red capped plover

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.

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.

First Visit to Lake Victoria

Altona Coastal Park + Jawbone Reserve

Altona Coastal Park

Trying to cross the river

Jawbone