The weather was very cold, but winds were ok for birdwatching, and we were off to Hospital Swamp which is at the western end of Lake Connewarre. In the past Troy Zanker and Karyn Brown from Geelong Field Naturalist Club (GFNC) have come with us to Hospital Swamp, and they agreed to come along again.
We headed off walking north along the east side of the swamp towards Lake Connewarre itself, and it was pretty muddy and wet and a good day for gum boots. If you didn’t have gum boots two wire fences had to be negotiated, and each year the lignum grows closer. There were not lots of birds in the water, but Hospital Swamp is one of those places where birds keep accumulating throughout the walk. It was a big day for Welcome Swallows and we recorded a count of 250 on the bird list, but likely the actual count was even higher. They were generally working close to the water, but also sometimes swirling high in the sky.
As usual the Swamp Harriers were patrolling the swamp, and plenty of calling from White-plumed Honeyeaters, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters and Little Grassbirds. We also saw a Collared Sparrowhawk scaring some of the Welcome Sparrows, and a Whistling Kite floating along.
Whistling Kite (photo by Russ Traher)
There were several brief sightings of an Australian Bittern, but too far away for successful photography. We walked out to Lake Connewarre and then returned to the cars – around 2.5 hours in total.
We then headed off to Taits Point which has a good lookout over the lake. On the way there we saw a couple of Australian Hobbies sitting in a eucalypt on Lake Road.
Australian Hobbies (photo by Karyn Brown)
Apparently the hobbies had been seen at this spot several times in the past. At Taits Point and as per the visit in 2025, there were some Nankeen Night Herons in the cypress trees across the road in the farm area. Across the other side of the lake were some Royal Spoonbills.
Royal Spoonbills (photo by Russ Traher)
Another highlight was a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles which were floating in the wind relatively closely overhead (close by wedge-tail standards!). The two eagles seemed to be a pair and eventually disappeared together, although the acrobatics in this photo by Russ Traher suggested otherwise.
Wedge-tailed Eagles
Some of the group had morning tea at Taits Point. Last year one of the team dropped their mobile phone through the slats in a table at Taits Point and retrieval took several hours. No such drama this year.
Overall, another successful trip to Hospital Swamp (even if the weather was inhospitable) and Taits Point. Thanks again to Karyn and Troy for coming along, and thanks to Troy for doing the bird lists (see below).
James Orton
Hospital Swamp – Bird List
The table below shows the names and count of birds seen on the walk at Hospital Swamp. Note this list has been recorded in eBird, and shared with the Angair eBird account.
| Species | Count | Comments |
| Black Swan | 44 | |
| Australian Shelduck | 2 | |
| Australian Wood Duck | 5 | around small dam at Lake Rd turn off |
| Pacific Black Duck | 9 | |
| Chestnut Teal | 7 | |
| Australasian Swamphen | 8 | |
| Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered) | 4 | |
| Silver Gull | 19 | |
| Australasian Grebe | 2 | |
| Little Pied Cormorant | 2 | |
| Australian White Ibis | 8 | |
| Straw-necked Ibis | 5 | |
| Australasian Bittern | 1 | seen in flight twice to the west |
| White-faced Heron | 4 | |
| Great Egret | 1 | |
| Australian Pelican | 1 | |
| Black-shouldered Kite | 1 | |
| Collared Sparrowhawk | 1 | adult among swallows before landing on the ground for a short time |
| Swamp Harrier | 3 | |
| Whistling Kite | 1 | |
| Galah | 28 | flock of approx 25 and 3 harassing swamp harriers |
| Blue-winged Parrot | 2 | |
| Crimson Rosella | 5 | |
| Eastern Rosella | 5 | |
| Red-rumped Parrot | 2 | |
| Rainbow Lorikeet | 2 | |
| Superb Fairywren | 15 | |
| Noisy Miner | 2 | |
| Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater | 3 | |
| Red Wattlebird | 4 | |
| White-plumed Honeyeater | 10 | |
| White-fronted Chat | 1 | |
| New Holland Honeyeater | 3 | |
| White-browed Scrubwren | 5 | |
| Grey Shrikethrush | 2 | |
| Australian Magpie (White-backed) | 3 | |
| Willie Wagtail | 3 | |
| Magpie-lark | 3 | |
| Little Raven | 5 | |
| Eurasian Skylark | 1 | |
| Little Grassbird | 7 | |
| Welcome Swallow | 250 | at least 250 low over water and perch |
| Common Starling | 15 | |
| Common Myna | 5 | |
| Common Blackbird | 2 | |
| Red-browed Finch | 5 | |
| European Goldfinch | 2 |
Taits Point – Bird List
The table below shows the names and count of birds seen at Taits Point. Note this list has also been recorded in eBird.
| Species | Count |
| Chestnut Teal | 66 |
| Musk Duck | 1 |
| Masked Lapwing (Black-shouldered) | 2 |
| Silver Gull | 1 |
| Hoary-headed Grebe | 3 |
| Australasian Darter | 1 |
| Little Pied Cormorant | 19 |
| Little Black Cormorant | 2 |
| Australian White Ibis | 1 |
| Royal Spoonbill | 3 |
| Nankeen Night Heron | 4 |
| Great Egret | 1 |
| Australian Pelican | 2 |
| Wedge-tailed Eagle | 2 |
| Whistling Kite | 1 |
| Noisy Miner | 2 |
| Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater | 1 |
| White-plumed Honeyeater | 2 |
| New Holland Honeyeater | 2 |
| White-browed Scrubwren | 1 |
| Brown Thornbill | 2 |
| Grey Shrikethrush | 1 |
| Australian Magpie | 2 |
| Little Raven | 10 |
| Common Starling | 1 |
