I’m writing this on a lovely day as at last it has rained, after a very hot and dry start to autumn.
For the first time in a few weeks, I haven’t had to water my garden, and hopefully some of the blue-green algae in waterways has been diluted.
I haven’t been out and about much over the last few weeks, due to the hot weather and other commitments.
I did drop around to my friend Robyn’s property in Wallington to check out the birds on the sizeable pond situated on her fence line. There were not many birds at all around, which is not surprising considering how hot it has been. Robyn told me that she has two breeding pairs of Indian peafowl on her property, but unfortunately foxes have been responsible for killing the unfortunate hatchlings.
I took my dogs for a walk to the strip of land between Jenelle Crescent and the farmland near Oakdene Estate in Ocean Grove, and I didn’t think to bring my camera. I was stunned that when I turned right from the roundabout at Oakdene Boulevard towards the paddock, on the farm fence were a male and female Australian hobby. They were literally five metres from me, and if I had brought my camera the photos would have been fantastic, as they didn’t move from the fence until we were really close to them.
This was such an unexpected and lovely encounter. Eventually they both flew west in the direction of Ocean Grove Nature Reserve. The Australian hobby is a falcon or bird of prey, and is one of Australia’s smallest raptors being around 30cm to 36 cm in length. Last year there was a breeding pair near Tareeda Way in Ocean Grove, and I wonder if this is the same pair.
I received an email from Andrew, who sent some photos of migratory waders that he spotted in the Barwon River Estuary. Andrew photographed a common greenshank at Ocean Grove, and a common sandpiper on the Barwon Heads side of the estuary.
These birds will both be preparing to undertake the long flight to the northern hemisphere for the breeding season, so will not be hanging around for much longer. Thanks so much Andrew for the observations and photos.
The barbaric 2025 duck killing, shooting, extermination season will open on Wednesday March 19 and close on Monday June 9, despite the dry weather. Vale the beautiful, gentle ducks that get killed in the name of sport.
