Dear all,
Yesterday afternoon, as Lloyd kicked his sixth on quarter time, and by
which stage a Bomber victory seemed secure, my partner and I decided to
celebrate by cycling through the western suburbs (through Footscray!), to
Essendon, along the Maribyrnong River. Was a stunning afternoon and birds
seemed as happy as us. Saw two Black-fronted Plovers around the edges of
the wetlands at Newells Paddock in Flemington, and good numbers of numerous
species of other waterbirds.
However the real excitement came when we reached Pipemakers Park in
Maidstone (just south-east of Highpoint Shopping Centre (Melway map 28,
B10). It's a wonderful area comprising several acres of re-vegetated Red
Gum riparian woodland. As we stopped at the southern end of the park, just
near the footbridge that crosses the river, we heard the unmistakable
warbling of Swift Parrots. We realised that we'd been ambushed by them,
and a quick search revealed at least 10 of them foraging low (4-6 metres
above ground) in red gum saplings, gleaning lerp from the foliage. We also
saw a pair of Crested Shrike-tits, another unexpected but welcome sight in
the suburbs.
After leaving Pipemaker's, returning home through Altona North, we saw one
other Swift Parrot in the trees outside the Altona Leisure Centre on Mason
Street (Melway 55, D3), which is the possibly the same bird that I've been
seeing for weeks in my front garden just a couple of blocks from
there! And to cap-off what was a great afternoon, we got home to watch the
final quarter of the Dons win on TV!
Happy birding,
Chris
Chris Tzaros
Research and Conservation Officer
Birds Australia (Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union)
National Office
415 Riversdale Rd
Hawthorn East, Vic., 3123
Ph: 03-9882-2622
Fax: 03-9882-2677
Email:
Website address: http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au
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