I was at Werribee yesterday with a visiting Swedish birder and we saw a most
peculiar bird at "The Spit" - in the shallow water near the far sandbank. It
was a VERY windy day which may have affected the feathers of course and made
use of our scopes difficult. It was a largish bird, dark on top with bright
yellow legs and very clearly a large yellow bill. Our thoughts were some
sort of raptor from the general shape - and it seemed to be feeding in the
shallow water. It remained a mystery for some minutes as we pored over our
bird books until it flew off and then clearly showed the white rump of a
Swamp Harrier. It was certainly the right size although it had looked too
pale underneath - but that may have been a trick of the wind. But the large
yellow bill remains a mystery - presumably it was feeding on something that
colour?????
Dave
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