A lil touch of magic at Deakin Waurn Ponds

The last few weeks i have been working out at the Waurn Ponds campus of Deakin University at Geelong.

I always love coming out here as the area is quite magical and always full of birds.

Last night , i  left work on dusk,  and the call of about 20 gang gang cockatoos resounded around the campus as they flew overheaded. Continuing towards my car, i  was delighted to see a Nankeen Night Heron on the lawn next to the main pond. It was accompanied  by a couple of white faced herons, and a great egret, all enjoying the quiet hours of dusk next to the pond, free of the daily bussle of students. This threw my imagination to the resident Buff banded Rail i envisaged sitting somewhere in the reeds on the little island, and the area became magical, with a little pied cormorant sitting on the bell above the pond and  white plumed HE's ,new holland HE's and  welcome swallows also flying about.    Happily i sat down and enjoyed the tranquility.

When i arrived this morning, i saw a welcome swallow trying to hawk a feather from the air as it gently fell towards the ground. It made several attempts trying to catch the feather in its claws, but was unsuccessful as the feather moved away from it ever so slightly with the breeze it created as it flew close to it.

Some of the little touches of the magic  of birds.....

Peter