Conditions report - Mt St Joseph pond, Altona, Vic

[Peter Shute <>]

I've been having good long views of a Lewin's Rail from the north platform for 
the last few days, around 8am and 6pm.

There are just a couple of puddles there now, and I've only seen it in the far 
puddle. It's becoming overgrown because of the long period of low water, so 
I've sometimes found it necessary to move around on the platform to check 
behind the foliage. Watching for suspicious ripples has been useful.

Instead of kneeling at the slits in the shadecloth, I've been standing a couple 
of metres back so I can just see over the top. The bird doesn't seem as 
concerned about this now - maybe it's a bit hungrier than it was.

This morning it was stalking something in the water, then made a dart and 
chased it around. A small fish or tadpole, I assume.

The main pond at the south platform is dry. About the only living thing I've 
seen there in the last week was a fox with what appeared to be a mouse in its 
mouth.

Peter Shute


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