common greenshank

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.

Raptors Eating Rodents at WTP

July 24, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I was going through my photos from the Western Treatment Plant with Glenn. He was saying how our sigma lens wasn’t working as good as he’d hope and that the Canon lens I’d borrowed was doing a better job.

It was true that the Canon lens was focusing a lot faster. However, I argued that that the Sigma lens was still pretty good. Glenn has a habit of not going through his photos properly. He’ll choose the best ones from a glance of the folder. That means he often misses the small details – the details that can really make the shot.

Yesterday, he was upset because I had gotten shots of birds of prey eating mice and he didn’t. As the below photos show, methinks he was mistake. He actually got better shots. They have much more detail and capture different moments.

Other images

He did take other photos, although he was right in that the quality was meh in some of them. It was mostly due to the settings of the camera and the fact we didn’t change them for different lighting. And at times the car was moving.

Cute Greenshank

A cormorant I’m pretending has a case of the giggles.

A beautiful Avocet

I learned SO MUCH yesterday – and the information is mixing with other bits of information I’m getting and turning me into a nerd.

I saw a golden headed cisticola yesterday and couldn’t figure out what it was. You know why? I hadn’t seen it in winter before and didn’t know that the top of their head turned blue.

We struggled to find any double banded plovers. I’ve since learned that there have been significantly less DBP’s in the Geelong region, according the the GFNC winter wader count. This is a quote from the email I got. I’m not sure about the etiquette with posting but it is so fascinating.

It is interesting to note that this lack of birds has also been observed this winter by other wader teams around Port Philip Bay eg Avalon and Western Treatment Plant but not so much the Westernport and Corner Inlet /Gippsland counts. Numerous suggestions as to what this might represent have been circulated including a reduction in open exposed ground in some Port Philip Bay sites which have been fenced off for conservation but actually have meant there is less open area for these birds. The other interesting factor back in New Zealand is that it is a beech mast year. In a mast year beech forests produce a higher than normal amount of seeds. Rats and stoats feed on the seeds and turn on native birds when the seeds run out. This may have put the Double-banded Plover young at risk and we may be seeing the result of a poor breeding season. We will see what next winter brings for these birds and what our wader experts across the Tasman think.

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.

Taking Sethy to Jawbone + Altona

January 26, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

It’s the a story that I think is going to repeat itself multiple times this year. I promise Seth we can go adventuring if he is good. He actually behaves. I end up spending an hour plotting, trying to think of something interesting we can do that is something other then ‘Lets walk along the Barwon River.’

The Barwon is awesome. It’s fun. He’s going to be seeing a lot of it now that school is returning. He was hankering to see a blue billed duck. I thought the birding would be more interesting at Jawbone, and was certain we’d see a blue billed. We caught the train to Seaholme station and off we went.

Of course, the birding started before we got to Altona Coastal Park. We did the same walk that I did in this post. I thought it was a reasonable distance that could take him through different environments.

We saw many birds of prey on the way there. Unfortunately, I’m unable to ID them quickly yet. Seth was saying what he thought they were or, moreso, what he hoped they were. At a trainstation near Laverton we saw magpie geese on the side of the tracks! We were very shocked.

There were many musk lorikeets and a little wattlebird in the tree outside the station. Was hoping to luck out and see a little lorikeet 😉

We then walked to the beach, where someone got distracted by being a 6 year old at the beach. We looked at shells and marveled at just how many dogs were at the beach in the area. I always let him muck around and be a kid on these walks, provided we at least keep moving so we can get back at a reasonable time.

I saw these two birds at the beach! Turned out all the birds I saw that day were Common Greenshanks, just like Sethy said. I was really hoping to find a common sandpiper, which had been sighted in the area. Alas, no luck.

Seth repeatedly asked me to get photos of what the little black birds were, even though I knew. Here is a close up of the starling.

Large flock of swans. Seth now really loves swans. We got photos of any bird that had a tag around it’s neck and submitted them to myswan. Seth helped point out the tags. At Jawbone, he started hooting at a pair who were kind enough to talk back.

Green shank

Beautiful tern. This was flying over as we were walking towards the coastal park.

Yellow rumped thornbill! I wasn’t able to ID it until I got home. I thought the rump looked way too bright, and it didn’t appear to be hiding like so many thornbills that I saw. Someone was amused because the word “rump means bottom.”

Grasshopper

It had been about two hours since we had left. Mum called to see how we were doing. At the exact moment I answered, Seth found this on the path.

!!!!

Seth loves bugs and critters. Loves them. I couldn’t talk to him and mum at the same time, so I hung up so we could investigate further. He put it on is hand and we looked closely at it. I know grasshoppers are common but seeing one this size and so well camouflaged was brilliant. Look at the photo below.

Try finding the grasshopper. Seth found it immediately. Eventually, I had to pull him away.

We had to wait around at the walkway over the creek because Seth saw tiny fish in that water. He can be really awesome on adventures, helping me find stuff that I otherwise wouldn’t see. And I get a buzz out of showing him different environments and ecosystems. There were a couple of terns floating around.

Egrets are still annoying

I had to ask for help with this one – I still struggle. It looked smaller, the kink in the neck wasn’t as pronounced and the gap didn’t extend back that far. I may just have to accept that this is a bird I will struggle to ID for some time.

Walking from Altona Coastal Park to Jawbone

We were walking between the birding areas when Seth pointed to something on the side of the track. “Look, fungi!” I didn’t believe him at first. I went “no there’s no………………..t,” with my voice getting really high pitched towards the end. I was that surprised to see fungi at the beach. I thought that they liked the damp and cold. Definitely something I want to investigate.

