None of my recent twitching adventures have been worth writing an entire blog post about. Here is a collection of some of my favourite sightings.
I’m hoping to hire a birdwatching guide next year when my health and finances improve.
Night Heron
Most birds have that one bird that seems to constantly elude them. I have several. It’s incredibly embarrassing when it’s a bird as bloody common as this is. It’s my fault – I’ve been lazy. I haven’t had the mojo to go too far beyond Highton so my searches have revolved around the Barwon River.
I arranged to go to Seagull Paddock in North Geelong after my nephews kinder break-up. It’s a pretty dull place. Plenty of seagulls and a few ducks.
The heron was on an island in the middle of the pond. It wasn’t hard to see but it made it difficult to photograph.
Black Fronted Dotteral
I discovered this guy at Jerringot in late November. He was on the marshy area bordered the golf course. I’ve seen a lot of birds in this area – mostly egrets and herons. It has been really fun to take Seth and sit and watch them.
I’ve been going here frequently to try and see the ‘elusive’ bloody Lathams Snipe. I haven’t seen them at all in the 6+ times I’ve come here in the past few months. It’s incredibly frustrating as this is meant to be an easy place to see them.
I think I have to wait until mid Jan to see a decent population. My research says this is also the best place to see rails and crakes. Which means I’m not a birding moron; it’s just too early in the season. Phew!
Was pretty stoked to see this guy. Panicked initially; was concerned it was the same species of dotterel I saw at Jawbone Reserve. Of course, I went through my previous photos of birds from the past decade and found a similar picture of this bird at Balyang. Oh well – you learn!
He flew quickly and was hard to photograph. I now call Seth my birding good luck charm.
Kookaburra at Balyang
I was sitting in my favourite spot overlooking a dead tree in the middle of the… swamp? A lot of ducks and cormorants congregate around there.
I had my camera out and heard the classic kookaburra laugh. I looked around. Surely that couldn’t be…. not this close to suburbia? It took a minute and then I saw it.
It flew away shortly. I immediately sent a text to Seth and we talked about it for a while. The first question? “Did it poo?” Someone has been paying attention to Chris Humfrey!
I’ve seen red rumped parrots the last two times I’ve been to Balyang. I’ve seen them several times before but it’s always awesome finding a species you haven’t seen in a while. Seth even saw the red rumps. Normally they are so skittish and fly away if you move.
I also saw a pink eared duck the last time I visited. I hadn’t seen it in a while and was worried that it had either died or moved to a different area. It was hanging with it’s friend, the hard headed duck. I had fun watching it dive in the water. Really wish I had a better lens!
It’s hard to see in this photo but there are also baby darters in the nest along the bridge over the river. I also saw a skink while walking under the bridge. I know it’s not that big of a deal but it made me really happy. I’m really getting back into wildlife; it’s just a matter of getting the energy to leave my suburb.
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