Bellarine Peninsula

Lake Lorne in May: Cold Yet Awesome

May 14, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, I got a text message from Carolyn asking if I wanted to go birding. I was having a bit of an anxious day but ended up saying ‘Yes’ – provided we didn’t visit somewhere along the Barwon River.

Now, I love the Barwon. It’s a beautiful area. It’s also an area I’ve explored WAY too much with a very adventurour 6 year old. On childless birding trips, I want to go further afield. Fortunately, Carolyn was thinking along the same lines, to the point where she suggested the same two places I have been wanting to go to for a while. The latter idea was Lake Lorne…. which I’ll be writing about first because internet downloads are SO slow!

It had been raining on and off all day. It was raining on the way there but cleared up as soon as we got there. As soon as I got out of the car I immediately regretted not bringing the zoom lens.

Look at that spoonbill! Beauties like that deserve the close up treatment. We were lucky enough to find two spoonbills on the day

There was a large number of ducks on the lake, more then I had seen on the previous visits. The lake is quite large so it is easy to overlook just how many different species there are. In this photo, wood ducks and freckleds were scared off by our presence.

We were so fortunate. There was at least 3 whistling kites circling overhead. One ended up landing on a dead branch in on a tree in one of the lakes islands. I loved hearing their call. We also saw a black kite flying off from a tree. It was so quick, I didn’t have the time to get my camera.

The yellow spoonbill was quite close, I was so annoyed that I didn’t bring the zoom lense. I was also happy to get closer to a yellow one. They don’t seem to be as common, nor as friendly, as the royal.

More photos of the kite. Could have spent a lot longer photographing them if I had the time.

Eastern Rosella. I’ve noticed that these are the most common in this area.

Large number of straw necked ibises flying in to roost at this time. It was just before 5pm.

It was also awesome to get this photo series of an egret catching a fish! It was also fascinating how these two birds banded together and worked together to get food. I wonder if this is a common pairing?

Some of the ducks. Carolyn saw blue billed, shovelers and plenty of pink eareds. It was so amazing to see all my favourites.

The ibises roosting.

It was an unexpectedly fantastic twitch. It was so different compared to previous visits. I think I need to visit here a lot more frequently to properly understand it.

It can be very hit and miss in terms of what you get from it. Perhaps it is more interesting in winter? I guess I’ll be learning a lot more about it in the coming months 🙂

Moth Night at Ocean Grove Nature Reserve

April 4, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Last weekend, we went to the moth night as part of the local field nats. It was our first proper outing as a family with field nats. As a majorly anxious person, I was pretty nervous. Would Sethy be able to handle it? Would I even know anybody?

I needn’t have worried. It was a really lovely night. Sethy scored a couple of lifers and met some of my friends. He got some close up views of swamp wallabys and actually socialized! I didn’t get as much out of the night as I would have liked but it was still pretty awesome.

We got there at around 6, before most of the people had showed up. We did a bit of a wander to see what animals we could see.

Mum isn’t fond of the type of bush there, she is more fond of the type of bush we get at the ballarat bush block. I love it.

We saw this female rufous whistler early on, although we needed help to ID. The gentleman said they would be moving on around this time, then I said that we had seen a male.

I was really stoked to see them! I had read on Graces blog that you can see Golden Whistlers there. I was hoping to find a pardalote for him but this whistler was pretty awesome. I thought they would have been hard to find. Sometimes it’s really fun to be a newbie.

I’m reading up on them right now. Apparently they do move north in the autumn. Huh. Fascinating.

Bog standard grey fantail. Briefly took Seth to the botanic gardens to find a rufous fantail with no luck. Did get a shot of a spinebill, though I’m doubtful Seth saw it.

We returned to the main picnic ground to find more people had arrived and I introduced my family to Carolyn. Someone mentioned that there was a common bronzewing. AWESOME! I had heard a ‘hoo hoo’ sound but thought it might have been an owl. I was actually hoping for a boobook. There was a group of people under the tree and I followed. Another lifer!

