It’s still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today – I just drove to where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had driven past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It’s easy to see if it’s facing you, not so easy if it’s facing away or distant.
It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been there an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north east corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that’s separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on.
Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of that pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming south west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then they all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for a while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about 2.30 after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours.
Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, and to those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it’s the luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried a couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did.
Peter Shute
________________________________ From: birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au [birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue [jspk@iprimus.com.au] Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM To: Birding-Aus Aus Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a ‘No-Show’ at Werribee
Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh’s Lagoon, from there to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not to be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also failed to turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently.
Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant day.
John Tongue Ulverstone, Tas.
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