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fairy tern

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

Red Capped Plover at Lake Victoria

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.

Red Capped Plover at Lake Victoria

Red Capped Plover at Lake Victoria

Red Capped Plover at Lake Victoria

Red Capped Plover at Lake Victoria

Red Capped Plover at Lake Victoria

Red Capped Plover at Lake Victoria

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

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An awesome looking spider!

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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!

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

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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.

Filed Under: Bellarine Peninsula Tagged With: black swan, black-shouldered kite, common greenshank, crested grebe, fairy tern, hoary headed grebe, lake victoria, little egret, red capped plover

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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

Beach Road

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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.

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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.

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

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

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This this is the little eagle that we saw

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The duck butt.

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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.

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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.

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Photo of its bottom, to help with identification.

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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.

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Orb Spider in the hide.

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

~

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Thousands of shelducks in flight.

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Cygnets with their parents.

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Sheep 🙂

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

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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

Filed Under: West Melbourne Tagged With: australian shelduck, banded lapwing, blue-billed duck, brolga, common tern, eurasian skylark, fairy tern, little eagle, musk duck, pectoral sandpiper, pelican, red necked avocet, striated fieldwren, Werribee Treatment Plant, white winged black tern

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