WARNING: Don't take your lunch to Belmont Common and expect to eat it while
it's hot - I tried that today and had cold chips. There was just too much
going on down there on the mud!
This place keeps turning on the great mud birds. Today I saw Buff-banded Rail,
Baillon's Crake and Aust Spotted Crake all within a few meters of each other,
at the same time. And the last visit I saw a Spotless Crake - couldn't find it
this time. But a couple of obliging Latham's Snipe fed out in the open next to
the Rail for about 5 minutes. I ask you - how do you eat your chips when all
this is going on?!
Just for the record, here's what I saw in the standard 20-minute Atlas timeslot:
Grey Teal
Chestnut Teal
Australasian Grebe - 1
Australian White Ibis
Spoonbill - prob yellow-billed on size, but mostly obscured at far end of
wetland
Buff-banded Rail - 1
Australian Spotted Crake - 1
Baillon's Crake - 1 immature
Dusky Moorhen
Purple Swamphen
Latham's Snipe - 2
Superb Fairy-Wren
White-fronted Chat
Willie Wagtail
Magpie-Lark
Red-browed Firetail
European Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Welcome Swallow
Clamorous Reed-Warbler
Little Grassbird
Common Starling
---
Russell Woodford
http://www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/
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