I provide the answer to the mystery species question by adding a few examples of the species from elsewhere to this (genuine) landscape snap. Steve Holliday got it, of course.
Chestnut Shelduck. The snap might qualify for inclusion in the as yet unpublished
Wind Farms of New South Wales. So far as I can see there are as yet no wind farms in the ACT, although the ACT provides funds for wind farms elsewhere.
From: Geoffrey Dabb <>
Sent: Tuesday, August 6, 2024 8:55 AM
To: 'shorty' <>; 'Kim Farley' <>
Cc: 'Canberra birds' <>
Subject: RE: [Canberrabirds] Getting one's bearings
Shorty and Kim. Thanks for comments. No, I saw no raptors of any kind during the 2 hrs I was there. The scarce parking spots and soggy margins are certainly something to watch.
I chose a more nimble vehicle than the campervan for just that reason. A canoe might work, sometimes useful as a kind of hide. Birds are alert and nervous if you approach water edge.
I have a mystery species for you, large waterbird. Out of sight, but made a repeated nasal bleat that was annoyingly familiar. I recognized it when I saw it in flight (still calling).
The Australian Bird Guide says ‘highly vocal, especially in flight’. Male and female have different calls.
Did you see any Swamp Harriers? They are usually around?
I agree with KIm that it would be nice to canoe around the lagoon but first permission would have to be granted by the land owner.
On Sun, Aug 4, 2024 at 6:01 PM Kim Farley via Canberrabirds <> wrote:
Hi Geoffrey
A shame you didn't see more interesting birds at Wet Lagoon, but it is always nice to have a jaunt out of town I find. Wet Lagoon is also a bit tricky in that there are only three spots to pull off the road. I was there in June and took
my campervan (it needed a run). I decided to do a U turn by partly turning into a gateway at the freeway end of the Lagoon. Unfortunately the combo of a heavy vehicle and recent rain meant I got well and truly bogged. My total of Swamphens was very accurate
that day as I had plenty of time to count them while I waited for the NRMA!
It would be great to paddle a canoe out into Wet Lagoon as those reed beds must shelter all sorts of nice birds - including Bitterns at times. The water plants are also very interesting - the garden pond at my former house was vegetated
almost exclusively from plants propagated from Wet Lagoon.
During droughts Wet Lagoon dries out completely - I used to think the name of Wet Lagoon was a local farmer's joke, but it has been very wet for several years now. And it occasionally floods up onto the road.
On Sun, 4 Aug 2024, 2:57 pm Geoffrey Dabb via Canberrabirds, <> wrote:
This morning I drove to Wet Lagoon. A few waterbirds there, nothing all that interesting. This short report is for anyone who might want to get their bearings,
so to speak, on this so-described lagoon, which is just within the northern boundary of the COG area of interest. The attached graphic might need a word of explanation. The top picture is a view across the lagoon from Breadalbane Road. The line of trees indicated
by red arrow are alongside the Hume Highway. Evidently a decision was made to ornament the very obvious home-made slow-down signs with images of the Australasian Swamphen. While this might be the waterbird most in danger from the speeding motorist it is
surely not the one of most concern. I have offered a draft redesigned sign in which one Australasian Swamphen has been replaced by an Australasian Bittern, the latter threatened species being of relevance by reason of its recorded appearance at this site.
My bittern image shows an actual bird that was observed some years ago at Rose Lagoon, which I hope will not create unnecessary confusion. The lower image shows the relationship between the two waterbodies, which are about the same size, and separated by about
10km. To fit in the picture, the axis of the Google-Earth image has been turned from NW-SE to W-E.
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