Rice Reserve and Dans Reserve – 14 March 2026

It was a good day for bird watching – some sun and light winds. There was a reasonable turn-up, including Troy Zanker and Karyn Brown from the Geelong Field Naturalists Club (GFNC). Troy and Karyn are very experienced bird watchers and regularly visit Rice Reserve. We followed their normal route around the reserve.

Weather conditions have been very dry, and although there was some water in the Thomson Creek, some areas that normally have water were dry. Rice Reserve is a good spot to see Crested Shrike-tits which are a popular bird with their bright colours. Sure enough we saw a female bird early in the walk, and also a male bird later in the walk.

Crested Shrike-tit (photo by Paul Wright)

Walking along the rim of the reserve, there were Tree Martins mixed with Welcome Swallows flying around.

Down at the creek level we had a good sighting of an Australian Reed Warbler. Also, three Sacred Kingfishers, sitting together in a tree at one point.

Sacred Kingfisher (photo by Karyn Brown)

The special highlight of the day for me was a relatively close sighting of a Spotless Crake, working its way around the reeds.

Spotless Crake (photo by Karyn Brown)

As usual, there were lots of White-plumed Honeyeaters, and plenty of parrots including Eastern Rosellas, Red-rumped Parrots, Long-billed Corellas and Musk Lorikeets. Other notable sightings were Dusky Woodswallows (including an immature bird), Black-fronted Dotterels, and Striated and Spotted Pardalotes.

We had morning tea at the picnic table at Rice Reserve. There had been comments about a lack of raptors, and pretty soon after that a Peregrine Falcon flew over with typical authority. Also, Whistling Kites gliding around, and a couple of Wedge-tailed Eagles also appeared soaring around up much higher.

Wedge-tailed Eagle (photo by Paul Wright)

After morning tea some people continued on to Dans Reserve which is also on the Thompson Creek, and about 2 km east of Rice Reserve. This is a much smaller area, but always has something to see. Today, there was a reasonable array of birds including an European Greenfinch in a tree on the other side of the creek. See below for full list of birds.

It was an enjoyable morning of birdwatching and special thanks to Troy and Karyn for their involvement, and making the morning more informative.

James Orton

Rice Reserve – Bird List 1

The table below shows the names and count of birds seen on the walk at Rice Reserve. Note this list has been recorded in eBird, and shared with the Angair eBird account.

Rice Reserve – Bird List 2

The birds in the table below were seen during morning tea, and after recording for the bird list above was closed. They are in a separate list in eBird.

Dans Reserve – Bird List

The table below shows the names and count of birds seen on the walk at Dans Reserve. Note this list has also been recorded in eBird.