blue-billed duck

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

Altona Coastal Park + Jawbone Reserve

December 3, 2014 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

After visiting Truganina Swamp yesterday, I decided to visit Altona Coastal Park and walk through Jawbone Reserve to Williamstown station. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the area even if it didn’t yield much in terms of birds. I had initially planned to visit Cherry Lake as well but thought that may have been too much for me. Good call, past Jade!

I got off at the Seaholme station and it was a short walk to the coastal park.

Altona Coastal Park

I walked past a reserve. Their was a pier nearby, which was fantastic for the normal birds. Lots of pelicans and pacific gulls. They were flying around a lot so it was great for photography. I loved getting the above photo with three pelicans sitting on boats.

Primarily got this one to show Glenn.

It was a bit frustrating there. I could hear a lot of birdlife but not necessarily see much. Of course, a lot of the birds showed their heads while I was sitting down and talking on the phone to Glenn! Alas, I couldn’t multi-task. My feet were hurting a bit at this point so I was hoping to wrap about the trip ASAP. But look! A poorly lit photo of a Golden Headed Cisticola. 🙂

I try to take photos of birds that are tagged so I can contribute to the research projects. I need to make a list of ones I can help with. Also, this area was brilliant for Fairy Wrens. It was a different environment then what I was used to and is definitely an area that requires more patience. Straited Fieldwrens are common here. I probably saw several but they were too quick. I could hear birds everywhere but they were well hidden.

Another black shouldered kite. It was at this point that I changed the camera settings to sports mode. It made the rest of the photos from the day look dark and yucky.

Trying to cross the river

It was at this point that I decided I didn’t need the map. I saw a fence and a path leading towards the creek mouth and decided to follow it. My feet liked being on softer crowd. There were foot prints and bike tracks leading to the water so I tried to cross it. I tried to cross the small streams leading to the creek mouth first. I took off my shoes and socks and saw this little guy.

THEN I SAW A RED CAPPED PLOVER!

And then I realized there was no way to cross, so tried to cross at the actual creek mouth. It looked deep so I hiked up my dress. I put on foot in the water. The sand enveloped my foot and I fell on my butt, getting saturated up to my waist. The camera didn’t get wet, though.

Fuck!

It was funny – I knew I’d be able to see the funny side later. My feet were still sore and I knew I had to backtrack. It was hot and I was incredibly thirsty. I was starting to feel a bit woozy, even though it wasn’t that hot. I don’t have much tolerance for heat.

I ended up chafing because the bike shorts I was wearing took too long to dry. It took ages to get to Jawbone and it didn’t yield anything out of the ordinary. Until I decided to get a closer look at a ‘rabbit.’

Jawbone

I was walking towards the bird hides when I saw a black shape in bushes on the side of the footpath. I thought “Awesome. Another rabbit to photograph.” I hate rabbits but my nephew enjoys seeing them, so I photograph them where possible.

I leaned closer to get a better look. I swore. It was a quail! It was just as started as I was and ran even deeper into the bush. I didn’t have the chance to take a photograph, so I wasn’t able to identify it.

I asked on a Facebook group I’m a part of and they said that brown quails are very common in the area – it’s a good hotspot for them. But you can’t 100% say it is as you also get painted button quails and stubble quails in the area. I’m loving the various Facebook groups I’m involved in. The people are so helpful, despite my obvious newbie-ness. I’m learning so much more then I was by birding by myself and hoping that google had the answers. Google very rarely does; people don’t seem to share that much birding information via blogs, at least stuff that is good for newbies.

I have a thing for white fronted chats.

And spoonbills in breeding plumage. Wish I could have gotten better shots. I want to go to Serendip with Glenn before his break finishes.

Obligatory cormorant shot, because Glenn loves it.

I love blue billed bucks. I’ve seen them before at Jawbone but suspect it was a female. I was shocked at how bright the bill was! It was such an honour to see that close. I really love ducks.

This part of the twitch was a real struggle. I was exhausted, in pain. I found a tap along the path and refilled my water bottle. I sat in the bird hide for about 20 minutes and just drank water, trying to cool down. I did feel better afterwards and didn’t get a migraine from the trip – nor vomit. When you have anxiety and migraines you learn to expect the worse 😛 I think the naprogesic helped. I’ve learned that I need to:

pack more water
Find a better hat, as this one doesn’t cover me up properly
Wear sunscreen.
wear my hiking shoes. Regardless of whether they are dying!

I’m also unfit, I can’t walk 15+ km in a day like I used to. I only walked 6-7 yesterday. I’ve been able to do that before but it’s along the river here and has more shade, and isn’t as hard on my feet. I felt pretty rotten physically today.

I’m also starting to think that Jawbone isn’t really worth the visit any more – I should explore the other areas, now that I know how to get there. Tomorrow we are going to Werribee Zoo. Primarily for Glenn to practice wildlife photography but I’m hoping we’ll see some birds. Has over 130 regular birds sighted there!

I’m loving birding and life at the moment. Sometimes it all falls into place.

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.