Two in the bush

I went for a little “caching run” on Saturday morning in Westerfolds Park, which is on the banks of the Yarra in Templestowe. The bush and open grasslands are criss-crossed with tracks and bike paths, and the place was teeming with birdlife (oh, and pesky wabbits).

I had just returned one of the caches I had found when I was surprised to see two lorikeets at the end of the log. Of course I only had my little camera and its batteries were flat, so there was a period of quiet franticness as I changed the batteries, all the while hoping that the birds wouldn’t fly off. Not only did they stay but they allowed me to approach within 3 metres, which is the only way the little camera was going to photograph them as anything other than small green smudges in the middle of the frame.

After scouring a couple of bird books and googling, I believe they are scaly-breasted lorikeets (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus). They are found only in a small part of Victoria; clearly “a small part” includes this bit of bush!