The weather has been marginally warmer but there has still been a lot of lovely rain over the past few weeks.
I’ve noticed some nesting activity amongst our feathered friends, and heard a few fan-tailed cuckoos calling, so spring is in the air.
I have had a few outings over the past few weeks, which has been lovely. One day on my way to work I drove via Hospital Swamp and Breamlea and caught up with a few familiar birds that I hadn’t seen for a while.
On Lake Road there were four dusky woodswallows on a paddock fence. At Tait’s Point there were around 500 Eurasian coots in a big flock on Lake Connewarre, which was an impressive sight.
At Breamlea I checked out the black swan family, and the five cygnets seem to be thriving. At the end of Baenschs Lane leading to Lake Connewarre there were three female flame robins, two spiny-cheeked honeyeaters and a whole lot of rubbish dumped at the end of the lane. It was so nice to be out and about again, but not so nice about the rubbish.
I received an email from Alan, who checked out the black swan family at Blue Waters Lake and reported that they still have all four cygnets, which is great. Alan observed eastern rosellas, galahs and rainbow lorikeets checking out nesting holes.
Apparently, there are some new nesting boxes that have been placed at the west end of the Blue Waters Lake, so I’m sure they will be utilised.
Alan also reported that there has been a lot of avian activity lately around Basin Reserve in Drysdale.
A fan-tailed cuckoo was very photogenic with left and right profiles and even a few snaps of it calling – lucky Alan. It’s hard to get a wild bird to sit still long enough for a photo.
Another birdwatcher pointed out a tree frequented by golden whistlers. Alan did not see the whistlers but did manage a lovely photo of a spotted pardalote propped for long enough to get a few good shots.
Alan and his wife were sitting on a deck by a swamp one morning enjoying the symphony of frog noises, when a pair of eastern rosellas dropped in for a bath then a buff-banded rail happened by.
I received an email from Patrick, who sent me a photo of a bird that he often noticed on the walking track of Western Beach, Geelong.
Patrick described the bird as always alone, shy, and cautious, with a rather long neck. I was able to identify it as an eastern great egret.
The great egret is a large white bird with a yellow bill, and dark coloured legs and feet. During the breeding season, the bill turns mostly black. The length of the egret’s neck is greater than the length of the body.
I received an email from Lee, who was out and about in Barwon Heads and noticed a barn owl in broad daylight roosting in a tree. Lee managed a superb photo of the beautiful bird. Thank you, Lee, for sharing this observation.
I received an email from Kevin, who photographed a pair of Brolgas at Birregurra. Kevin noted that an unsympathetic new road has been constructed right next to the wetland habitat. Sigh.
