Edithvale Wetlands, Victoria

[S Cooney <>]

Hi Birders,

I had hide duty on Saturday, another lovely way to avoid working around
the house, or doing anything for that matter.  Nothing very
exciting, although the Latham's Snipe was very easy to see for most of
the day which was nice and a Spotless Crake appeared just before
home-time at 5, the first I've seen there.

I did notice two things, one was the amusing way in which the Spotted
Crake would bully, an disturb the roosting Sharpies.  Every time it
went past them it would run up and disturb them, making them get out of
the way!  The Crake was in fact smaller than the Sharpies, but I
thought it was interesting as they were certainly not disturbed by the
Snipe that was foraging in the same area.

Another thing was that this year there have been no Whiskered Terns at
Edithvale.  I recorded them on the 27th of November last year on one
day, but in 1999 they arrived in late September and were recorded almost
every day that the hide was open until the end of Feb!  I wonder if
Werribee, or other usual haunts are experiencing a similar state of
affairs?

Bird list follows,

Stuart

Little Pied Cormorant

   

Phalacrocorax
melanoleucos
Australian
Grebe

        

Tachybaptus
novaehollandiae
Black Swan

      

Cygnus
atratus
Pacific Black Duck

      

Anas
superciliosa
Chestnut Teal

   

Anas castanea
Australian Spotted
Crake

        

Porzana
fluminea
Spotless Crake

  

Porzana tabuensis
Dusky Moorhen

   

Gallinula tenebrosa
Purple Swamphen

 

Porphyrio porphyrio
Eurasian Coot

   

Fulica atra
White-faced
heron

       

Ardea
novaeholandiae
Australian White Ibis

   

Threskiornis
molucca
Yellow-billed Spoonbill

 

Platalea regia
Latham's Snipe

  

Gallinaga hardwickii
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

  

Calidris acuminata
Black-winged
Stilt

      

Himantopus
himantopus
Silver Gull

     

Laurs
novaehollandiae
Australian
Hobby

        

Falco
longipennis
Spotted
Turtle-dove

     

Streptopelia
chinensis
Supurb
Fairy-wren

       

Malurus
cyaneus
Magpielark

      

Grallina
cyanoleuca
Welcome Swallow

 

Hirundo neoxena
Clamourous Reed-warbler

 

Acrocephalus stentoreus
Little
Grassbird

        

Megalurus
gramineus
European Greenfinch

     

Carduelis
chloris
European
Goldfinch

      

Carduelis
carduelis
Common Myna

     

Acridotheres
tristis
Common Starling

 

Sturnus vulgaris

(probably spelling mistakes here, I did them off the top of my
head)