Hello everyone,
I spent a terrific afternoon today (19/9) observing at Point Cook Coastal
Park which is located on the western side of Port Phillip Bay, near the
Melbourne Suburbs of Laverton and Altona. Despite the rain I observed a
massive 69 species. The park consists of paddocks with a few wetlands
and along the beach low heathland and scrub. I observed in three general
areas which are summarised below.
The first stop was the RAAF Lake. Few species were observed here with the
highlights being a few Skylarks displaying and a pair of Swamp Harrier
over the lake. A female Flame Robin was also seen here which seems a bit
late.
The next area I observed at was Spectacle Lake. Many species were
observed here including a few waders. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was the most
common (some still in breeding plumage) and a few Curlew Sandpiper and
Red-necked Stint were mixed in. A group of what I eventually determined to
be Marsh Sandpipers were also a highlight, I spent ages trying to identify
them. Another good sighting here was a group of Black-tailed Native-hen.
This is the third time I have seen them here so I believe they could be
resident. They were also quite confiding, I approached them to around 10
metres, my past experience is that these birds are very wary. Many
waterfowl were present on the lake as well as a some Black-winged Stilts
and a lone Red-caped Plover. Two Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoos were seen
chasing each other around giving trilling calls, what is the basis of this
behaviour ?. A Fantail Cuckoo was also seen.
Around the picnic area and along the beach to the homestead was the next
area to observe at. Most surprising were numbers of Brown Quail seen
foraging on the lawns around the picnic area, a few were also flushed from
thick grassy areas near the beach. Singing Honeyeaters were also at the
picnis area as well as many New Holland Honeyeaters feeding on flowering
Coast Banksia. Walking along the Beach provided a few surprises too. The
best was probably a lone Little Tern coming into breeding plumage. It
was observed diving in shallow water, I did not observe it catch anything
though. Great, Little Black and Little Pied and Pied Cormorants were also
seen. Another good sighting was a Little Egret in breeding plumage
roosting near the mouth of a small creek with Pacific Gulls. Two Striated
Fieldwrens were also recorded.
Point Cook would have to be one of my favorite birding spots, it is only
45 minutes from where I live in Bundoora and such a diverse range of birds
can be observed. Everytime I visit there something always surprises me.
Have any other birders visited this area and what have they seen, I would
be interested. Bird List follows, approximate numbers in brackets.
Common Starling (66) White-plumed Honeyeater (8)
Superb Fairy-wren (27) Flame Robin (1)
Welcome Swallow (67) European Goldfinch (8)
White-fronted Chat (17) House Sparrow (61)
Skylark (18) Willie Wagtail (17)
Magpie-lark (14) Masked Lapwing (5)
Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo (4) Little Raven (11)
Swamp Harrier (2) Little Grassbird (2)
Black-tailed Native-hen (5) Black Swan (27)
Fairy Martin (4) Tree Martin (9)
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (24) Chestnut Teal (268)
Pacific Black Duck (2) Hoary-headed Grebe (14)
Black-winged Stilt (20) White-necked Heron (2)
Red-necked Stint (8) Australian Raven (2)
Marsh Sandpiper (7) Common Blackbird (7)
Australasian Shoveler (6) Richard's Pipit (1)
Australasian Grebe (1) Grey Teal (3)
Silver Gull (83) Whistling Kite (1)
Black-shouldered Kite (1) Australian Magpie (5)
Fantail Cuckoo (2) Red-capped Plover (1)
Curlew Sandpiper (2) Spotted Turtle-dove (10)
New Holland Honeyeater (30) Brown Quail (14)
Singing Honeyeater (8) White-browed Scrubwren (3)
Golden Whistler (1) Brown Falcon (2)
Yellow-rumped Thornbill (8) Common Myna (7)
Pacific Gull (11) Little Pied Cormorant (39)
Pied Cormorant (41) Silvereye (6)
White-faced Heron (2) Little Tern (1)
Great Cormorant (1) Grey Fantail (6), feed around seaweed
Little Black Cormorant (204) Australian White Ibis (17)
European Greenfinch (12) Golden-headed Cisticola (2)
Brown Thornbill (1) Galah (8)
Australasian Gannet (1), in Bay Little Egret (1)
Crested Tern (1) Striated Fieldwren (2)
Rock Dove (3)
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