We heard a rustling in the trees and went to investigate. Seth said it was a honeyeater. I wasn’t too sure as it looked too small, but we checked on the app and with his field guide. Yep, it was a singing honeyeater. Lifer number 2 for the little dude and possibly my first lifer for the year.

Yet another fungi. Seth is awesome for finding fungi.

Walking towards Jawbone we saw a great crested grebe. Third time I’ve seen one and a second for Seth, but now we both have a photographic record. Although I already had one from WTP.

Jawbone.

We got to Jawbone and had a little bit of a wander. Seth was disappointed about the lack of quails, especially because he was super quiet. We did see a lot of rabbits. I knew it would be unlikely. Will definitely seek out quails in the future though. Or, as he repeatedly called them, guinea fowl 😉

Always fun to see another spoonbill.

A pelican flying past Williamstown beach

It was a pretty big day, with what felt like very little return in terms of wildlife. Seth still had a blast. It was just the little things that you see when you go to a different environment. We could probably find similar things closer to Geelong but I wouldn’t know how to get there. Here, I was familiar with.

The blue billed duck wasn’t there, which was a disappointment. We also didn’t get to play in any of the tempting playgrounds. Fortunately there were a lot of toilets and places to refill your drink bottle along the path. And, I got to teach Seth more about the area. I’d love to take him back to Williamstown and explore the main beach/pier area, and then catch a ferry into the city.

I’ve noticed that I feel a lot healthier, and feel less agoraphobic. Our adventuring started out so he had something fun to do over the holidays, as my parents have been so busy with moving. I think it’s really benefited both of us. He’s learning lots of little things, like he does when he’s with my parents. I find it fascinating watching his brain develop. I’m also keen to take mum to some of these places, as Seth would love to share things with her.

Taking Sethy to Truganina

January 19, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

It was Saturday evening. I had just finished exploring the Otways with two fellow nature geeks and had about an hour to spare before I went to a friends birthday party.

“If you’re good for Nan, I’ll talk you to see the banded stilts tomorrow.”

I had been planning returning to Truganina for some time. The weather during the first two weeks of the year had been horrid, so I’d primarily been adventuring around the Barwon river when the radar looked clear. I knew it was impractical for us to go on adventures with the rest of the family, so pitched this idea to him.

He’s 6. He can get cranky when tired and this is the first time we’d been doing a solo adventure of this magnitude.

And, that is how we ended up on the 10.46 train to Melbourne.

Truganina

Getting there was pretty easy, despite switching trains. We got there in about an hour and went straight to the bird hide.

Unfortunately for Sethy, there were no banded stilts. He loves black winged stilts and I really wanted him to see the bandeds. He did see these two birds and thought they were juveniles. I had to wait until I got home to identify them. I knew that you get both marsh sandpipers and common greenshanks in the area but struggle to tell them apart, especially when the plumage is different.

The bird above is a marsh sandpiper. The bird below is a common greenshank. Once you see them enough, it’s easy to tell them apart in the field. They have different behaviours and sizes. I still struggle to tell them apart, especially via photos, but I think I just need to spend more time observing them.

If you look at the greenshank, the bill is thicker and has a slight curve. This is meant to be a good way to tell them apart – I do see it now.

There did seem to less sandpipers then there was last time. I don’t visit nearly enough to know how the environment changes. Did see two red capped plovers running though!

He was fascinated by the different types of plants you can get here. “Look at those succulents!”

He loved seeing this plan fly overhead at multiple times. And also liked being so close to the train tracks, to the point where he briefly touched them. (I supervised him the whole time. He’s fascinated by everything.)

Actually – maybe we saw an RAAF plane? I did see a sign about the museum on the way up and wondered if it was appropriate for a 6 year old. Will look into it.

When walking to the river, we found the carcass of a blue tongue lizard. The colouring looks different to the two that Seth has had as pets.

He’s fascinated by bones so we got a good look. He would have liked to take it home, but I said no. I know from experience that many carcasses can be stinky and I didn’t have a plastic bag.

It was in pieces and in one area, the ants had done a good job cleaning. Seth picked up a piece of backbone he had found and asked me to look after it.

I may need to take more bags with me next time.

He’s fascinated by everything and I’m not going to stop him, unless it places him at risk. It helps that I was similar to him growing up.

Swans

We walked towards Laverton Creek where we found about 50 swans. Seth was enamoured so we sat down to watch them. Surprisingly, a number of them came up close and started feeding within a meter of where we were sitting

He heard hooting sounds and started making them back. He would observe everything about them. How they’d bite others who got too close. The hissing sounds.

He loved being able to get a close look of their feet. Look at their claws!

Both of their feet.

A juveniles knobbly knees.

He could have easily spent more time here. Two of the birds had tags around their necks – will be submitting their data to the project. The tags were different colours this time.

Other observations:

We also saw a little egret.

Fascinated by the plants.

Seth really enjoyed the trip, which was cool. He’s 6 and can struggle with concentration, but he was really well behaved. This means that we can start travelling a little bit further on adventures.

His life list is now 95, which he is pretty stoked about. He’s proud to have such a big list for someone his age. No idea if he’ll keep up the hobby but if it makes him happy. I think he experiences the same calming effect that I do.

I saw a fox near the train tracks! It moved before I had the chance to take a photo. I wish Seth could have seen it. I think I’d like to explore more of the area with him, it just depends on what is practical.

I also talk through the adventures with him. I thank him when he wants to explore a new area and I see something I didn’t see last time. I tell him when I’m unsure and involve him in the process of finding out. I think this hobby has been great for him. It’s also helped me out, too.

😛 Now just need to summarize another couple of adventures. Have been too busy exploring instead!