australian shelduck

Fabulous Day at Werribee Treatment Plant

January 8, 2018 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Today, I was so fortunate to be invited to Werribee Treatment Plant. I hadn’t been here in ages: I’d stepped back from birding and was craving something different from the usual Barwon River birds.

I’ve been actively working on getting out more and getting my life in order but the WTP is a place I can’t visit independently: It’s so darn large and I won’t be getting my licence for a while. So, when a friend asked if I wanted to come along, I jumped at the chance. I love hanging out with fellow birders. It was one of the first times I’ve been around nature loves and haven’t felt like there is something wrong with me.

We ended up spending about 4 hours here. I’ve found this is the perfect timeframe if you have let to learn the art of discreet peeing.

Ebirds Global Big Day 2016: Western Suburbs of Geelong.

May 18, 2016 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Ages ago, I emailed a mate telling him about the cool frogs we’d found at Balyang. I didn’t got a response to that, but I did get an email in early May asking me if I’d like to join him and another GFNC member birding around Serendip and the You Yangs.

I immediately said yes. My cat had been missing for a couple of weeks at this point and I had been feeling shit. While nothing could replace the Beej, birding may take my mind off him for a bit.

It was just before 8 when we arrived at Serendip. It was earlier then I had ever gotten there before – normally I get there around lunchtime.

I highly recommend you visit there at ungodly hours. I normally avoid being up too early as it triggers migraines but in this case it was worth the risk. No-one else was there and the staff were still feeding the animals. The magpie geese hadn’t moved away from some of the common ponds yet and were sitting a lot closer then they normally would. Next season, I’m definitely returning to get some good photos. Alas,we didn’t have much time to take photos today.

We had just gotten out of the bird enclosure when I noticed these two tawny frogmouths in a tree. I felt so proud of myself. I can’t do bird calls and struggle with a lot of species, but I can always spot movement or when something looks different. Apparently they can be very hit and miss here.

We walked along a back here, behind a waterhole. It had dried up. I saw a group of bones that had once belonged to a roo.

We went to one of back ponding areas.

Two shelducks and a shoveller! Woohoo! I really wished I had my proper big lens that day, and I’d been able to photograph them pooping.

I got a good view of its underwings as well.

We left and started driving towards the you Yangs, when Jeff stopped suddenly.

There was a pair of whistling kites eating a carcass.

I didn’t get that many photos at the You Yangs. We went off the path a bit and the bush bashing was pretty tricky. Some of the bits were steep, which is normally fine. It’s less fine if there is no defined path and the dirt is slippery.

I was too busy trying not to fall over to focus on the birds. Have a couple of scratches from that day – my legs are showing a lot of signs of my clumsiness! I was so pleased with myself, I pushed myself really hard and didn’t get sick at all.

We went to a couple of other haunts in the region before going to Avalon Beach. It was so great to return there, I hadn’t been there in a long time.

There was a decent number of banded stilts there which was great to see.

Also a pied oystercatcher.

It was a phenomenal day, my report doesn’t do it justice. I very much need to improve my fitness though if I’m going to go on more of them.

I’ve learned that one of the reason I don’t see as many birds is because I tend to stick to the paths. Often, some of the best birding can be found off path.

We ended up seeing around 100 species which was pretty awesome. I saw so glad to get home that night though!

Winter Visit To Serendip

August 6, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Last week, Carolyn asked if I wanted to go birding on Monday. I’d turned down two offers of adventures already (I needed to get the house clean for the internet cable guys) so immediately agreed. The night before, I was kind of regretting that decision. I’d just spent a busy day with the little dude and knew I’d be a bit meh the next day. I decided to just go with the flow and I’m glad I did.

The first port of call was to Serendip Sanctuary. I was at Werribee Treatment Plant with Paul Rushworth when he told us about the baby cape barren geese at Werribee Zoo. I was immediately interested, despite forgetting I’d photographed them previously at Serendip. If they were at the zoo then there was a good chance they would be here. Plus Serendip is slightly more accessible thanks to the recent bus and train changes.

