myphotos - parks, birds and wildlife

Count the Species

2012-01-29T12:55:00.000+11:00

Click on the image for a larger one to explore all the different species at Edithvale wetlands.

This panorama stiches together 4 photos taken from the viewing platform at Edithvale wetlands. There are spoonbills, egrets, swans, pelicans, teals, ducks, stilts, and cormorants.

Wedge Tailed Eagle at Cranbourne

2012-01-27T17:57:00.000+11:00

My usual scouting location at Cranbourne was closed today so I headed off in a different direction to parts unknown. With one eye on the ground looking for snakes and the other wandering the tree branches there didn't appear to be much to see, just the usual wrens, finches, and wattlebirds. To my surprise I happened on a Wedge Tailed Eagle that allowed me a couple of quick snaps before escaping on the wind.

Cuckoo and Thornbill

2012-01-25T10:06:00.000+11:00

A fledgling cuckoo, possibly a Shining Bronze Cuckoo, was making quite a bit of noise as I walked by at Coolart wetlands. After waiting a short while a Brown Thornbill appeared and began to feed the cuckoo. It must have fed about 10 insects to the cuckoo in a short time, I'll bet the thornbill will be glad to see the cuckoo complete it's independence.

Grey-tailed Tattler

2012-01-05T08:43:00.000+11:00

A report at Birdline Victoria stated that a Grey-tailed Tattler had taken up residence at Mt Martha beach on the Mornington Peninsula so I decided to check it out for myself. I think I walked past it twice before I found it happily feeding along a rocky shoreline between two popular swimming beaches.

Little Egret, Nankeen Night Heron and more

2011-12-30T08:55:00.000+11:00

A short trip to the viewing platform proved worthwhile when a Little Egret dropped in for a snack, the trip was even more worthwhile when a Nankeen Night Heron appeared amongst the reeds. Throw in a Yellow Billed Spoonbill and a Black Fronted Dotterel and the trip was an unexpected experience.

Satin Flycatchers Nesting

2011-12-18T13:56:00.000+11:00

Difficult to distinguish from the Leaden Flycatcher, apparently the dark underside of the tail feathers makes this budding family a Satin Flycatcher. I was able to observe them from a distance as they took turns sitting on the nest. Located on the Possum Gully track at Cranbourne Botanical gardens.

Toora Bird Hide

2011-12-16T10:26:00.000+11:00

Built by a work gang from Won Wron prison, the Toora Bird hide and board walk is located at the end of Toora Jetty Road, on the edge of Corner Inlet Marine National Park. Migratory waders are summer visitors including Eastern Curlews which were quite visible today.

The surrounding area is made up of mud flats and mangroves, with many varieties of grasses and sedges. Outstanding views of Wilson's Promontory, Barry Beach, Yanakie and the Toora windfarm can be seen from the car park.

My Tracks for Android

2011-12-10T12:07:00.001+11:00

View 2011-12-08 09:56 in a larger map

I purchased a cheap Android smartphone to use the GPS for tracking my location and recording sites. In this map the route that I took is highlighted in blue. There are a lot of possibilities for this type of recording device.

Storm over Frankston

2011-12-09T19:31:00.000+11:00

Some awesome stormclouds blew in from the northeast this afternoon and I couldn't resist a trip to the beach for some quick photos before the rain, hail and lightning started.

Wannarkladdin Wetlands

2011-12-05T09:42:00.000+11:00

Located between the Patterson river and Edithvale wetlands is a little known area called Wannarkladdin wetlands. Access is easiest from the Patterson river and a short stroll takes you to an area of ponds created by Melbourne Water and masses of natural wetlands. Sea shells left behind by the retreat of Port Phillip Bay some 7000 years ago can still be found there.

It is a good place to find the elusive Latham's Snipe which is very well camouflaged so you have to look carefully, it is also home to many warblers, cisticolas, herons, egrets, stints and the usual ducks and teals. I was even surprised to flush out a quail on my most recent visit.

Tawny Frogmouth

2011-12-04T10:18:00.000+11:00

A family of Tawny Frogmouths pictured near the entrance to Coolart.

Nankeen Night Heron

2011-12-01T10:05:00.000+11:00

I was standing on the viewing platform at Edithvale wetlands when all of the coots, teals and duck suddenly scattered in all directions. My eyes looked to the sky expecting to see a swamp harrier but all that I could see was a heron cruising towards a tree branch. Wait a minute, that's a Nankeen Night Heron! The freaked out water birds had thought it was a bird of prey because like me, they are not used to seeing night herons in this location at this time of day.

There are a lot of these immature herons appearing all over the place at the moment but opportunities for close photos don't come along too often.

Grey-tailed Tattlers at Reef Island

2011-11-18T18:04:00.000+11:00

A couple more new species for me, Grey-tailed Tattlers and Pacific Golden Plovers were present at Reef Island, along with Ruddy Turnstones, countless Red-necked Stints and a pair of Fairy Terns.

