Hi All,
On Saturday a friend and I visited Jacana Wetland on Moonee Ponds Creek,
Jacana, north of the Western/Metropolitan Ring Road.
A lovely day and lots of birds etc to see.
Plus other bird watchers, nature photographer, joggers, cyclists, walkers and
children playing. Good number of people but not too crowded.
We started at the oval/cricket ground, skate ramp area on east side and did the
circuit over the 2 pedestrian bridges.
We were greeted by
Crested Pigeon,
Willy Wagtail
Mudlark
Black Duck - semi tame, approaching us tentatively on water and land when we
sat down for lunch near the waters edge
Red Wattlebirds (and Little?)
Honeyeaters (not sure if they all were White Plumed, I think another)
Hardhead
Coot and Dusky Moorhen
As we walked along the east side of the creek there were
many many Reedwarblers
Cisticolas
more B duck, Coot, D Moorhen, H'eaters, wattlebirds
Mudlark
Welcome Swallows
Martins
Yellow or Buff rump thornbills
Grey Fantail
Common Froglet
?Richards Pipit
2 hares slightly performing (sadly not a proper 'March Hare' show)
Superb Blue Wrens
2 types of cuckoos calling
a large raptor, prob Brown Falcon flew up the valley ferociously pursued by an
ever increasing mob of ravens who were call out and attracting more and more
all the way, a pair of Magpies also joined in as the pack passed us. They
proceeded upstream and out of sight. Then they returned where-upon the poor
harassed raptor took a dive into the reed bed around the large wetland. The
ravens left it after a time but the magpies continued swooping it as it moved
about at/near ground level (behind a dirt bank from us)
Pobblebonks
Ducks with ducklings
W faced heron
We crossed the ped. bridge not far from R Road and went back north on the west
side of the big wetland
Cormorant
Egret (?great)
lots of Aust Grebes
B Duck
Hardhead
Silver Gulls overhead
Whiskered? Terns overhead
lots more reed warblers
?? Honeyeaters
Purple Moorhens (?nesting?)
Masked Lapwings
Chestnut teal (prob other types of duck)
Black Winged Stilts
a wonderful chorus of Growling Grass Frogs - and great views of basking and
calling frogs
Striped Marsh Frog calling
the unfortunate raptor tried a rush from the scene but was beaten to
ground/reed cover again by the black/B&W brigade
Sadly we had to leaving in a rush (time had got away from us and my friend had
another commitment) great/fleeting views of a large cuckoo Pallid?/Fan-Tailed?
(probably others birds I've forgotten)
Also Common Mynah*, Sparrows*, blackbirds*, starlings*, feral pigeons*, Spotted
Turtledoves*, ?goldfinch*
As we left we were farewelled by a group of 5Crested pigeons feeding on the
cricket pitch.
A site well worth a visit - both above (Hume side) and below (Moreland side)
of the Western/Metropolitan Ring Rd.
Wendy Moore
Coburg (Melb)
Victoria
==============================www.birding-aus.org
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