Very, very glad I went as Carolyn is a great guide to the area. She told me about all the places the birds loved.

Red rumped parrot. Only took the photo because it’s butt was hanging out.

Lizard. It didn’t like it when I accidentally blocked the light to take a photo. Look at how flat its back is!

This is the nest of a whistling kite. There were quite a few in the area, I was so annoyed that the camera wasn’t working. The nest looks very similar to a crow one. I’m trying to learn more about nests so was very thankful.

Cape Barron Geese

Turns out that yes, there was a lot of babies. I was so fortunate to be able to see them so little. The geese bred a lot earlier then I expected. Do they even breed later in the season?

I’m hoping to visit here twice a month in the future so I can keep an eye on them, it can be a great learning experience.

Emu

Serendip is a fun place to photograph emus. Especially if you love the facial expressions.

Magpie goose. Planning to return over the summer to get more photographs. Do they breed here?

Young black winged stilts.

Chestnut teal

Freckled duck. Would love to return here and just spend an hour photographing this guy. The ones at Mcleods Waterhole were a lot friendlier then the pick eared ducks there but I would never be able to get the opportunities that I got here. I just think they are beautiful ducks.

Buff banded rail. Not sure how interested I am in continuing to photograph these guys but there was at least five in the enclosure.

The above photos are of a crested pigeon displaying nesting behavior. I noticed the beginnings of a nest above us and saw this guy collecting nesting material.

Bronzewing. Always a pleasure seeing those.

Shelducks. Love them. I never noticed the different facial markings before. Also notice the shoveller in the background? Carolyn keeps on proving to me why I should get a pair on binoculars.

Shovellers again. I believe their orange feet is a way to tell them apart?

A tree that had fallen down but was still alive. It was ginormous.

Carloyn was also kind enough to show me the tree where the purple crowned lorikeets like to nest.

I had seen them once before but the photos I got were mediocre. This was pure accident. We were at a distance so the photos aren’t as good as they could have been. I’m very keen to go back to try and get better photos.

You need to do multiple visits over a period of time to be able to fully appreciate Serendip, as well as visit there with people who know it quite well. It is very similar to Balyang in that way. It has a lot of hidden secrets.

Vic Birders Outing to Werribee Treatment Plant

February 23, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

This trip took place on the 15th of February

I didn’t really want to go to WTP last Sunday. I’d only had four hours sleep, due to being up late with my family the night before. I was already exhausted. I knew it was a bad idea. But… I needed to bird. I knew I’d look back on it fondly. I just knew that I would really struggle that day.

And I did. But it was so worth it.

I got picked up by Peter, from Bannockburn, at 6.30. We all met outside WTP at 7, where it took a short while to get started. Once we organized the various cars we headed off.

Kirks Point

The first stop was Kirks Point. You don’t need a key to access this part of the plant, I think. It’s a bumpy dirt road that is unsealed. You need a decent car to get there.

We saw a striated fieldwren on the way there, which was fantastic. I’d been hoping to find one at a number of birding locations along the Western Suburbs but hadn’t had much luck. It was so beautiful to photograph.

We were able to see a number of terns in this area, including common terns and fairy terns. I can definitely see the size difference between fairy and crested terns now. It always seems so much easier after you’ve seen it in the field. I struggled to tell the common ones apart until I noticed that they had a black bill.

Initially I couldn’t tell what was what and really struggled. Fortunately, Simon Starr from Firetail Birdwatching Tours was there to help out. He was very generous helping people and sharing his scope. Would love to bird with him when my budget improves.

I don’t know what this carcass is – would be interested to try to ID it at some pont.

Saw my first eurasian skylark! Was so grateful to be in a car with such generous people.

A deceased fish I found and wanted to try to ID. I’m a nerd.

Beach Road

I’m not 100% sure my locations are accurate, as we stopped at started at various points. I’m loosely organizing pictures according to where I think I was at the time.

The above is of a couple of zebra finch. I loved being able to get up close and watching them, it was so fascinating.

Then we found the banded lapwing! It’s a bird I’m obsessed with and would love to see again, I find the markings to be so beautiful. It was hard to get a clear photograph as they were a fair distance away.

