The March birdwalk was our final search this season for migratory waders before they start off on their amazing trip to Siberia.
There were none at these locations on this day, but there were hundreds of other water birds for us to feast our eyes on, with 42 birds identified.
Water and birds on both sides of the levee bank at Hospital Swamp
I have never seen so many Swamp Hens…there were too many to count, and a range of ducks etc. We felt very sad to think that from next week they will have to endure three months of hunting in these areas.
Hospital Swamp and sign saying it is a ‘State Game Reserve’
Some favourite birds we saw were many of the elegant and handsome Black-winged Stilts, and Royal Spoonbills, with their broad bills vigorously sweeping from side to side though the muddy shallow water in search of ‘delicacies’.
Morning tea at Tait Point was very pleasant, and a special delight was the sight of two Great Crested Grebes. Grebes are notoriously hard to watch as they often continuously dive and disappear from sight. However these two stayed in one spot and allowed us all to have a close look through the telescope and admire these, the largest and most handsome of the grebe species, with their distinctive black double crests, and chestnut and black neck-frill.
Morning tea at Tait Point
A few raptors were seen, but as we were leaving those of us in the last car had a special treat in a good sighting of a Wedge-tailed Eagle sitting on a post.
The ‘Wedgie’
Elllinor Campbell
Below are all the birds identified on this walk:
1. Black Swan
2. Grey Teal
3. Chestnut teal
4. Pacific Black Duck
5. Australasian Grebe
6. Great Crested Grebe
7. Crested Pigeon
8. Little Pied Cormorant
8. Great Cormorant
10. Little Black Cormorant
11. Australian Pelican
12. Eastern Great Egret
13. White-faced Heron
14. Australian White Ibis
15. Straw-necked Ibis
16. Royal Spoonbill
17. Yellow-billed Spoonbill
18. Black-shouldered Kite
19. Whistling Kite
20. Wedge-tailed Eagle
21. Brown Falcon
22. Purple Swamphen
23. Eurasian Coot
24. Black-winged Stilt
25. Black-fronted Dotterel
26. Masked Lapwing
27. Crested Tern
28. Silver Gull
29. Rainbow Lorikeet
30. Musk Lorikeet
31. Eastern Rosella
32. Superb Fairy-wren
33. White-plumed Honeyeater
34. Red Wattlebird
35. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
36. Grey Shrike-thrush
37. Australian Magpie
38. Willy Wagtail
39. Little Raven
40. Magpie-lark
41. Welcome Swallow
42. Tree Martin