"Healesville Sanctuary in Yarra Valley" Healesville Travelogue by Kate-Me

Healesville Sanctuary is such a great place that it deserves its own travelogue.
Far better than any zoo, the animals are in large walk through enclosures, more like they were living free in an attractive setting.

The lyrebird is one bird not to be missed. Not only does it have a fantastic tail display like a peacock, but it is one of the world's best mimics and can reproduce the sounds of just about any other birds, and endless other sounds from camera shutters, to hammers, even train whistles.

Wedge Tailed Eagle

One of my favorite activities at the Sanctuary is watching the huge wedge tailed eagles flying free and returning to the keeper after the flight/hunt organised demonstrations.

Bandit Parrot

Here is a nice close shot of a Bandit Parrot in one of the walk through aviaries.

Male King Parrot

Badger Weir is a lovely forested park and weir 2 - 3 kms from the Healesville Sanctuary in Don Road, Healesville.
This is one of my all time favorite places in Victoria.
The best time to go here is in early morning, as soon as the Park opens (around 9 am) and the BBQ and picnicker crowds haven't moved in yet.
Then you can take the nice walk (approx 1 - 2 km) to the Weir, and if you are lucky (and we usually are) you may actually spot a Lyrebird in the rainforest. They are extremely timid, but if you stay well back and be very quiet, you may see them performing some of their mimic bird calls or a partial tail display.
Back at the park, many of the parrots living in its forest are quite tame and will land on you if you offer them sunflower seeds (their very favourite bird seed)

Rosella and King parrots

Three parrots is as many as I manage to handle at once...after that they start to squabble amongst themselves.
Now I just make sure I have long sleeves or a towel so that I don't get scratched as they try to dig in harder.

The female King Parrot is less attractive than the male (as in many female Australian bird species), having a mostly green body with only a little orange.
King Parrots are also quite large compared to other parrots like the Rosella. In Victoria I've only found them in the rainforests of the Otways (Great Ocean Road) and in the Healesville/Yarra Valley ranges.

Rosella

I find the Rosella a very attractive parrot also, although it is so widespread in Victoria as to be very common, found almost everywhere.
Still, I always enjoy seeing a group of them each morning at the bird feeder in my back garden.
Juvenile Rosella parrots are completely different to their parents - they are moss green with a little blue in the tail, and go very 'mottley' when maturing into the adult red and blues.

Paul and Rosella

Here's another Pic of a Rosella taken at the little creek which runs through the Weir Park. A very nice place for a picnic or BBQ and nice walks or easy strolls. You may also sometimes see wallabies here.

My 4WD in Eucalypt Forest

Besides rainforest with huge tree ferns, the Healesville, Marysville and Kinglake areas have spectacular Eucalypt forests with enormous tall, straight trees.