It has been pointed out to me that the Water Rats I mentioned below are
unlikely at Edithvale, and that it's more likely that they were Brown Rats. My
id was based on an assumption rather than anything else, and comparison of the
photos I took suggest that they were indeed Brown Rats. Should've checked.
Peter Shute
wrote on Sunday, 2 November 2008 12:41 AM:
> I, and what seemed like dozens of others, went to see the
> snipe Saturday afternoon (1/11/08). I got there around
> 3.45pm and was immediately shown where it was hiding under a
> tree, visible from the car park. I could only see its legs
> and part of its stomach, and this is apparently a typical
> view before it comes out to feed. I'm not sure that I would
> have been able to find it myself.
>
> I went into the hide to see what else was around while I
> waited for it to come out, and had good close views of
> several Australian Spotted Crakes, Buff-banded Rails, Little
> Grassbirds, Australian Reedwarblers, water rats and a single
> Spotless Crake. No Baillon's Crakes for me, although I heard
> someone else pointing one out. There must have been twenty
> or so adults and kids in the hide, including many obvious
> beginners who were being given lots of help by the
> volunteers. Hopefully there'll be a few more birders as a
> result of the attention this bird's attracting.
>
> The hide closed at 5pm, and by that time the snipe had moved
> out a little and I could now see enough to identify it. With
> three others I waited till it came out to feed, around
> 5.30pm, and watched it through the car park fence for an hour
> or so. By that time it had moved left from its day position,
> perhaps heading under the little bridge feeding. Several
> Buff-banded Rails were seen running around, and I was glad to
> finally hear this species calling.
>
> Just in case anyone turns up there and there's no one to show
> them the bird's hiding place, I've put together some photos showing
> the location:
> http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/s_U5GnFVe5uZjXDUbMBt_g
>
> My thanks to whoever found this bird, and the volunteers at
> that amazing two storey bird hide. In Altona we consider
> ourselves lucky to have a railing to lean on.
>
> Peter Shute
> ==========www.birding-aus.org
> birding-aus.blogspot.com
>
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