Not wishing to sound smug, but....... (well why not?)
Friday wader count at Moolap saltworks (Geelong) - I flushed a bittern
which was standing in sparse flooded weeds in one of Alcoa's sewage ponds
at Point Henry. Surely only a juvenile would stand in such a dopey place.
Saturday wader count at Hospital Lake (Geelong) - Baensch's Lane (referred
to earlier this year (by Tim Dolby I think) as "Crake Paradise") - too deep
for crakes now but we flushed a bittern
Saturday wader count at Reedy Lake (Geelong) - Margaret and Richard Alcorn
walked from Melaluke Road to Moolap station Road and saw several bitterns.
A good reward for a long wet waderless walk.
(Just as well we saw these interesting birds as there were almost no waders
anywhere.)
Reedy Lake in particular is pretty reliable for bitterns all year round
though in summer you usually have to wade. In winter they are quite often
seen in stupid places - I remember seeing three together in a small lignum
clump in which they were far from cryptic. Stephen Davies' theory was that
these were young birds dispersing.
thank you Russell for birdwatching on July 1, yours may be the only bittern
as we had a bittern-free day on the Sunday wader count, but did see 2
Orange-bellied parrots.
Margaret
At 07:53 PM 1/07/01 +1200, wrote:
Sorry - couldn't resist that subject line ... but it was almost in my
backyard...
An Australasian Bittern was reported to me yesterday by a friend who lives
nearby (some of you may know Don Greaves and that he has been recording
birds in this spot for over 25 years). This morning we went out twice and
found it - miraculously - BOTH times!
I don't know how many records there are of Aust Bittern around Geelong
(Vic) but this was the first we know of for this part of Corio, and
particularly, the first ever around the Geelong Grammar campus.
Today the bittern was near a narrow drain or soak running across the big
block of grassland between Shell Parade and the old Corio tip. Can anyone
suggest why it might be here at this time of year, and whether or not it
is likely to stick around?
It is worth noting that this block was routinely burnt each year by the
Country Fire Authority as part of its fire prevention program. A couple
of years ago some rare native grasses were discovered on the block and so
it is now protected. The vegetation has grown up to about a meter high in
places, and obviously this suits the bittern.
What a great start to the July 1 count! Other nice species around GGS
today were a couple of Flame Robins, a Peregrine, Royal Spoonbills, both
Little and Great Egret, and up to several hundred Hoary Headed Grebes on
Limeburners Lagoon.
Russell Woodford
---
Russell Woodford
http://web.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/
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Margaret Cameron
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East Geelong, Vic. 3219
Australia
Phone 61 3 5229 9792
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