Writing the report for last Sunday’s monthly BirdLife Australia’s survey of Melbourne Waters Eastern Treatment Plant (ETP), 23 June 2013, it was again apparent that some species that gather there in winter may not be widely known as forming flocks in the non-breeding season. One is Black-fronted Dotterel. Some 4 to 6 pairs breed on the plant annually but on Sunday we counted 162. Our count in May was 203. White-fronted Chat has a similar breeding population but our count last Sunday was 172. Such numbers are not exceptional for us in winter. For those that don’t know, the ETP is situated to the SE of Melbourne. On the other side of the bay, it is the poor cousin to the famous Western Treatment Plant (WTP) at Werribee but is nevertheless, a significant site for birds which can have up to 19 major water-bodies. At their peak, they attract up to 10.000 waterfowl. Currently there are >5,000.
Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136 ===============================
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