Ocean Grove: Freckled Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Tree Martin, Collared Sparrowhawk

I visited a couple of favourite spots in Ocean Grove this afternoon: Blue Waters Lake, where I was surprised to see a single Tree Martin, quite close to the bank at times, giving great views. There was a single Collared Sparrowhawk flying low above the larger trees – honeyeaters and other birds almost exploded with alarm calls, so I knew something was about. Also saw a silent Little Grassbird – this seems a very reliable place to view them year-round. Begola Wetlands is a small lake with lots of reeds and rank grasses quite close to the beach, but surrounded by houses. Fortunately the council has fenced the area off completely so it isn’t possible to walk to the water’s edge. It also seems to keep dogs out. This summer, it was a reliable place for Spotted, Spotless, and Baillon’s crakes – often several of each – as well as the occasionally Buff-banded Rail. Latham’s Snipe used to stand out in the open on the mud. I guess the vegetation around the lake and the fencing gave the birds some sense of security. Now in winter, the lake is full and there is almost no exposed mud. Today I was pleased to see a Freckled Duck on the lake – my first in Ocean Grove – then another, then a PInk-eared, then a Hardhead … then there were Freckled Duck everywhere! They were tucked hard up against reeds, on banks, on logs, and on the open water. They were in small groups or off doing their own thing. I even saw one flying (a first for me) from one side to the other. There were about 8-10 pink-ears, mostly spinning in pairs and feeding. Russell Woodford Ocean Grove =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================