Hi All,
I too had the pleasure of attending the Fivebough Bird Fair last
weekend at Leeton, NSW. May I reiterate what others have reported
that it was a great weekend and I urge everyone to try and get to
next year's event if you can.
In fact I've been on a high all week after the experience of spending
a couple of early mornings and late afternoons at Fivebough Swamp -
what a place! - in the present conditions amazing not only for the
diversity but the sheer numbers of birds, all bathed in an intensely
vivid light. Standing there at dusk and seeing a long wavy line
across the sky and realising that it's some of the thousands of
Glossy Ibis flying in to roost, or putting the binoculars up and
seeing a dense cloud of hovering Whiskered Terns stretching for
hundreds of metres. And all the other species that have already been
mentioned by others, including crakes by the dozen. The funniest
sight of the weekend was Sean Dooley leading his audience in
birdwatchers' warm-up exercises!
I went back into the wetland on Sunday afternoon and stayed until
dark in the hope of seeing a bittern or two. Heard at least 5 Little
Bitterns calling and an Australasian Bittern, but didn't see either.
On Monday after leaving Leeton, I detoured to Griffith where I spent
a bit of time exploring the nearby wetlands. The best of these was
Campbell's Swamp, about 6km north of Griffith where, in the midday
heat, large numbers of Spotted and Baillon's Crakes out feeding,
Spotless Crake, Black-winged Stilts, Red-kneed Dotterels,
Black-tailed Native-hen, Chestnut & Grey Teal, Shovelers, Glossy
Ibis, both Spoonbills, Great Egret, Brown Songlark and many other
species - and one Magpie-Goose. Two Australasian Bitterns and a
Little Bittern were heard calling here also.
On the drive back home, 3 Superb Parrots seen at Lyndhurst, between
Cowra and Bathurst.
cheers,
Carol
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Carol Probets
Guided birding in the Blue Mountains & Capertee Valley
PO Box 330
Katoomba NSW 2780
Web: http://www.bmbirding.com.au
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