Continued from Part 1….
The next day (21/1/06),
David and I enjoyed another full days birding at the WTP (the morning spent
with both Richard Nowotny and Diane Bryant), and like the previous day we saw
an excellent variety and vast number of water birds.
Along Beach Rd
beside Avalon Airport,
we had 7 Banded Lapwings and 3 Singing Bushlarks.
Along the Austin Roads Lagoons we had 11 Black-tailed Native Hens and a
great view of a Striated Fieldwren on a fence (a common bird in Werribee).
At lake Borrie we saw 2 Cape Barren Geese; 5000 Pink-eared (including
one leucistic bird – all white but still having “pink ears”
and the zebra stripes), 1000 Hardhead, c 100 Blue-billed (at least another 100
others also seen in the other ponds) as well as 9 Freckled Ducks amongst many
others. About 20 or so Whiskered with 3 White-winged Black Terns were also seen
around this Lagoon.
At Walsh’s Lagoon we saw 9 Wood Sandpipers (all seen together) amongst
a few Greenshanks and other smaller waders, 500 Red-necked Avocets, 10
Black-tailed Godwits and the much talked about Shelduck which after some
discussion believed it was most likely an aberrant Australian Shelduck.
Later that morning, we found out that the Red-necked Phalarope had been
found again, and this time at the Conservation Ponds, where we also found
easily the 4 Long-toed Stints again, a Pectoral, 7 Marsh and 2 more Wood Sandpipers amongst the tens of
thousands of other smaller waders and 3 Glossy Ibis.
Later that afternoon back at the Conservation Ponds, David and I had
brilliant views of the Red-necked Phalarope as it was seen spinning and
foraging on the water. Such a fantastic and neat looking bird!
On Port Phillip Bay were 18 Great
Crested Grebe and an Australasian Gannet.
Towards the end of the day, along the K
Rd in Werribee, David and I found 3 species of
Lorikeets feeding in some Eucalypts comprising of at least 5 Purple-crowned, 10
Little and 5 Musk Lorikeets which made a good ending for our very enjoyable
stay in Werribee.
We then spent most of the next day (22/1/06) on the long journey back into Sydney.
Edwin Vella
