My Nature Blog
During the school term, it can be hard to arrange to hang out with Sethy sometimes as it depends on both my health and other commitments. On school holidays, it is so much easier. Just find a day where it is sunny.
During our November visit, I fell in love with a brolga chick and promised myself that I’d return to watch it grow. I didn’t have the money to get out there before now and boy, had it grown!
Last week, Sethy and I went to Serendip to participate in two of the junior range activities. I’d been wanting to do them with him for years but the timing was never right.
We started off the morning with a behind the scenes tour which involved feeding the animals. [Read more…] about We Are Now Junior Ranges! 5 Hours At Serendip
I’ve gone to Serendip twice lately. Both times, the musk duck was out of the water! Alas, I didn’t have the chance to stick around and photograph him for too long.
It was great to be able to observe him out of water. I definitely want to return and just spend a couple of hours slowly photographing everything. And yes, I want a poop shot! 🙂
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.
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.
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.
It appears that I took a trip to Serendip Sanctuary on the 22nd of March this year… and then forgot to post about it. The first half of this year was crazy hectic so that’s understandable.
Primarily posting so you can see how Serendip changes at different times of the year. I can’t provide any commentary because I have no recollection of going. It seems like March is an awesome time to visit to see babies, so I definitely need to visit a lot over the coming months. Also: the magpie geese numbers have apparently gone MAD.
I’m not sure when the spoonbills like hanging out either, but I know that will be a priority over the summer.
