black-winged stilt

Seth + Truganina: Part 2

February 23, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Last Wednesday, I decided to take Seth birding. I didn’t particularly want to take him anywhere but he had been having a rough couple of days, and we hadn’t adventured in over a week. I decided to go to Truganina because I really wanted him to see the banded stilt, and I couldn’t be bother thinking of anywhere else to go.

That’s the type of adventure you get if you wake me up early by playing bird calls on your ipad. I need more prep type for adventuring.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until we got to Laverton that many trains from Werribee are express on weekdays and we’d need to take THREE trains to get to the swamp.

Oops. He did okay considering the 6 trains we caught – and the drunk guy at one of the stations!

What did we see?

We hadn’t even gotten to the swamp when we saw this Australian Hobby. I wasn’t 100% sure of the ID, but the behaviour was similar to the one I had seen at WTP earlier in the week. I couldn’t say for sure so promised Seth we would look it up when we got home.

I had settled ID because of the colour and size of the bird. The guide said I should also check Peregrine falcon as the birds can often be confused. I just didn’t think that it was one. The wings weren’t stiff enough, it was flying pretty low to the ground. People in the bird ID group tentatively agreed with me… which is good enough for Seths list 😉

We did see a number of black winged stilts in the area but no bandeds. A friend lives nearby and said that there were a couple of them there that night. I’d checked beforehand about stilt numbers and the bandeds had been there for a couple of weeks. I think they were just hiding very well. I saw some that may have potentially been juvenile, but double checked proved otherwise.

It’s amusing for me, but less so for Sethy. Fortunately, we scored one lifer for the day.

A welcome swallow. I initially thought it was something else but figured that it was a juvenile. The markings are too bright, although they extend further then they normally do. The chest is too clear. The fail is short, yes, but that is common for a juv. 🙂 It can be really tricky trying to hold all of this in my head!

A disheveled looking willy wagtail.

Swans

Another main reason we went there was to see the wild swans. Alas, there were only 3 there this day. We got nice views of a pair flying off as a separate pair landed.

We also saw a swan with a neck tag.

It was a bit of a disappointing twitch, but it was all I could come up with in a short timeframe. Next time I might go to Newport Lakes park. I’m running out of ideas, especially for places that also interest me. I’m sick of Balyang.

Hopefully I’ll do some more birding of my own this week, plus there is the night parrot talk this weekend. Super excited.

First Visit To Werribee Treatment Plant

December 19, 2014 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

The Werribee Treatment Plant was the place I wanted to get to this year. I contacted someone from Birdingpals in January, asking if they could help. He forwarded my address onto a local but nothing came of it. I was going to hire a guide for the day but that requires money I don’t have. I’d accepted that I probably wouldn’t get there anytime soon and decided to find affording birding destinations close to public transport and camp grounds. I know I’ll be doing that next year.

I asked for advice on the Facebook group – and got an offer to visit Werribee Treatment Plant for the morning. We only got to visit a small part of it but I loved it. Birding is the only time my brain gives me real peace.

Raptors

I love raptors. Normally I have to work really hard just to get a glimpse of one. Here, they were everywhere. So many species. So many calls. It’s worth coming here just for the plethora of raptors.

I was called a sick bitch for getting this photo. Well, I am one. 🙂 I’m not sure what species it is but LOOK! It’s doing a poop!

It sounds silly, but getting decent poop shots has become an obsession of mine. I was photographing a new holland honeyeater and accidentally got a photo of it doing a teeny one. Glenn was jealous, and we both have been trying to top my original shot. It didn’t help that we saw some hilarious bird poop shots online. This… is was the culmination of a lot of work and hoping.

Was so honoured to see this white bellied sea eagle. I think that they are a magnificent bird and could spend all day watching them. I become enamored with them during the 2014 breeding season via EagleCam. I was devastated when the chick died. I just think they are so beautiful – I’m particularly fond of eagles.

We saw this guy and both got out of the car, carefully so as not to scare it away. I had trouble focusing. Then it turned around and hung out above as for a while! Got some interesting photos with lens flare. This alone was the trip.

