Yarra Bend is my favourite place to bird: at time of writing I have more than 300 checklists and have seen 95 species in the park. It is environmentally degraded, with a high presence of invasive flora and fauna; vegetation has been extensively cleared for recreational uses; it is heavily trafficked by people and off-lead dogs; it is surrounded on all sides by urban development that continually chip away at its fringes, and yet, it somehow still manages to regularly surprise and delight me.

As of October 2025 the park is represented on eBird by a single all-encompassing hotspot, but has also been divided into nine hotspots representing subsections. One further section, Corben Ovals, I’m hopeful will be established as its own site in the future.

Many of these describe zones as they are familiar to birders, and particularly breaks in habitat from one area to the next. They are not necessarily formally designated places, and as such, they’re likely to be a bit inscrutable to those unfamiliar with the park. With that in mind, I thought that I would go through and describe how I understand each section, the habitats that can be found there, and profile some of the species that I and other birders have encountered in the past.

I’ll gradually update these posts as more species are observed, with better photographs, and with more information about habitat, particularly as it changes (hopefully for the better) and as my own understanding of it improves.

This post was last updated on 13 December 2025.

Dights Falls Park

Dights Falls Park is a major feature of the broader Yarra Bend Park. In my birding, it starts at a London plane tree that marks the northern boundary of the Riverbankers Site and runs north along the Main Yarra Trail to the mouth of the Merri Creek. It captures three small lawn areas, narrow pathside gardenbeds, a manmade weir (the ‘falls’ for which the site is named), and a small wooded point above the falls. I have historically also included a further 200m of trails on both side of the creek, north of the falls, between the Eastern Freeway and a small bridge across the creek at the end of Roseneath Street.

---

Access

The Main Yarra Trail runs through the centre of the park. From the southern end, it can be accessed through The Riverbankers Site via Turner Street Ramp. There are two access points from Trenerry Crescent: a small carpark and a pedestrian entrance just before Trenerry passes under the Eastern Freeway.

Habitat

The Dights Falls hotspot is oriented around the old flour mill site on the edge of the Yarra River, and the habitat and species mix here reflect that history. It is an environmentally degraded site, with significant land-clearing having occurred for human uses, including the historic industry and modern recreation. A slalom course in the whitewater below the falls regularly attracts canoers, including large competitions, which lead to trampling of riparian crops and informal trails along the riverbed. Large lawn areas are preserved for these purposes, to allow trailers and marquees to be set up closer to the river.

Like many other parts of Yarra Bend, it is not the focus of any major environmental regeneration efforts.

In the riparian zone leading up to the flood wall are sweet bursaria (bursaria spinosa spinosa) river bottlebrush (melaleuca paludicola) and silver wattle (acacia dealbata). The upland zone is in poor health, with extensive introduced bramble, Montpellier broom (genista monspessulana) and kikuyu grass (cenchrus clandestinus), as well as black plastic weed matting and garden grid, but somehow surviving here are more acacia, eucalypts and a few correas that are particularly favoured by honeyeaters.

The current flood wall was completed by Melbourne Water in April 2025, after significant collapse of the previous flood wall in 2023-24. Unfortunately, in this process (and more broadly), natural snags were removed from the site, removing perches that had been favoured by water birds. Planting as part of this project has seen what appear to be a type of wallaby grass (rytidosperma sp.) and a couple of river red gum (eucalyptus camaldulensis).

Climbing up the hill from the river on the right side of the path there is a silver banksia (banksia marginata) and, a metre further on, a lovely kangaroo-apple (solanum laciniatum). There’s another kangaroo-apple closer to the Merri Creek, but I’m not aware of another banksia in the park.

Around the central lawn area of the park (C) the path is dominated by fragrant saltbush (chenopodium parabolicum). Where it thins out there are a couple of tree violet (melicytus dentatus), round-leaf wattle (acacia acinacea) and, overhead, plenty more river red gums. The creek is lined with river bottlebrush and sticky hop-bush (dodonaea viscosa).

---

Birds

Dights Falls is the second-most birded location in Yarra, behind only the broader Yarra Bend Park hotspot. It is also covered in Jonathan Tickner’s fantastic book Birding Along the Merri Creek.

There are a few constants across the whole site: anywhere the river goes, you’re likely to find Pacific black ducks or silver gulls, and noisy miners are likewise present everywhere.

Starting from the south, the Main Yarra Trail between the Riverbankers Site and the mural wall (A) is a great place to find willie wagtail. In at least 2024 and 2025, a pair has nested on the other side of the river from this section. Small birds are also common through here: white-browed scrubwren most reliably, while superb fairywren and brown thornbills are more contingent on food availability. In winter, they’re joined by eastern spinebill that feed in the correa that are scattered through this section. Red-browed finch are more often heard than seen but can usually be located by the trembling blades of kikuyu grass as they feed.

On the upland side of the trail there is a mural wall and a steep hill (B) that rises up to a lookout and the carpark (2). This zone is full of invasive bramble but is nonetheless habitat for some small insectivores, including scrubwrens, fairywrens and thornbill. Common mynas are also frequently in this area.

A black-shouldered kite was regularly recorded perched in this area for about a fortnight in 2024; an otherwise rare raptor for Yarra.

At a large plane tree on the bend of the river, where the path turns eastward toward the falls (C), there are commonly between three and seven silver gulls. When the river level is low there are a few small pools that emerge on the inner bend; a white-faced heron is often reported hunting here. Other water birds use the boulders on the bend here as well – most often little black cormorants but occasionally little pied cormorants, great cormorant, Australasian darter and chestnut teal. Nankeen night heron and great egret have been reported in this spot as well, though rarely.

