Ten days to go for VicTwitch 2010. We're currently at 383 Victorian species
this year. Sunday was a good day - we managed Little Bittern at Reedy Lake near
Geelong - thanks John Newman for getting up early and wading through cold,
thigh-deep water for an hour with us! We also managed to see the Stilt
Sandpiper at the WTP.
Yesterday we searched a number of swamps in the Kerang area, in vain, for
Painted Snipe. There is so much water around currenly! Last night we went out
with Simon Starr and managed to locate a lovely female Plains Wanderer in a
grassland at Terrick. I'd forgotten just how small and delicate these birds
are...
This morning we searched another couple of swamps at Terrick for Painted Snipe
- still no joy, but we managed a very impressive Aussie Bittern (although not a
year tick for us). Next we tried Corop, but there was so much water around and
all roads to one swamp were cut. We drove up a road heading back to the highway
only to find the road had become a swamp. You know it's wet when not only is
there a duck swimming in the road but also a Grebe! This spot also yielded a
pair of Brolga and an Intermediate Egret by the side of the road!
On to Rutherglen - once again looking for Painted Snipe and also for the
faintest hope that last year's Red-backed Kingfishers had returned (they
hadn't).
Finally over the Great Alpine Road, complete with snow, to Orbost where we're
looking for our bogey-bird of bogey-birds, Masked Owl.
Another update in a few days, provided I have mobile coverage.
Paul Dodd & Ruth Woodrow
Currently at Orbost
Sent from my iPhone==============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
=============================
|
