This has been a good summer for waterbirds around the Geelong region. I
suppose the mild winter and good rains in early spring made for good
breeding conditions. Crakes and rails, waterfowl and other birds are in
good numbers on many wetlands (or were until duck hunting started). It will
be interesting to see if the numbers of these species stay high through
winter, or whether there will be a natural attrition if food sources start
to run out.
There also seems to be higher numbers of birds of prey in the area,
particularly around wetlands. Is this likely to be a flow-on effect from
the higher numbers of waterbirds and other species? Or is this also due to
the same favourable conditions - or both?
There are always plenty of Swamp Harriers around the Western Treatment
plant, but I've been seeing Spotted Harrier frequently as well -
occasionally two at the Western Lagoons, and single birds along the Princes
Freeway, and around Corio. Whistling and Black Kites also seem to be doing
well - on the weekend I photographed 6 Whistling Kites sitting on adjacent
fence posts, and saw perhaps 10 individual birds over about 2 hours. I
didn't see Black Falcon this weekend but they have been sighted across the
Melbourne and Geelong areas lately. I usually see several Black-shouldered
Kites on visits to T-Section or Western Lagoons (I've focused most visits
in that area as it's easy to get to going to and from work). There was an
adult White-bellied Sea-Eagle there on Saturday morning when I went looking
for my mystery duck, which is likely to be an escapee from an exotic
collection. I didn't find it again, but the Sea-Eagle helped a bit by
putting up just about every Shelduck in the area!
Russell Woodford
Geelong
PS I enjoyed watching some hawks getting pummeled at the MCG this afternoon
...
On 1 April 2013 20:15, Wilsons <> wrote:
> Hi all
> not an intensive birding weekend for me, but you can never not see what's
> around you, so some good birds nonetheless, including a good collection of
> raptors...
> Spent Friday and Saturday up in the Blue Mts with an overseas visitor:
> - Grey Goshawk just as we passed the Rum Corps Resort at Windsor
> - Wedge Tailed Eagle seen from Evans Lookout in Blackheath
> - Plenty of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and Silvereyes moving through, with a
> few smaller parties of White-Naped Honeyeaters every so often
> - a beautiful male Superb Lyrebird foraging near the boardwalk at the foot
> of the scenic cableway
> - a small group of Little Lorikeets seen near the foot of the (newly
> re-opened) scenic railway
> - a Whistling Kite seen cruising over the road just past Winmallee
>
> At home over the last two days:
> - a Collared Sparrowhawk yesterday
> - a Brown Goshawk this morning
> - a White Bellied Sea Eagle at about 4pm this afternoon
> - a Peregrine passed over at 5:30pm
>
> Hope everybody else enjoyed some good birds too.
> Cheers
> Tom Wilson
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