Last Sunday, 26th August 2001, Ian Montgomery kindly showed me
around a few good birding spots, within 35 to 65 km SW of Melbourne. Most of the
day however was spent at the rich wetlands in the Werribee Sewerage Treatment
Plant. Our first highlights of the day were seeing a Buff-banded Rail, an
Australian Crake, several Banded Stilts and Red-necked Avocets
near the entrance gates to Point Wilson. These where the first of several good
waterbird sightings for the day.
Driving along the saltmarsh at Pt Wilson I was lucky to score my first 4
Orange-bellied Parrots and we enjoyed excellent views through the scope
of another 3 parrots feeding on top of the saltmarsh (one of these parrots had a
metal leg band). Also here we had good views of both Horsfield’s
Bronze-cuckoo and Striated Fieldwrens singing/calling on top of the
saltmarsh. Lots of White-fronted Chats and Little Grassbirds also
about. In nearby Port Phillip Bay along a sand spit where several waders. There
where a couple hundred or so Red-necked Stints, 20 plus Double-banded
Plovers (about half in immaculate breeding plumage), 5 Grey Plover, a
few Red-capped Plovers, Curlew Sandpipers, 30 plus Red
Knots, several of both Banded and Pied Stilts as well as
Red-necked Avocets. Also on this sand spit where 2 Fairy Terns,
Pacific Gulls and a Yellow-billed Spoonbill.
Looking at Lake Borrie, from Paradise Rd, we saw hundreds of Hoary-headed
Grebes and fewer Australasian Grebes, several Black Swans
(some nesting), 20 thousand or so Pink-eared Ducks, 200 plus
Blue-billed Ducks, hundreds of Australasian Shovelers, 6
Freckled Ducks as well as thousands of both Grey and Chestnut
Teals. It was an impressive sighting seeing thousands of the Pink-eared
Ducks taking flight when one of the several patrolling Swamp Harriers flew over
them.
In the drain Opposite Lake Borrie, we had great views of a pair of
Buff-banded Rail and Little Grassbird through the
scope.
The wetland on the other side of Paradise Rd had a Red-kneed Dotterel,
more Stilts and Avocets, a hundred or so Australian Shelducks and 7
Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.
On other swamps at Werribee, we saw 5 Black-tailed Native-hens,
several Musk Ducks, another 40 or so Blue-billed Ducks, hundreds
of Hardheads, more Stilts and Avocets and Red-kneed Dotterels (7
feeding together). Surprisingly we only saw two Dusky Moorhens in any of
the wetlands, which we thought we would miss the whole day.
Our last point of call, was a short visit to Lake Connewarre (Reedy
Lake) near Geelong, where we saw 4 Magpie Geese flying over, had a good
view of a Swamp Harrier perched for sometime on the reeds and before
dusk, 2 Australasian Bitterns. After seeing one of the Bitterns taking
flight over the reeds, we enjoyed good views (through the scope) of another
Bittern stalking for prey (close to 2 feeding Royal Spoonbills) beside the
reeds. It also froze at one stage pretending to be a stick.
Another great day’s birding in southern Victoria.
Edwin Vella
PS Thanks all who offered me assistance for this weekend at very short
notice.
