magpie goose

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.

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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.