eater birbs. Keep reading to find out whether we found them or not 😊.

We started very early (7am!) to try and get the best change of spotting them. It was a pleasant, overcast day and as soon as we arrived we saw a few birders trying to get a glance of an Eastern Whipbird. When everyone arrived, we made our way around the weir and started observing, counting, catching up on life, and listening very carefully.

As we got further into the pathway, deeper through the weir, we started seeing a lot of bird activity in the distance. Birds of prey, big water birds, smaller birds, and the unmistakingly loud bell miners.

Different to the last time we went, we crossed through the end of the path into grasslands to go deeper into the back of the weir. Whilst there weren't as many birds in this area, the walk itself was quite interesting with tall grass, beautiful flora, and the ocassional interesting insect crossing our path.

There were so many small birds in the more lush areas and our members were so good at identifying them! We learnt so much from each other - it's so wholesome.

After taking the group photo at the bridge and just chatting for a while, we turned back to the main area. There, we met another fellow birder who guided us to a flycatcher and also a tawny frogmouth. We were all so stoked. And then, when we thought we were fully content with our sightings, we saw an Osprey land just in front of us. We stared in awe at the bird from a distance as we appreciated its size and prowess.

Unfortunately, our mission for Bee-Eaters was unsuccessful as it looked like they had already left the area as a part of their migration. We were so close!

eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S162808354 (thanks Mika for keeping this checklist 🫡)