The habitat between the end of the mural wall and where the path climbs toward the mill is degraded and frequently disrupted. Maned ducks, magpie-larks and rock doves may be observed feeding or watering by the river here, and willie wagtails will frequently perch along the slalom ropes over the river. From here, looking up toward the falls, it is worth scanning the rocks for heron, gulls, cormorants or chestnut teal.

Climbing up the path (D) honeyeaters become more common, particularly noisy miners. Red wattlebirds have nested in a tree that stands over the path for the past few years. Australian magpie can often be seen feeding on the lawn area to the left. The embankment here, particularly on either side of a small set of stairs opposite the mill, is occasionally home to white-browed scrubwren and again, in winter, eastern spinebill feeding in the correa.

The old Dights Falls Mill is on the right and regularly home to as many as 20 rock pigeons. These can also be seen in the eucalypts directly overhead. Each year they nest in the small gaps in the brickwork.

The only observation of a pallid cuckoo in Yarra was in this zone in 2024.

Moving through to the main park area (E) there are two paths. The path to the left curves around the lawn area, which can be home to any mix of Australian magpie, magpie-lark, crested pigeon and red-rumped parrot feeding in the grass.

On the path to the right there are regularly superb fairywren, white-browed scrubwren and brown thornbill in the saltbush, while noisy miner, red wattlebird, white-plumed honeyeater and grey fantail feed overhead. Occasionally eastern rosella and spotted pardalote can be found in the eucalypt canopy here and, once, a striated pardalote as well. In winter golden whistler can also be found.

Crossing the bridge over the mill inlet takes you to the viewing platform (3). Another small lawn on the right here sometimes features willie wagtail and Australian magpie. It can be worth looking immediately upstream of the falls, particularly along the sandstone ridge opposite, for water birds, but is generally not necessary.

Following the path to the left there is a small but densely vegetated area between the viewing platform and a boat ramp (F). This can be highly rewarding. Brown thornbill are common, particularly in the wattle. Golden whistlers are common here in winter, and fan-tailed cuckoo in spring. It is one of the better spots in the area to see black-faced cuckooshrike as well. Sacred kingfishers are observed here for a few days each October.

A narrow track through the grass leads out to two large boulders on the riverbank. Approach this cautiously, as only a few metres beyond the boulders out into the water there are a couple of rock and branch perches and a small stand of reeds that frequently host waterbirds, including Pacific black duck, maned duck, chestnut teal, dusky moorhen, Australasian grebe, hoary-headed grebe, Australasian darter, little pied cormorant, little black cormorant and great cormorant.

Uncommonly, this area can also host Nankeen night heron, white-winged triller and rufous whistler. I had a single observation of azure kingfisher using this zone and the bank opposite it in May 2024. The only record of an Australian reed warbler in Yarra outside of McConchie Reserve in Richmond was here in late 2024.

Looping back up the hill along the gravel path it meets the sealed path through the saltbush and the main lawn area. On the right is the mouth of the Merri Creek, which occasionally sees dusky moorhen, little pied and great cormorant, Eurasian coot, both hoary-headed and Australasian grebes. Upstream the creek passes under the eastern freeway (G), with many of these same birds present. A black swan was briefly here in April 2024, the first since 2009.

At the bridge over the Merri Creek at Roseneath Street (6) ducks, teals and moorhen are common. Australian white ibis aren’t regulars at Dights Falls but can uncommonly be found in the shallower water on the creek. This is also a good spot for grey butcherbird and grey currawong.

Bird list

Common birds include Australian wood duck, Pacific black duck, chestnut teal, rock dove, spotted dove, dusky moorhen, silver gull, Australasian darter, little pied cormorant, little black cormorant, white-faced heron, eastern rosella, red-rumped parrot, musk lorikeet, rainbow lorikeet, superb fairywren, noisy miner, red wattlebird, white-plumed honeyeater, spotted pardalote, white-browed scrubwren, brown thornbill, grey butcherbird, Australian magpie, pied currawong, magpie-lark, little raven, welcome swallow, common starling, common myna, common blackbird.

Uncommon birds include grey teal, crested pigeon, fan-tailed cuckoo, tawny frogmouth, Eurasian coot, Australasian grebe, great cormorant, Australian white ibis, collared sparrowhawk, brown goshawk, laughing kookaburra, sacred kingfisher (summer), yellow-tailed black-cockatoo (winter), galah, little corella, long-billed corella, Australian king-parrot, eastern spinebill (winter), little wattlebird, striated pardalote, black-faced cuckooshrike, grey shrikethrush, golden whistler (winter), grey currawong, grey fantail, silvereye (winter), mistletoebird, red-browed finch (winter).

Rare and vagrant birds include common bronzewing, hoary-headed grebe, straw-necked ibis, Nankeen night heron, great egret, Australian pelican, black-shouldered kite, little eagle, swamp harrier, azure kingfisher, brown falcon, peregrine falcon, crimson rosella, little lorikeet, purple-crowned lorikeet, New Holland honeyeater, white-winged triller, rufous whistler, olive-backed oriole, rose robin (winter), pink robin (winter), scarlet robin (winter), eastern yellow robin.

Birds photographed within Dights Falls Park

---

Trip Reports featuring Dights Falls

---

External links

Dights Falls on eBird
Dights Falls on Wikipedia
Birding Along the Merri Creek by Jonathan Tickner