Musk Duck at Banyule Flats, Heidelberg

I have been visiting Banyule Flats Reserve now for about forty years, and this morning at 9 40 a.m. I saw a Musk Duck (female or immature bird) for the first time in the Swamp. It was swimming over beyond the fence posts on the far western side, too distant for photography, and was definitely spending far more time under water than on top, repeatedly diving in its characteristic style. There were very few other waterfowl present, a pair of Swans and a few Chestnut Teal and Hardhead. I do not think I have seen a Musk Duck here since very early visits, when an old man bird was in the nearby Billabong, then with open unvegetated banks in a cow paddock. I have very occasionally seen Bluebill Ducks in the Swamp. I apologize if it has already been reported – we have been off-line for three weeks. Anthea Fleming =============================== 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 ===============================