G'day all
Further to my recent post about the partial flooding of the long-drained
Buckley Swamp (10k south of Hamilton) I had a better look today. Blowing a
gale down here so hard to use the scope and no easy vantage point for much
of the swamp.
I counted over 500 Hardheads in one area and guess there must be that many
again in the rest. Probably a couple of thousand Whiskered Terns and maybe
1000 Black-winged Stilts. Large flocks of Straw-necked Ibis. Smaller
numbers of Grey Teal, Black Duck, a few Shovelers, Hoary-headed Grebes,
Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, White-necked Herons and Masked Lapwings. Also
quite a few Fairy Martins.
Probably less than 10% of the original swamp is flooded at present and the
drains are running well. It must have been a sight in the old days with
Brolgas, Bustards and Magpie-geese as reported before the drains went in.
Cheers
Steve Clark
Hamilton, Victoria
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