Another highlight was hearing the call of a whistling kite in the wild. Glenn fell in love with the bird after hearing a captive one at Jirrahlinga. I loved it.

Pipit

I think this is a pipit, although we all know how easily confused I get. Loved how it wasn’t as skittish as the one I saw elsewhere.

Sandpipers

We went to a bird hide and saw a number of shorebirds. The tide was out a fair way. There were a LOT of sandpipers, and one red necked stint. Lots of swans and avocets. I saw a couple of sharpies being territorial

Also got photos of a curlew sandpiper! Only a couple of sandpipers left to see. Finally feel like I’m making a dint. I know I’m at the annoying stage of just list building, but I’m trying to learn as much as I can. Once I’ve learned as much as I can about the birds in the area I can focus on just watching them.

Other:

A nest. Was wondering whether it was the sea eagles?

Zebra finch. Was so excited to see. I love robins, wrens and finches. I think they are fascinating. I love the markings on this guy.

A chat. I want to see other species of them 🙂

This is more then just a buff banded rail. We saw something run across the path and were a bit confused. It looked a bit unusual – almost like a rufuos bristlebird? We waited for it to come closer. We saw that it was a rail but didn’t understand why. I looked at the photos and that was when I noticed that there was a tiger snake in the frame!

Think I may become a herper?

Dipped on any other crakes and rails, not for lack of trying. They are now a group of bogey birds that vex me so.

Loved the reflections here. Totally worth coming back just for photography. We saw musk ducks, Great crested grebes, shelducks. It was beautiful to see them up close.

Common greenshank or mash sandpiper. Can’t instantly tell them apart yet.

A much better shot of a golden headed cisticola. Not bad for something taken through a windscreen!

Had such a fab time and am so grateful to those that have been helping me lately. I’d love to return. Feeling a bit crazy because I haven’t birded for 5 days 😛 Silly work.

Birding at Lake Colac

November 2, 2014 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Yesterday I was lucky enough to visit Lake Colac with my nephew. We were in the area to go to the Colac Show. Sethy and I hadn’t hung out properly in ages and seriously, who wouldn’t want to be in a situation where you can share a dodgem car with a six year old?

The other reason I wanted to go up was to practice my fireworks photography. The night before, though, it hit me. Isn’t Lake Colac in Colac? (shut up.) Are there any birds there? None of the books I have really talk about colac as a birdwatching region. I didn’t think we’d get a chance to go but it’s always helpful to know what is local. Sethy was looking over my shoulder as I was researching. “Look at all those pelicans!” At that point, I really wanted to see if we could get there.

Only issue? I didn’t know where it was

We had just left the show and I saw a sign pointing to the botanical gardens. I asked if we could have a quick look, and we got dropped off while my parents did some shopping. It was a fantastic opportunity that didn’t take them out of their way too much.

We weren’t even at the bird sanctuary. We were near it though and Seth started running along a wooden pier/jetty. He saw this little guy and was so excited!

A month early, we had gone to Avalon Beach to do some beachcombing. I didn’t have a camera with me but I had read their were red necked avocets in the area. I showed Seth a picture of them in the bird book and he was really interested, he loved the upturned beak.

I wasn’t expecting to see them yesterday and was so excited when we did. Seth LOVED it.

I loved how they looked for food. They moved their beak side to side until they found something. I love how Seth gets to see stuff like this.

We also go to see Black winged stilts, something that Seth enjoys seeing. Haven’t seen them at Belmont Common yet. We also saw a whiskered tern. “That’s two new birds I’ve seen!” He said. We actually put a dot in ~~my old~~ his field guide, so he count all the birds he’s seen. I only saw my first whiskered tern a couple of weeks ago along the Barwon River.

Startled Coots

We were looking at the pelicans when something spooked the eurasion coots. I love seeing larger then normal populations of birds moving together. I so badly wanted to go to Broome Bird Observatory. Imagine the photos we can get!

Sandpipers

Had another unexpected lifer with these sharp tailed sandpipers. I had to use a facebook group to help ID them. I was able to narrow them down to sandpipers, which is pretty good for me! I was confused as to whether some could be pectoral based on the bill colour but others said it was unlikely. And used a bunch of terminology I’m not yet able to understand. So. Much. To. Learn!

