Hi all,
Took a much needed day off today and decided to try a few locations for any
waders that might be around the Kerang region of Northern Vic. Only got to 3
wetlands as the birding was so good.
1st stop...Murphy's lake just SW of Kerang.
A fairly open slightly saline shallow swamp with many dead trees and stumps
from past abuses ,artificially filled for environmental purposes.
Full of birds!
A great selection of duck,included 67+ Freckled Duck. Only missing Chestnut
Teal and Blue-bills.
The commonest Ibis were Glossys.....approx. 50 or 60 present.
A smattering of waders on the open edges included 1 Greenshank and a few
Marsh Sandpipers plus some Red-necked Avocets,Sharpies,Dotterels etc
All very lively.
Fosters swamp near Kerang was quieter but had Red-necked Stints and a few
Banded Stilts.
Headed up to Lake Tutchewop mainly to look for Orange Chats but expecting a
few waders thrown in. A first look at the lake revealed a rather unusual
sight...
1000's of birds! This hypersaline lake can be quite dead a lot of the time
but the recent rains must have sparked off an explosion of life and the
following were present (numbers quoted are very approximate):-
2000 Whiskered Tern most on the shoreline where
1 White-winged Black Tern gave good views before flying off to feed.
2 or 3 thousand Banded Stilt,
500-1000 Red-necked Avocet,
100's Hoary-heads,
The whole of the western shoreline(a few kms) was crawling with Sharp-tailed
Sandpipers,Red-capped Plovers,Black-winged Stilts and Red-necked Stints.
All 4 species present in many 100's
A smattering of Curlew Sandpipers,Marsh Sandpipers and Greenshank.
53 Banded Lapwing loafing along the SE shoreline.
The 38 degree heat and large numbers of waders meant we slacked off on close
scrutiny of all birds present.
Looks like a place to watch.
Festive greetings to you all.
Simon Starr,
Pyramid Hill,
Vic.
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