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Water Rat & Little Bittern at Sherwood, Brisbane

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Subject: Water Rat & Little Bittern at Sherwood, Brisbane
From: Peter Woodall <>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 08:48:42 +1000
Hi Everyone

I've been preoccupied with exams recently (as some will realise!)
so this is a little late but on Sunday 17 Oct, Leith and I visited
Sherwood Arboretum, Brisbane.

It was late in the morning, since we had first done the walk at Oxley
Common, seeing  Glossy Ibis, Black-shouldered Kite and probable
Collared Sparrowhawk, etc.  Its a good walk and we'll be doing it again.

Back to Sherwood, it was busy with lots of people around so we were
not very hopeful of seeing much but as soon as we got out of the car
we picked up a White-winged Triller that had been reported previously.

We then walked around the ponds and the eastern side of the northern
one we picked up a native Water Rat foraging along the edge of the
Typha rushes.  It was acting much like a dolphin, coming up for a
breath of air, then diving under showing its white tail-tip and then
coming up again.  As it moved along it disturbed a pair of Dusky
Moorhens and about a metre further along it disturbed a Little Bittern.
We just got a glimpse of it as it flew around the rat and then disappeared
into the reeds again but its size, shape and colour pattern were unmistakable.

This was the first time we had seen the (oft reported) Little Bittern at
Sherwood despite a number of previous early morning and dusk visits, so
we were really chuffed with this sighting.

Pete

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