Hi all
After a big dip on Saturday with the Long-toed Stint, I tried my luck closer to
home today - looking for the Red-necked Phalarope at Hospital Swamps south of
Geelong. I rang the landowner from work (his name is Tony Leen and he is in
the phone book) then went down to the spot at about 5pm. I was heading back to
the car lamenting "another dip" when for some reason I decided to scope the
nearest bank, and there was a pale grey and white bird with a black Nike swoosh
through its eye, next to a couple of regulation Red-necked Stints.
This phalarope is at the lower end of the size range - hardly bigger then the
stints. Craig Morley mentioned this, along with some colouration on the breast
which I didn't get to see as the bird stayed side-on. It was swimming for most
of the time I saw it. It didn't show any of the agro towards the stints that
Craig & John Newman reported, but I wasn't able to watch it for long. After a
few minutes the three birds flew off towards a muddy roost in the middle of the
lagoon to join hundreds of other stints.
The bird was in the area reported by John & Craig - about half way between the
2nd right-angled corner in Lake Road and the brick house near the Hospital
Swamps access track. It is any easy walk in from the road to where I saw the
bird - only about 50 meters. With some luck and a good scope you might get a
glimpse from the road - but PLEASE ring the landowner first if you intend to go
through his fence. The house overlooks the area where the phalarope is, and it
would be quite rude to go charging in without asking permission (which is
unlikely to be refused).
I don't have access to HANZAB - does anyone know how often this species has
been reported in Victoria? I think this is the 3rd in the geelong area in the
last 10 years or so, and the 2nd from this spot.
Russell Woodford
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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