Sethy made sure that nan and pa saw it and was very excited to get another lifer. I had seen a bronzewing before when walking along the Barwon River and had been trying to see if I could find one for him. He was pretty excited to see both the new lifers.

A small bird nest in the tree.

We got to see the swamp wallabies on multiple occasions. I would leave the group to supervise him and make sure Sethy was keeping his distance. It was lovely to see them behave normally up close in the wild.

We did a spotlight while waiting for it to get dark enough to see the moths. Around the end, we saw this possum. Ironically, we saw a brushtail possum in the walnut tree when we arrived home.

We left before the good moth action happened as mum was worried that Seth might have been getting the way of other people. I wish I had a macro lens – I would have stayed longer if I did! Overall, Sethy loved the night and getting to see new animals. I would have been more relaxed if I was solo adventuring but I always love sharing stuff with him.

I’m hoping to go back to the reserve in the winter when more of the robins are around. Also keen to find the swifties when they arrive locally. This post is a bit all over the place because I’m catching up with so much work online and am exhausted. Want to post everything while I still remember the details!

First Visit to Lake Victoria

March 13, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

This trip took place on 26th February

I was really excited to visit Lake Victoria. I love the Bellarine Peninsula. I lived there for 9 months and really regret not exploring it properly. It’s something that I’ve been planning to do now that I’m better…. but I’m not fond of going to areas I’m unfamiliar with.

The lovely Grace asked if I wanted to go along for my first Field Nats outing and told me that the area was good. I agreed, and I’m very thankful I did.

Lake Victoria is about 1-2km from the main lighthouse in Point Lonsdale. It’s accessibly from Emily St and there are a number of bus stops that go really close to there. From what I saw, there are no public toilets there though.

The rocks near the entrance are a popular spot for little egrets – or at least they were on the day! This is a spot that warrants multiple visits to properly explore.

Among those rocks we found a caspian tern. I’m always grateful to add another tern to my list but, as a species, they vex me.

We saw this large group of grebes, primarily hoary headed but with a couple of great crested. It was amazing to see. Those with a scope saw musk ducks closer towards the back of the lake.

I loved seeing this black shouldered kite hovering above us. It stayed for a short while, allowing my camera enough time to focus. It’s such a beautiful bird.

Large flocks of sharpies and red necked stints. The group was largish, so they would fly off occasionally when spooked. It was great to see this up close.

You can also see that some of the curlew sandpipers were getting their reddish breeding plumage. I loved seeing this up close.

Not sure what this skeleton is. I did consider taking it back home for the little dude, but figure he has enough random bits of animals that he’s found while adventuring.

There are hundreds of swans there – it’s somewhat similar to Swan Bay. You can’t get close to them like you can at Truganina. They also spook a lot easier then birds at more populated locations.

A lovely butterfly. Some of the ladies in the area were commenting on it but I missed the species name.

There were fairy terns sitting out on these rocks. I could definitely see the size difference at the time. Sometimes you can get the little terns in this area. It is about half way up the lake. You need to step off the path and walk along the side of the lake to get to this point – a lesson I, and my shoes, would later learn.

I appreciated how some of the fellow field nats were referring to the field guides to double check what species they saw. It makes me feel like less of a moron.

There were also two hoodies! It was really surprising. Some people suspected they were younger ones although I couldn’t see any leg bands. Most of the group walked further up to look at something while I stayed back to watch the hoodies. I didn’t move, because I didn’t know who the scope belonged to and didn’t want it to get damaged if no-one was around. That was when this little guy came up.

A red capped plover doing it’s ‘broken wing’ display. It does this to lead predators away from their nest or chicks. Apparently there was a chick further up. I didn’t move as I was minding the scope so took the following pictures. I felt so guilty doing so as I knew my presence was causing the bird distress.

The above is what I believe may be some sort of fungi, although I really have no idea.

An awesome looking spider!

A white throated needletail. I believe a fork tailed swift was also spotted but I can’t be sure that I saw it. So fast and difficult to discern!

An egg we found shortly after leaving the red capped. I’m not sure what species it belongs to.

