Blue Lake and Lake Lorne – Saturday 11 May 2024

It was not a great day for a birdwatching since the wind was too strong.  However, we were mainly focused on water birds, making the wind less of a problem.  A relatively small group, but a couple of new people from Torquay.

First stop was Blue Lake which is in Ocean Grove.  This is a great spot for seeing water birds. We walked around the lake anti-clockwise and as usual several good sightings.  Highlights were Royal Spoonbills – at one point there were eight birds standing close to each other and the shore.

Royal Spoonbills

Also Nankeen Night-Herons sitting and flying.  Not quite a roosting colony, but six birds with mix of mature and immature birds.

Nankeen Night-Herons

At the end of the walk around Blue Lake, we were surrounded by various water birds, clearly on the lookout for some easy food from the tourists!  Very interesting to see the different feet, including Coots which have feet that look a bit like seaweed and help it walk on floating water plants – you can kind of see this in the group photo.

Angair birders

On to Lake Lorne at Drysdale where we had morning tea.  Bird watchers are healthy people, and there was a lot of fruit and home-made food being eaten.  A reasonable number of birds at Lake Lorne, but again somewhat hampered by the wind.  Highlights were Blue-billed Ducks and a brief sighting of a White-bellied Sea-Eagle.

A good day of birding.  Bird lists from the day below.

 James Orton
Photo courtesy of Conrad White

Bird List – Blue Lake

The table below shows the names and count of birds seen at Blue Lake.  This list is from eBird.

Bird List – Lake Lorne

The table below shows the names and count of birds seen at Lake Lorne.  This list is from eBird.