White-fronted Chat

On the western edge of West Gippsland is Westernport Bay and it affords less attractive beaches and vistas than its counterpart Port Philip Bay. Instead of golden sands and caravan parks, we get saltmarshes, mangroves and mudflats, which may not sound alluring to us but are fantastic for a range of unique creatures. Stockyard Point is an excellent place for certain waders and tidal birds. In the warmer months it is frequented by sandpipers, stints and knots that have migrated from Siberia and the Arctic. When I went there in June it still had a hundred or more Pied Oystercatchers, a dozen uncommon Australian Tern, and a flock of the New Zealand migrant, the Double-banded Plover.

Bass River Mouth NCR

Nearby is historic Bass and the Bass River Mouth Nature Conservation Reserve which opens out to a saltmarsh covered in Shrubby Glasswort that is green in summer but when members of the Friends of Drouin’s Trees bird survey team visited this week, it had turned to a uniform autumnal red, interspersed with coastal Saltbush and Tussock-grass.

Glasswort habitat

Perfect habitat for the Striated Fieldwren, the Australian Pipit and the White-fronted Chat.

L to R: Striated Fieldwren, Australian Pipit, White-fronted Chat

There are three very beautiful chats in inland Australia – called simply Yellow Chat, Orange chat and Crimson Chat.

The White-fronted Chat is also a striking bird, especially the male, and small flocks flit through the coastal saltmarsh foraging for insects. They love sitting on wire fences and low bushes and their ‘tang’ call sounds like someone flicking a rubber band. They are also found in inland areas. I have seen them in lignum stands and on salt pans in Northern Victoria.

Chat species are quite cosmopolitan. Most world-wide chats are placed in the thrush, warbler or flycatcher families. The lineage of Australia’s chats however places them very strangely with the honeyeaters. They are insectivorous and any nectar feeding attributes of Australia’s chats have long disappeared. The origin of the common name ‘chat’ for the Australian birds seems to be lost in antiquity.

Great little bird though!

Thanks Geoff