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Last Wednesday, 15th August, I drove with
rain bands in front and behind me, and a strong north wind forecast, to Shoreham
on the western side of Westernport Port Bay, Vic. I met a birding friend
at the Foreshore reserve and our first sighting was a male Common
Blackbird with a 4mm white stripe on the leading edge of its right
wing. [Great excitement until the next day when I learned from Bette
Mitchell that "blackbirds with white on them are quite common, I have seen quite
a few"!].
With our spirits lifted we trudged on
eventhough it was hard birding with the tops of the tall eucalypts swaying
wildly in the strong wind and the light rain making the overcast sky ever
greyer. A Fan-tailed Cuckoo was calling very nearby but
it wasn't until later in the day that we actually saw it. After ticking
off Common Bronzewing and Spotted Turtle-Dove,
in their usual spots, we came upon a male Superb Fairy-wren in
the most brilliant of breeding plumage. As he and his mate were so
preoccupied with their courtship display we were able to stand very close and
watch them face each other with raised open bills and the male do a side-ways
bobbing act on the branch beside her.
The ubiquitous Rainbow
Lorikeet was there. Where ever one goes birding on the southern
Mornington Peninsula they are now seen whereas only recently they were a
rarity. Other parrots seen were Crimson and
Eastern Rosellas.
Down at the waters edge were
Red-capped and Double-banded Plovers in
beautiful breeding plumage, Red-necked Stints, Little Pied and
Great Cormorants, Crested Terns, Pacific and Silver
Gulls.
Australian White and
Straw-necked Ibis were trying to fly to their feeding
paddocks but were finding it very hard going with the strong head
wind. Dusky Woodswallows, Australian
Magpies, Little Ravens, Welcome
Swallows and Common Starlings appeared to be not
having the same amount of difficulty.
Spotted Pardalotes and
Brown and Striated Thornbills were managing to
hang on and feed in the tree canopy. White-browed Scrubwrens, Red-browed
Finches, and Silvereyes were flitting across the
track. and Grey Shrike-thrushes and a
Grey Fantail were beside the track.
An Eastern Yellow Robin
was observed flying down to the track, picking up and carefully inspecting gum
leaves before flying back to the nest with the 'right one' to be placed inside
the almost finished nest.
Of the ten species of honeyeater seen nine
were expected and as usual a delight to see. They were
Red and Little Wattlebirds, Noisy
Miner, Yellow-faced, White-plumed,
Brown-headed, White-naped and New
Holland Honeyeaters and Eastern
Spinebill.
The tenth was Bell Miner,
a bird we hadn't seen at this location before and a species that is,
unfortunately, slowly spreading across the peninsula. However, apart
from the shock of seeing this habitat destructing bird ,another great winter birding day was had on the southern Mornington
Peninsula.
Val Ford
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