Wannarkladdin Wetlands

2011-11-10T16:30:00.000+11:00

Black-tailed Native Hen and Spoonbill

2011-11-10T16:27:00.000+11:00

Nankeen Night Heron

2011-11-10T09:07:00.000+11:00

Edithvale Wetlands Discovery Centre

2011-11-07T10:34:00.002+11:00

Melbourne Water has completed construction of the new wetlands discovery centre at the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands. Funding was allocated in the State’s Water Plan to construct this new facility, following keen interest from the local community.

In designing this education centre we ensured that it complied with the site’s Ramsar Management Plan, maintaining the bird habitat and preserving the wetlands special significance. In addition to this, the centre was built to meet strict environmental and sustainability standards including installing water tanks, composting toilets, solar panels and a rain garden.

The new education centre is located in the Edithvale Wetlands, on Edithvale Road.

Whistlers and more at Cranbourne Botanic

2011-10-18T10:18:00.000+11:00

Kilcunda and Powlett River

2011-10-14T21:16:00.000+11:00

A Koala out for a Stroll

2011-10-04T10:40:00.000+11:00

It's Cuckoo Time

2011-10-04T10:27:00.000+11:00

Shining Bronze Cuckoo

Fledgling Fan Tailed Cuckoo with its adopted Scrubwren parent

Horsfeld's Bronze Cuckoo

Fan Tailed Cuckoo

Pallid Cuckoo

The cuckoos have been busy lately and seem to be everywhere at Cranbourne Botanic. In the space of 2 hours I came across 4 different species including a juvenile being fed by its adopted parent. The Shining Bronze Cuckoo is a particularly attractive bird, not unlike Horsfeld's Bronze Cuckoo but much more green on the wings.

Shining Bronze Cuckoo

2011-10-01T07:59:00.000+10:00

At Cranbourne Botanical gardens yesterday I stumbled across a Shining Bronze Cuckoo feasting on small caterpillars. Another first sighting for me.

Lewin's Rail at Coolart

2011-09-28T18:29:00.000+10:00

It was a wet and dark day broken only but thunderstorms and lightning. I decided to take refuge in a small bird hide at Coolart Wetlands hoping to see some crakes and rails. It wasn't long before a Spotless Crake made a brief appearance only to disappear as quickly as it had arrived.

After an hour of nothing, a small bird emerged from the reeds staying long enough for one photo. At first I thought it was a crake but on closer inspection of the photo it became apparent that I had seen my first Lewin's Rail.

Reef Island and Tenby Point

2011-09-17T22:49:00.001+10:00

You can see Phillip Island from Reef Island, and today I could hear the V8 Supercars which were racing some 20 km away. Not to be distracted by that noisy event, I had a pleasant walk around the nature conservation reserve followed by a short walk to Tenby Point.

It was evident almost immediately that the shorebirds were returning in great numbers as the tidal flats had thousands of feeding birds, but too far away to identify and too muddy to investigate.

On Reef Island there were about 100 Red-necked Stints, 24 Black Swans, 20 White Ibis, 4 Royal Spoonbills, 6 White-faced Herons, 20 Red-capped Plovers, 6 Ruddy Turnstones, 2 Pied Oystercatchers, 3 Pacific Gulls, 4 Crested Terns, 6 Fairy Terns (a first for me), 1 Caspian Tern, 4 Black Shouldered Kites, 2 White Fronted Chats, about 100 Straw Necked Ibis flying towards French Island, a single Great Egret, and an unidentified shorebird which was possibly a Red Knot or a moulting Pacific Golden Plover.

Before heading off homewards, I ventured to Tenby Point to get some snaps of a pair of Whistling Kites which have been active on the nest lately.

Western Treatment Plant

2011-09-16T09:27:00.001+10:00

It's a long way to Werribee from home for a day trip, but the reports from the Western Treatment Plant have been very good lately so it was time for a visit.

I had barely turned on my camera when I was greeted by 4 Black Shouldered Kites all looking well fed, and a Swamp Harrier also looking in good nic. A photographer had taken up postition in the exact spot where I wanted to try and get some photos of crakes or bitterns so I decided not to disturb him and leave the T-section and head over to the Western Lagoon.

A Brown Falcon was in its usual spot on the fence post, another Swamp Harrier cruised by, 2 Sea Eagle circled the sky, and a Gull-billed Tern flew by for a look (a first for me).

In an adjacent pond I spotted a Common Greenshank feeding on its own, and there were several Little and Great Egrets over on the Spit.

At the birdhide, I could see some Red-necked Stints and Curlew Sandpipers far offshore which flew off as the tide came in. There were lots of White-fronted Chats (everywhere), White-browed Scrubwrens, Silvereyes, and Fairywrens around the Hide. In a pond not far away an Australian Spotted Crake made a brief appearance before retreating for cover. A Brown Snake warmed itself on the banks of Lake Borrie and allowed me to get quite close before sliding away into the reeds.

Time to go before the traffic builds up and the Westgate becomes a traffic jam, but Paradise Rd on the way out always provides some good observations. More Little Egrets, Red-necked Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, and sone Short-tailed Sandpipers were present and as I departed the Western Treatment Plant a pair of Brown Falcons squawked to say goodbye.

A thoroughly enjoyable visit.

Gull-billed Tern

Little Egret

Curlew Sandpiper

Common Greenshank