Leaders: Barry Lingham, Bernie Lingham The You Yangs Regional Park is now a highly popular natural area with many visitors from the Geelong and Melbourne regions. Popular activities include bird watching, walking, mountain bike cycling, rock climbing and picnicking. Historically, much of the park was turned over to timber plantations managed by the Forest Commission, Read more…

Leader: Jeff DaggFacilitators: Caroline and John Booth We met at Serendip at 8.30 am and were joined by Serendip Ranger Ruth and Steve who is in charge of the Friends group. After a talk on the history and future plans of Serendip, we started our walk joined by Ruth and Steve. All participants were encouraged Read more…

Leader: Margaret AlcornFacilitators: Pete Sullivan, Richard Alcorn We met at Emily’s Pond on Emily Street, Point Lonsdale. As Emily Street is a ‘no through road’ we helped all drivers to turn around and park facing towards Fellows Rd. We walked along Emily Street to Lake Victoria and followed the walking track to the last of Read more…

Leader: Graham PossinghamFacilitator: Jenny Possingham Total of 35 visitors over the two excursions We arranged for a reserve key from the Council to open the short access track off Vigneron Drive and parked and met at the end. From there we took two out-and-back loops, northwards through open country towards Moorabool River Viaduct then southwards Read more…

Leaders: Bernie Lingham and Lorraine Phelan The estuary at the confluence of Hovells Creek and Limeburners Lagoon is notable for its diverse habitats and wildlife. A variety of birds and reptiles can be observed in this area. The estuary and its valley support salt-tolerant vegetation, which flourishes in the saline conditions. Within the tidal zone, Read more…

This was originally planned as a second trip on Port Phillip Bay, but the excursion was cancelled due to lack of numbers

Leader: Donna SmithymanFacilitator: Chrissy Freestone A background to the history and purpose of the site was provided before we walked for a kilometre along a muddy track amongst saltmarsh vegetation. About 60 Red-necked Stints were observed along with a few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Black-fronted Dotterels, a Whistling Kite, a Black-shouldered kite and a Black Kite Read more…

Leaders: Brad Ferrier, Bernie Lingham, Alison Watson The rain held off, though there was a lot of water underfoot when we gathered at the Swan Bay jetty. We started by observing birds, long lines of mostly Little Black Cormorants snuggled up along the pier railings. A Great Egret was initially difficult to identify as it Read more…

Saturday 28 March, morning and repeat in afternoonLeaders: Peter Sullivan, Susanne Hudgell (morning)Barry Lingham, Bernie Lingham, Andrea Dennett (afternoon) The Ocean Grove Nature Reserve was created in the early 1970s by the purchase of land by public subscription and grant moneys. The site was previously occupied by a farm held by the Cuthbertson family from Read more…

Leader: Peter CrowcroftFacilitator: Phil Watson After starting the day in the dark with heavy rain one wondered at the merit of a boat trip. Nonetheless, 25 participants arrived on time and eager to sail as the weather had turned calm and clear. Before boarding the vessel, we walked the harbourside to watch the resident Stingrays Read more…

Saturday 28 March, afternoonLeaders: Pete Crowcroft, John Newman, Brad Ferrier The rockpool ramble at the Bluff was at capacity with over 20 participants making their way on the circuit route from the western end to the eastern access of Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary. Starting with some pictures of the weird and wonderful nudibranchs, eventually we Read more…

Leaders: Barry LinghamFacilitators: John and Caroline Booth This excursion explored a range of habitats found on a large private property located adjacent to the Brisbane Ranges National Park. The property had once been an operational farm as was seen from the old horse-drawn machinery and the ruins of the original homestead. The farm was acquired Read more…

SEANA AUTUMN 2026 GET TOGETHER 27th March to 29th March Hosted by Geelong FNC Geelong FNC organized a very successful get-together over the weekend 27th March to 29th March at Geelong. Combined Excursion Reports from the Geelong SEANA Event March 2026 The list of excursions undertaken is below.Note that where an excursion was repeated, only Read more…

Leader: Deirdre MurphyFacilitators: Brad Ferrier and members of the Friends of Brisbane Ranges (FoBR) Five Friends of Brisbane Ranges representatives included Colin, Wendy and Owen Cook, Debra and James The Anakie Gorge walk is a linear walk that follows Stony Creek upstream. Many birds were heard as it was a clear, warm morning and perfect Read more…

Leader: Craig MorleyFacilitator: Jeff Dagg We began in overcast and drizzle with occasional short showers and finished in sunshine. Across the day we visited numerous sites to give participants a taste of birding across the Bellarine Peninsula. In the process we recorded a very respectable 80 species. After starting in Eastern Park where we enjoyed Read more…