We had a wonderful ‘wader walk’ in January, identifying 57 species.
Hospital swamp was alive with hundreds of ducks, migratory waders, and other water birds.
Just starting at Hospital Swamp
Special sightings were forty gorgeous Red-necked Avocets, with their rusty- coloured heads and amazing upturned beaks, and twelve Pink-eared Ducks.
Morning tea at Barwon Heads
At Lake Murtnaghurt we were delighted to see, amongst the swarms of waterbirds, five Banded Stilts. As if this was not enough special birds, at Blue Rocks on the coast we saw sixteen Pacific Golden Plovers, which are uncommon to our area, plus three Hooded Plovers.
The most special birds for the day – Pacific Golden Plovers
‘Hoodies’ plus gulls
We were pleased to be able to get quite close to the many tiny Red-necked Stints running along the foreshore, and were surprised to see White Ibis sitting on rocks very close to the breaking waves.
Red-necked Stints
White Ibis
All in all a most satisfying day!
View towards Barwon Heads
Below are all the birds identified on this day:
1. Black Swan
2. Pink-eared Duck
3. Australasian Shoveler
4. Grey Teal
5. Chestnut Teal
6. Pacific Black Duck
7. Hoary-headed Grebe
8. Crested Pigeon
9. Little Penguin…dead
10. Great Cormorant
11. Little Black Cormorant
12. Australian Pelican
13. Eastern Great Egret
14. Australian White Ibis
15. Straw-necked Ibis
16. Royal Spoonbill
17. Yellow-billed Spoonbill
18. Black-shouldered Kite
19. Whistling Kite
20. Swamp Harrier
21. Wedge-tailed eagle
22. Brown Falcon
23. Purple Swamphen
24. Black-tailed Native-hen
25. Eurasian Coot
26. Black-winged Stilt
27. Red-necked Avocet
28. Banded Stilt
29. Pacific Golden Plover
30. Red-capped Plover
31. Black-fronted Dotterel
32. Hooded Plover
33. Red-kneed Dotterel
34. Masked Lapwing
35. Common Greenshank
36. Red-necked Stint
37. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
38. WhiskeredTern
39. Pacific Gull
40. Silver Gull
41. Eastern Rosella
42. Red-rumped Parrot
43. Superb Fairy-wren
44. Yellow-rumped Thornbill
45. White-plumed Honeyeater
46. Noisy Miner
47. Red Wattlebird
48. Golden Whistler
49. Australian Magpie
50. Willy Wagtail
51. Little Raven
52. Magpie-lark
53. Eurasian Skylark
54. Australian Reed-warbler
55. Welcome Swallow
56. Tree Martin
57. Common Blackbird
Ellinor Campbell