A common greenshank. It was nice that others on the group were able to point out the call, it really helps newbies like me learn.

This was my first proper field nats excursion. I don’t know why it took me so long to join! Yes, there is an age bias towards older people. Someone explained it to be though that a lot of people have less time for the activities once they start families. They drop out of the community a bit and then rejoin when the kids are a bit older.

Everyone is super friendly and it’s not overwhelming like other groups I’ve been on. The pace is slower. I don’t feel as zonked.

I’m definitely planning on returning to the area. In fact, Seth and I visited here last weekend! I’d love to get to know the area better, preferably with someone else helping me.

Seths First Visit to Lake Lorne

February 20, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Visiting Lake Lorne

This was my second visit to Lake Lorne. The first involved my boyfriend… and the realization that my boyfriend prefers places like Balyang, where the birds seemingly sit and pose for us. It’s actually a great place to take kids birding. The walk around the Lake is relaxing and, because it’s rural, has lots of opportunities to find bugs. It’s half way along the Bellarine Rail Trail, which is interesting if your young cohort loves trains. Plus the playground is awesome!

The first priority was taking a walk around the lake and seeing what was there.

Shit.

I’m all for seeing ibises and egrets, especially in flight. However I’d promised a four year old that we’d see a couple of new species. I looked every along the inner islands and couldn’t see anything. At this stage, I was starting to panic. We’d dipped on the blue billed at Jawbone before. I didn’t know how long he’d be okay for.

I was matter of fact. I said that I couldn’t see the ducks and that I didn’t know why. We’d walk around the lake and then go to the waterhole were I had seen the freckled before. There was still a good chance we would see other birds before we got there, though.

And see them we did!

We accidentally flushed a flock of about 30 masked lapwings to a nearby paddock when we walked to close to them. There were a number of black winged stilts hanging out in that area.

We saw what I’m assuming is a juvenile black kneed dotteral.

Plus a pair of Australasian shoveler! It was a lifer for Sethy and only the second time I had seen one. I was able to get a better view and make a much more confident ID. So keen to see a northern shoveler now.

We saw a couple of Eastern Rosellas, which was lovely. I find there are more Easterns in that area of the Bellarine.

A random bug which I’m keen to ID

We also found numerous noisy miners, which Seth loved. Another lifer! He was fascinated them and loved their calls. I’m keen to teach him more about miners and show him other species, probably starting with the bell miner. One step at a time.

Mcleods Waterhole

We took our time and walked over to the waterhole. It’s a short but really lovely walk. In one section we were surrounding by trees and it really felt like we were in a forest. We didn’t see anything in the main waterhole so settled down to watch the activity in the smaller one.

SUCCESS! There were numerous freckled down – and a juvenile hoary headed greet being fed by it’s parent.

Seth loved it around here. There was a horse nearby that we got to get close to. We walked down a street, and some of the houses had farm stuff in their front years. It was a lovely escape from the city.

Now, I know we saw freckled ducks here. And at some point during the day we found a female blue billed duck. I just can’t really remember which photos are from where. So, in terms of ‘story, let’s just say that all photos from now on are from our return to Lake Lorne. If some look like they are from the waterhole, then blame my obsession with taking photos of everything.

This is a photo of a male freckled duck. I was really interested in this photo because the bird had a crimson colour at the base of the bill. I’ve since learned that his happens during breading season.

The reason we didn’t see them earlier was because they were resting in dense cover for most of the morning. Many freckleds and pink eared ducks seemed to leave the cover when we returned around 1pm for some reason.

I love this shot because the duck at the back has its bill open and it looks adorable.

It was a bit of a difficult twitch. I’m comfortable going to new places by myself but there aren’t many tips about Lake Lorne online. I was flying blind with a 6 year old that asks a lot of questions. Fortunately it all worked out and we ended up learning a lot.

I’m starting to miss birding by myself. I tend to stick to familiar spots west of Melbourne when I’m adventuring with him. I’m very keen to visit places further afield and meet up with more birders. I’ve been so exhausted this past month that I only have energy for one adventure a week – and try to take Seth out once a week as it’s therapeutic for both of us.

