Like Ian, I also visited Reedy Lake (Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria) over the
weekend (thanks Margaret for the recommendation).
I went in from the Moolap's Rd entrance. A wide range of birds, including the
some of the crake mentioned by Ian, as well as 8 magpie geese, 300+
sharp-tailed sandpiper, 10 or so beautiful red-kneed plover, a family of
night-heron, a peregrine on the hunt, many swamp harrier (including a very dark
morph), shelduck, spoonbill, egrets, ibis, swamphen, black-winged stilt and so
on.
When I arrived at Reedy Lake I was a bit unsure about which way to walk, so
typically I marched straight into the middle of the lake - which was a bloody
stupid thing to do!! I soon found my self waist deep in water and mud (ie
swamp) with non-waterproof bins. It was also getting late and I only just
manage to find my way out before it go dark! (A number of strange expletive
sounds may have been heard from the lake that evening which weren't made by
birds.)
I Missed out on the glossy ibis that Margaret mentioned - maybe next time -
although I'd be interested to know the at which part of the lake they are at.
Tim
>>> Ian Montgomery <> 01/20/01 12:18PM >>>
Last Sunday I checked out Hospital Swamp which is part of Reedy Lake on
the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria south east of Geelong. I checked
out a nearby marshy pool beside a reedbed and was soon rewarded by the
sight of a Buff-banded Rail. After a while a pair of AustralianSpotted
Crakes appeared. This seemed promising, so I collected my scope and
camera from the car and returned. Not long after a pair of Baillon's
Crakes joined in. While I was watching one of the Baillon's a Spotless
Crake (tick) wandered by.
The pool, perhaps 10m across, was less than 10m from the path so I had
excellent views of all the birds through the scope. The Spotted and
Spotless Crakes stayed in the reeds but I managed to get a good photo of
one of the Baillon's (which I'll post to Birds-Pix) and a couple of
indifferent ones of the Rail. I was there in the evening, which was
rather overcast, from about 5:30 to 7:30.
To find the place, travel on the Barwon Heads Road from Geelong towards
Barwon Heads. Turn left into Baensch's Lane, about halfway to Barwon
Heads, and continue down the lane. Eventually you will reach a cross
roads with a stop sign. This is Lakes Road. Continue along the lane on
the other side of Lakes Road where the it degenerates into a grassy
track. Perhaps 500m from Lakes Road, the track ends at the bottom of a
little hill and there is a sign saying Hospital Swamp Game Reserve or
something to that effect. Continue on foot over the gate in front of
you (not the other gate to the right) which has a sign saying
Maintenance Vehicles Only. From the gate you can see the reedbed
crossing the path about 100m away. The pool is on the other side of the
reedbed to the left of the path.
Happy spotting, Ian
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