Sometimes I worry that I’m pushing my hobby onto Seth. That he may be pretending to be interested because he’s my little mate. (I have anxiety, I’m always worried.) Days like yesterday confirm his genuine interest. He has a strong focus on birds, like I do, mostly because they are so available. His other fascinations – marsupials, insects, reptiles – are harder to indulge in when you live in suburbia. We do get to see something interesting animals occasionally.

He also loves volcanos and dinosaurs so we also talk about that when birding. We talked about volcanoes when we visited the You Yangs. He’s a kid that loves learning and I share the same personality trait – to the point where I have books that answer his questions.

Glenn is also starting to share my fascination. It’s nice to have people that understand my weirdness 🙂

Lathams Snipe at Last!

January 29, 2014 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

… I think. I can never be too sure.

I had gotten to the end of a stressful but somewhat rewarding birding session at Jerringot. I’d ‘dipped’ on all my target species and was somewhat frustrated. I paused to look at some swamphens when I heard a new birdcall and saw a flash of movement. I was too busy saying ‘shit! SHIT!’ in my head to get a photo in time. I was sure it was a snipe as it had the right body shape.

I think this particular bird was but alas, I wasn’t confident enough to ID it. Later, I was going through my photos when I saw this:

I’m fairly certain that I’ve just crossed the lathams snipe off my list!

It’s hard to describe just how difficult it has been to find this bird. I’ve visited once a month since they’ve meant to have arrived and have had no sightings. I’ve had very few sightings of many of the birds commonly seen here. It’s demoralizing and I’ve felt like a fake birdwatcher.

It’s also highlighted the importance of getting a pair of binoculars and maybe even a scope. I have no idea how I’m going to afford it but I’m learning that it is a definite necessity. My current method is get photos of any shapes or movements and look at the photos later. I miss out on a lot of birds this way.

I have no idea what to look for or how to even start the research.

Slightly off topic, but I was telling Seth about the sighting and he started telling me about the fictional birds he had seen. The funniest was the ‘booby snipe’ 🙂 I love his enthusiasm but there is a little bit of guilt there as I always get the giggles when he mentions birds with ‘boobie’ in the name.

Back to the birds!

I’m not sure what these two are. I’m guessing juvenile wattlebirds? They were very cute!

Again, I’m not sure what these are. I need to consult a proper field guide. They don’t match any birds that are normally seen at Jerringot.

Another one that stumps me. Maybe a dusky woodswallow? Really hard ID’ing animals when a five year old has ‘borrowed’ your field guide.

This is one that I am really excited about. A pink eared duck! I love them but have never seen one here. I don’t think it is usual as there are no reports on eremaea. I don’t know whether I should tell anyone about it as there is the resident one at Balyang.

A great egret (I think.) All the birds seem to have moved from the site at the golf course, as it is drying out, to this area closer to the road. There were about 5 herons today, more then usual.

Rabbits are generic, and a pest. This image is purely for my nephew who still gets excited when he sees one. We’re city kids.

Black winged stilt. It is seen here about 1/5 of the time so it’s no ‘big deal’, but it is still the first time I’ve seen one locally. Pretty exciting. It flew off when it saw me enter the hide. I located it at the back of the swamp with the ibis and spoonbills.

It was a very productive visit. Still no sign of the crakes and rails! It’s hard sneaking in birdwatching with all this hot weather we’ve had lately, I try not to be outside too much if it gets above 30. Am contemplating returning to Serendip and maybe even join a local birdwatching club! Birdwatching gives me such a high.

Birdwatching at Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve

October 16, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Yesterday was the first time Glenn and I had gone on a Melbourne adventure in yonks. I hadn’t been there independently since June, other then trips to and from the airport last month. I’d been wanting to go birdwatching there but was utterly confused as to where I should start.

I saw Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve appear a number of times on Eremaea. In fact, someone else was there yesterday too! I looked it up and it was pretty easy to access, plus was a different environment to the generic wetlands I go to. It had several species I wanted to see, such as the blue billed duck, and was close to an area that Glenn would like to photograph.