Suspect I’d have more energy if someone didn’t sneak upstairs and play bird calls on his ipad to wake me up 😉

Birding in Drysdale

October 9, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Lake Lorne, in Drysdale, is meant to be one of the best places to see the Blue Billed duck and freckled ducks. I lived in Clifton Springs for nine months and walked the Bellarine Rail Trail. Despite my history, it took a trip to Canberra for me to learn about the birdlife. Thank you to the bird nerd ranger I met atTidbinbilla.

I missed the Bellarine. It’s so beautiful. However….

Freckled ducks freckled ducks FRECKLED DUCKS! Random tip: they have little tufts of hair on their head, sort of like a mohawk

Oh I’m sorry, did I spoil it?

Let’s go back to the begining

Lake Lorne

I was pretty confident taking Glenn to Lake Lorne. I new the railway station there would interest him, even if the birds didn’t. Of course, he was so obsessed looking at the camera that he missed out on some flight shots. I ended up getting several as I nicked the Canon. It had better focus and I wanted to be able to identify birds. I know how much Glenn loves flight photos so I tried to get heaps, even when I though the ibises were boring.

They so sound like chickens when they are calling! 🙂 I loved that.

I’m getting better at birds-in-flight photography. It’s easier for me as I have better eyesight and intuition.

We saw this dude, who is a little miner. Generic but I needed SOMETHING for my list. Especially as I dipped on the blue billed duck. We ended up walking on the path around the lake; cautiously moving closer when necessary.

I have no idea what these two are. Maybe a grebe?

These two links have tips to tell the two types of grebe apart:

Maybe a musk duck? The beaks are pretty small. I kinda don’t care at this point; I tend to crack it after about 20 minutes of consistent confusion.

Not sure what this is; all I know is the tail is unusual. And that Glenn has been hearing me say ‘Birds are stupid’ all morning, apparantly. I’m guessing it’s a common koel and will be googling more later.

How do other new birders, who aren’t yet part of a community, get help with identification?

Hoary headed grebe.

I don’t know what this is and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to tell, since I primarily have a silhouette to go by. Judging by the wing curve and feather shapes, I’m guessing a harrier or kite. It would be awesome if it was a whistling kite, Glenn loves those.

A pelican flying away. Again, something Mr. Sexypants missed.

Swans

On the other side of the lake, there was two groups of swans. Neither had cygnets (although the pair at Mcleods Waterhole did.) One pair had it’s feathers raised and were honking at each other. I don’t think it’s a mating ritual as such but it was incredibly cute. Glenn was sitting close while I was getting photos of them from another angle. We also did the obligatory photos of each other taking photos.

Mcleods waterhole

This was very easy to access from Lake Lorne. It was a very short walk. I did have to use the maps function on my phone to find where the smaller waterhole was.

The main one was very empty, and I was very disappointed. No ducklife – what a waste of a trip! There was these two birds in a tree:

The bottom is the normal white faced heron. I’ve seen them a couple of times and they are always a delight. The bottom is a great cormorant; you can tell because of the orange under the neck.

We then found the other waterhole. I had a hunch that this was it. The ducks were a lot closer then the Lake lorne. PINK EARED DUCKS! The are so quirky; I’ll never get sick of photographing them. I sat down quietly to get photos, even if it meant the grass obscured the view occasionally.

Here are the pink eared ducks amongst the freckled ones.

It was a great afternoon out. Close enough so that it isn’t a major trek via public transport. It was nostalgic, in a way. Glenn enjoyed it as we got a got to see horsies and a beehive up close. I would have loved to photograph the buildings in the township but someone needed his old man nap and we chose to return another day.

Next time, I’ve love to spend part of the day here and part of it in Portarlington. I plan to visit several place by myself to birdwatch/walk, as I know Glenn wouldn’t be interested.

Really wish we had better gear though, and that I had glimpsed a blue billed duck.