Werribee impressions

["Philip A. Veerman" <>]

Hi Karen,

Maybe WTP has improved since I have been there last (at least 15 years ago I think). I did write it is "not the world's prettiest environment". In a literal sense I can surely stand by that. I am happy for you that you like it. I clearly remember how impressed I was with all the birds there, the very first time I went there. This was on a BOCA trip led by Fred Smith in the early 1970s. This was when I was at high school and I had only ever seen one wader (which I now know to have been a juvenile Black-fronted Plover) before and had no idea what it was, as it was something that runs like a quail yet could fly like a swallow (that is what I thought). I had never previously seen any big flocks of wild ducks before my first trip to WTP. I was also impressed that people had names for all these things............

 

Philip

-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Pearson <>
To: Birding Aus <>
Date: Friday, 19 April 2002 12:54
Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Marked birds at Werribee

While I am unable to comment on the marked bird topic, as I'm still at the stage of finding it hard enough just to see the birds never mind correctly id'ing them THEN seeing any possible bands they may have, I  have to comment on the below;

 

Philip Veerman said -

I suggest to you that most bird observers going to WTP wish to cover as much as possible of the area as easily as possible, as it is not the world's prettiest environment.

End.

 

After having had my first visit to Werribee last weekend, personally I found it a stunning place to visit !!  We spent from 10ish to after 4ish and it was just a beautiful place to be.   And smell wise only very occasionally did we get a bit of a whiff  but certainly nothing too offensive at all. 

 

I do have a hard time convincing my non-birding friends of the possible appeal of the place and certainly at a ritzy dinner I attended this week I would have not even attempted to tell my newly met dinner guests as to where I'd entertained myself with lunch the weekend before, but do birders really find it an unpleasant place?  Am I really that strange?? 

 

Rgds

Karen.

Hampton, VIC.