On a glorious autumn morning, nine members met leader Michael Robbins for a walk around McQuoids Hill. Our first destination was the dam at the foot of the hill, outside the reserve itself. The lone bird seen close to the water was a Willie Wagtail eating what appeared to be a large moth. A flock of nine Satin Bowerbirds flew south out of a tall eucalypt near the dam. From there we headed up the hill to the tree line where we looked without success for finches. A nice surprise was a young Grey Butcherbird and we heard Leaden Flycatchers in this location. Continuing northwards around the hill, we saw Galahs, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Red-rumped Parrots, but again were frustrated in our search for finches. It wasn’t until we had passed the junction with the track up to the top of the hill and were overlooking the land and buildings of Youth Haven that a small number of Red-browed and Double-barred Finches were spotted. From just about the same spot, we saw flocks of Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters flying overhead. Another noteworthy honeyeater sighting was of a single White-eared Honeyeater. Surprisingly few thornbills were seen (only two Yellow-rumped Thornbills) but Weebills were prolific. A total of 27 species was recorded for the morning. Thanks to Michael for an informative and enjoyable morning’s birding. Wendy Whitham