birding-aus

Werribee and You Yangs

To: <>
Subject: Werribee and You Yangs
From: "Paul Rose" <>
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 07:49:48 +1000
Good Morning Birdos,
 
Did the rounds at Werribee this past Sunday, with a brief follow up trip to the western boundary of You Yangs NP, as follow up to Aaron's earlier sightings of Diamond Firetails and Zebra Finches.  I have observed small flocks of Diamond Firetails in the You yangs park from time to time over the past few years, never more than 5 in any one group.   With Aaron's sightings and my own, his mention of past records in the Atlas seem to sell the number of this species in this area short.  Perhaps sightings need to be documented more carefully and religiously.
 
Anyway, a fantastically cold morning's stroll to the tip of the sandspit at Werribee before sunrise saw me standing in the centre (well not probably geographically) of this wonderful mecca for birds.  Very few shorebirds actually on the tip, just the usual Oycs, Red-caps, and Pied Stilts.
As the sun broke above the horizon, 34 Red-necked Avocets flew down to the shoreline on a receding tide.
Wonderful morning colour highlighted their gracefulness.
 
I spent an hour at the tip before strolling back along the beachfront.  Four Neophema sp.  flew in low and landed on the fenceline before feeding on the tips of the vegetation hanging toward the fence.  I imagine they didn't like the idea of dropping down onto the frost covered ground, preferring much drier conditions and easy pickings off the fence line.  In the morning light, full id was difficult but I managed to identify at least one Orange-bellied amongst the small group.  As with Aaron's finches, these birds did not seem phased by my presence, arriving and landing close to me. 
 
While I didn't visit the Austin Rd. lagoons, I managed to see a good number of species in the remaining areas of the Treatment Plant.  Together with a good stint working the edge of the You Yangs western boundary along Sandy Creek Road, I managed to tally 97 species by 12:30pm.
Nothing unusual to report on this occasion and unfortunately, no finches.  With more time spent actually in the park and some of the more common species missed on the day, it shows you what an amazing area this is, providing 100+ species without breaking a sweat !
 
 
Cheers,
 
P.
 
 
Paul Rose
Year 9 Purple Team
Department of Biology and Chemistry
Wesley College - Glen Waverley
620 High Street Road
Glen Waverley  3150
(03) 9881 5426

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU