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pacific black duck

Windy Balyang

October 1, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Today was the first time I had been birdwatching in about a week. It’s weird how reluctant I am to go on an adventure, despite feeling a lot healthier. I nearly didn’t go as Glenn didn’t want to come with me. The weather this morning was horribly windy, with hail and sideways rain. I decided to just go. Glenn is on holidays soon and I doubt we’ll be as active as we are planning. As long as we get to Werribee Treatment Plant!

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A heron flew over and landed before I had a chance to get the camera ready. It was nice; I don’t see them there that often. He flew over again later.

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I was sitting down, watching the birds on the teeny island in the middle when this guy waddled over. There were a lot of people feeding ducks there today and I think he wanted food. Still, I got some beautiful shots

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There were a lot of welcome swallows about. They were incredibly hard to photograph; I got some average ones of them in flight. This little guy was still long enough for me to get several photos.

I then went for a walk along the path that is alongside the road. I was hoping to see something rare – perhaps a lathams snipe. I did get to see this pink-eared duck and got several shots.

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I really do love these ducks. I wish I could see a large population and had a camera with a better lens. They are so cute.

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Glenn wasn’t there so I didn’t have to rush everywhere. I got to walk slowly and do photography that I enjoy, rather for identification purposes. I love shooting the sun through flowers. I’m thinking about going to the botanical gardens to continue this.

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Mr Pelican was there again. He came up close as a family was feeding him as I was able to get some really lovely shots.

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This trio of ducks were keen to be fed. They are pretty tame and really fun to photography.

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Glenn loves getting photos of birds in flight. I was sitting down in a secluded area, trying to get photos of the small birds that were flying really fast. I heard a honk and snapped a photo of this guy. I got several more as he flew over to where I was sitting. He wanted to join his ducky friends and get in on the bread action.

It ended up being a really nice shot, even though it was accidental.
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The final bird (and the second new species) is the White plumed honeyeater.

~

It was a lovely trip; one that taught me a lot. I do prefer solo birdwatching; I just feel bitchy leaving Glenn here. I see it as my job to make sure he enjoys his days off. It’s silly and is an anxiety thought pattern I’ll have to defeat. I felt accomplished and a lot more peaceful.

I know I need to do this more, it’s just a matter of when. I have very little income coming in and hang out with my nephew pretty often. The weather is manky on a regular basis and I don’t have a car. It feels like there are so many obstacles and that this journey is going to take a long time.

This is just panic as Glenn will have a MONTH off and I need Jade Time. There is also impatience due to being sick for so long. I think I need to make some birdwatching/hiking friends. I’ll see what local tours we can do on Glenns month off.

Filed Under: Barwon River, Geelong Tagged With: balyang, pacific black duck, pelican, pink eared duck, purple swamphen, welcome swallow, white plumed honeyeater

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