There were also babies, which were every more difficult to photograph.

Obligatory plane photo for the nephew. It’s not currently being used to test stuff anymore, but it’s still fun.

This this is the little eagle that we saw

I also saw 2 brolga at the T section! They were right at the back and a bit difficult to see. It sorta shows how silly birding is. I can get up close and get really beautiful photos of the captive ones at Serendip. But no, I have to find them in the wild – just so I can claim it as a tick. I don’t even care about ticks, I guess I like it increasing my life list because it somehow conveys seriousness about birding.

I’ll continue doing my slow birding and just exploring certain areas as much as I can. I’m going slightly stir crazy as I’m really feeling the urge to travel, but don’t have the money to pay for driving lessons currently.

Sandpipers and stints

These were found just in the gate from the boat ramp. The directions given to a friend was “inside the gate, down point wilson road and opposite kirk point road. That first pond in.”

I can’t give further information as I’ve only been there once. The whole day, I had no idea where I was.

It was hilarious. As soon as Phil got out of the car he shouted “There it is!” I know that they aren’t that common, but I kinda didn’t see what the fuss was. I know it likes hanging out with the sharpies instead of the red necked stint. It looked a bit different, but certainly not interesting enough to photograph. I’ve learned that I’m just not into sandpipers and stints that much, at least not yet. It’s an overwhelming hobby and I’ll mature as I learn more.

See the bird in the grassy stuff at the bottom? Which has colouring that is a bit different? I have no idea how they could tell so easily; took me a while to find it.

The pectoral. Really liked being able to see one as I had only seen my first sharpies at Lake Colac last year. At that point, I wasn’t able to tell the difference between sharpies and pectoral. Once I learned that pectorals are a bit rarer I decided ‘ooh! I have to see one.’ Which, again, shows my silly reasons for adding stuff to a list.

I can see the difference in breast/facial markings now, but may have struggled if someone didn’t point it out to me. Kevin Bartram is awesome at telling birds apart, even when it’s really difficult.

White winged black tern around the rocks near gate 4.

Musk Ducks

At this point, I don’t remember where we were, other then the bird hide. I think we may have been driving to the car. All I know is that I saw a number of musk ducks and I was enamored.

I got this photo of a female for comparison purples. We struggled to tell the difference between a musk duck, and blue billed duck, recently when at Lake Lorne. I can definitely see the difference in the shape of the head.

The duck butt.

The thing I found especially fascinating was that it wasn’t his tail that as causing the water. He was using his feet! I didn’t notice that the first time I saw the video. I’d love to return just to take photos of the ducks.

The bird hide

As mentioned, I really struggled this day. Things were taking longer then planned. People wouldn’t move on after they were done, they would stay at chat for a while. This is understandable – and isn’t a criticism. I was so lethargic and it was a rather hot day, so I’d have to sneak off to the car to sit down and try to relax. I felt so rude – and questioned whether I did the right thing by going. I think I did but damn, it was difficult.

The bird hide was crowded and there was so many birds, so I thought I’d wait outside. Someone would tell me if they saw something interesting. This strategy failed, somewhat, as others saw a red knot. But I was fortunate enough to get extended looks at this spotted crake.

Photo of its bottom, to help with identification.

It wasn’t that skittish, unlike the spotless crake I saw later that day! I enjoyed being able to see it, especially since I’ve dipped so many times at Belmont.

Orb Spider in the hide.

I was one of only two people that saw this blue billed duck. I was sitting in the car attempting to practice mindfulness.

Thousands of shelducks in flight.

Cygnets with their parents.

Sheep 🙂

More shelducks. It almost felt like you were in the countryside.

Beautiful avocets.

Despite getting crook, it was a really lovely. So awesome that I had to go back home to my parents house so I could tell the nephew about it. He was just as excited as I was about seeing the banded lapwings. Now my parents are talking about maybe going there with Seth one day. That would be fantastic, he’d love it there. I wouldn’t want to ask a friend in case he gets overwhelmed.

I’m also joining the local field nats club. Big, fantastic day