Hi all,
I’ve just noticed on Vic Birdline that the Shoveler is still along Paradise Rd… I will be coming down to Melb for other reasons on Sat/Sund, but I intend to be in that area this coming Monday with a friend, however neither of us have access to gate keys (my friend with me isn’t even a birder!!)… I know where Paradise Rd crosses with Pt Wilson Rd…
Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me??
My, how things have changed there since the 70’s when I used to help survey the OBP’s… so many rules & regs these days!!
Thanks in advance,
Martin Cachard Cairns 0428 782 808
> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 14:02:42 +1000 > From: malurus.jenny@gmail.com > To: birding-aus@vicnet.net.au > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler ‘Show’ at Werribee WTP > > Hi all, > > Yesterday was a glorious autumn day in Melbourne. The sun was out, there > was very little wind and the temperature was low so heat haze was a minimal > problem. In fact visibility was so good that from the Spit track with my 45 > X scope I could clearly see gannets landing on the platform at the end of > the Point Wilson explosives jetty – and Google Earth tells me that is a > distance of about 5.9 km! > > I didn’t rush to the WTP because I wanted to see the Northern Shoveler so I > waited and got there at about 1000. This technique usually works well with > a rarity at WTP because you don’t need to look for the bird. All you need > to do is drive in and look for the congregation of cars. And Sunday’s > congregation was up there with the largest, and it was at the first pond on > the right as you come down Paradise Rd. There were cars, scopes, camera and > binoculars everywhere and, sitting on the water in the sun with the other > shovelers was the Northern. It seems that it likes this spot because it has > been there for a few days. One problem with it though is, if it turns its > back on you it instantly turns into “just another Aus Shoveler” and > binoculars and scopes scan over it as though it had Harry Potter’s > invisibility cloak on. To add excitement to the morning of watching the NS > a Peregrine came in low and fast across the pond on a harassment run (not a > hunting run) and scattered the Pink-ears in all directions. > > As it was getting toward lunch time when I left the NS I headed toward the > Borrow Pits. This place is so well recognised by WTP regulars as “the” > place to have lunch that I remember a discussion with some friends there > one day who wanted to set up a concession stand selling coffee and > sandwiches to passing birders (smile). Anyway, I pulled in and one of the > lunch group called out “quick, over here, there is a Bittern” so I walked > over, looked in the scope, and added Aus Bittern to my day list. Gorgeous. > > On the basis that all birds are special there were plenty of other special > birds around and I spent the rest of the day watching, amongst others, > Red-kneed Dotterels, Musk Ducks, Swans, Brolga, a Great Egret with the > start of its breeding plumage coming in and a Cattle Egret with just a > touch of colour on the top of its head. It was a special day with one of my > lowest WTP species counts (71) because it was more fun watching the visible > birds than looking for the difficult ones. > > I also had an interesting session with a Whistling Kite. I was heading > toward the Beach Rd gate when I saw the kite and it had a long, red, > unravelling “rope”, about a metre long, hanging from its feet. “HA!” I > thought, “an obvious case of a bird tangled up in man made rubbish – > AGAIN!” With my “high horse” well up and running I took some photos and > then thought “wait a minute, maybe it has just picked up this rope to add > to its nest” and I climbed down off my “high horse” for a moment and zoomed > in the photo on the back of the camera. It was then that I could see that > the metre +/- of “red rope” was actually the long, red, fleshy strands of > the entrails etc of a bird and that it ended in a pair of feet and legs > that looked like they might have belonged to a Purple Swamp-hen. It was a > bit of a gruesome sight but quite spectacular. The WTP is a wonderful place > for birding, you never know what you will find. > > I will put up a blog tonight, including the kite photos, so please take > this as a “slightly gruesome photo alert”. > > cheers > > Jenny > http://jenniferspryausbirding.blogspot.com.au/ > =============================== > > 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 > ===============================
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