Life would be so much easier if driving didn’t scare me so much!

We started at Williamstown and immediately walked to the information centre and around Gem Pier. I really recommend this – the info centre had brochures on all the parks and birdwatching destinations. The lady there recommended that I just walk around the beach to Jawbone.

We spent about 40 minutes around Williamstown photographing things. I’ll be writing about that later – we could easy have spent an afternoon there.

Jawbone was about a 30-40 minute walk away. There were several times I wondered ‘is this it?’ If it’s just a beach – you aren’t there yet. You may see some cool birds offshore but Jawbone is an actual wetland-ish environment.

Getting there

About 10 minutes out of Williamstown I saw some birds on rocks sticking out of the ocean. A lot of cormorants and – tada! Crested Terns!

There was also a couple of pacific gulls, which I got really excited about. I initially thought they were shearwaters. I never thought I could get interested in offshore birds and didn’t know if I’d want to do pelagics but now, I know otherwise. Which is dangerous *evil grin*

There was also lava blister, which had an informative sign near it. This entire walk was actually part of the Hobson Bay trail (something I want to finish walking) and it was quite educational. Lots of signs and information about the history of the area.

I saw these white fronted chats on some grass. Don’t know anything about them but they are another lifer!

There were a number of pelicans and swans along the beach and at Jawbone itself. I got some awesome photos of this guy eating a fish!

Jawbone

Then, finally, I was there! Initially I was disappointed. I found a small wetland area with bridges that seemed very suburban and reminded me of Balyang. There were no birds there other then swamp hens.

Was this it? I walked all this way to see birds I see at home all the time? I consulted the map, and walked further on.

A bird hide!

There is a lake that hugs the coastline. There is a lot of birdlife here. Spoonbills, cormorants, swans, pelicans. It would be very easy to spend a long time here. The western suburbs have a lot of great bird-watching areas.

The hide wasn’t very good for photography. It was hard to get a good look at anything. The birds were fine when I walked around the area itself, though.

There was several stilts around, which I was very excited to see. Later, I looked at the photos again and noticed a dotterel! Finally, some birds I had been wanting to see!

I got this awesome photo of a black swan landing on the water. It looks like it is skiing. It’s a really great area for photography.

I was at the end, on the side near Altona. I saw a bill that looked, well, blue.

I had never seen one in the wild before so I couldn’t be sure. I was on a bridge at the time and there was a dad and his kids riding past me. I know I said ‘oh my god!’ and couldn’t wait to get home to double check.

As you’ve no doubt noticed, we’ve mucked up the camera settings AGAIN and all the photos had a blueish tinge. How could I tell if the bill was actually blue and not something the camera had created?

Look at the tail. I didn’t notice until I checked te book afterwards but that is the real giveaway. The musk duck has a similar tail.

It’s hard to explain how relieved I am to finally see the bird. It eluded me at Lake Lorne, although the freckled duck is apparantly rarer. I certainly didn’t expect to see it. I was content to see a couple of new sea species. It was such a relief though.

I don’t feel so frustrated now. I’ve knocked two ducks off the list. I’m obsessed with ducks and waterbirds at the moment. I want to see as many as possible!

I’m also fond of my current method of learning. I don’t read extensively on the birds I want to see. I choose an area and research the best places to view the birds and just learn on the go. It’s a lot more satisfying to figure this stuff out organically. I know I want to join the birdwatching community and start learning the technical stuff but I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet. I’ve always known my best methods of learning and I think doing it myself makes me happier.

I ended up catching a bus from Kororoit Creek to Williamstown station. The bus is actually really close to the end but is infrequent. I recommend researching public transport as this walk was really difficult for me. I didn’t pack water and needed to be back in Geelong at a certain time.

I definitely plan to return to the area and explore more of the reserves in the region. Specifically Cherry Lake, Altona Coastal Park, Newport Lakes Park and Cheetham Wetlands. This would all be so much easier with a car.

I think I will explore the rest of the sections via the Hobson Bay Trail. Split it into 2-3 more trips and devote time to properly exploring the area. This will allow me to go on detours and properly birdwatch.