Hi Michael,
The spots Russell mentions are all excellent. A couple of additional
sites are:
* The Barwon River mud flats: an excellent spot to see the larger waders
such as Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel, Godwits etc. The best viewing spot is
near the jetty at Peers Crescent (which is actually in Ocean Grove).
Enter from the main Barwon Heads Ocean Grove Road.
* A quick look into the salt pans at Moolap and Point Henry is
worthwhile (if you are passing / driving that way to Ocean Grove). You
sometimes get extremely large flocks of Banded Stilt. You can see the
pans from the Geelong Port Arlington Road.
* One of my personal favourite spots is Edwards Point at St Leonards.
See http://tim-dolby.blogspot.com/ - it's listed on the left side menu.
The walk along the beach can be fantastic. It takes about 3 hours return
though, but you have a real sense of being in a wilderness (a very hard
thing to do around Port Philip Bay).
* Breamlea, along the river to the head can be good walk (if it's a low
tide). It's proved to be a good spot for Common Sandpiper, but also
Striated Calamanthus and waders at the heads including Hoodies, and
Lesser and Greater Sand Plover. The ephemeral wetland along nearby
Blackgate Rd can sometimes be teaming with waders. (I'm not sure what
the story is with this is at the moment).
- Lake Lorne at Drysdale has lots of duck including Blue-billed and
Freckled Duck.
So, with Russell's and my tips, you have about a weeks birding to do in
one morning! For the record Roy Wheeler once described the Bellarine
Peninsula as the best bird spot in Victoria for birding.
Good luck,
Tim Dolby
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Russell Woodford
Sent: Monday, 10 December 2007 10:37 AM
To: Michael Ramsey
Cc: birding birding-aus
Subject: Bellarine Peninsula Victoria..
Hi Michael
Check out Lake Victoria at Point Lonsdale. It's usually good for
waders.
Take Fellowes Rd, then west into Emily Street. There's a man-made
lake at the end of the bitumen - worth having a quick check around
this, and where the creek flows into it you sometimes get waders.
Then drive another couple of hundred meters along Emily Street (on
dirt, through a gateway) and park in the grassy area at the end. THe
walking track takes you between the golf course and the lake. You can
walk a further kilometer - if the track gets too boggy look for
firmer ground on the dried shores of the lake - keep an eye out for
Black-tailed Native Hen, Buff-banded Rail, Hooded Plover, Terek
Sandpiper, and birds of prey. You'll probably see a few honeyeaters
and coastal heath species as well.
A walk along the shores of Swan Bay near the Marine Discovery Centre
can also be rewarding.
The Ocean Grove Nature Reserve used to have a good range of cuckoos
and other summer visitors but the drought has impacted this area.
You might see the resident Brown Goshawks, and it's one of the easier
places to find Grey Currawong.
Point Lonsdale Lighthouse is the best place to sea-watch. Look for
Gannets and Black-faced Cormorants flying in and out of the bay. You
might stumble across other seabirds. Take a jacket - it's nearly
always windier and colder at the lighthouse than you'd expect!
If you feel like a few carols at the end of the weekend, pop into
Ocean Grove Carols in the Park, off Draper Street, from 7pm (ohh -
was that a bit of advertising???!!! Blame the trombone player - me).
Good luck, and I might even see you at Lake Victoria if I get my work
done!
Russell
Russell Woodford
Birding-Aus List Owner
Geelong Victoria Australia
http://www.birding-aus.org
On 10/12/2007, at 9:44 AM, Michael Ramsey wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I will be travelling down to the Ocean Grove (Victoria) this
> weekend and have Saturday morning to explore.
>
> Can anyone recommend good birding spots around the peninsula or a
> short itinerary for a mornings biridng. I guess my focus would be
> wetlands and the sea/coast.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Michael Ramsey.
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