A TRIP TO THE WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT

Some friends from Sri Lanka had arrived, and wanted to see Australia's birds. We gave them a choice of going to Anglesea, or to the Western Treatment Plant. They chose the Treatment Plant, so off we went, showing the friends little ravens, magpie-larks, Australian magpies, house sparrows, spotted doves and New Holland honeyeaters that were near the road as we drove forwards.
Eventually we reached Gate 5 and drove through the grasslands. As house sparrows, superb fairy-wrens and Willie wagtails perched on the fences, crested pigeons, yellow-rumped thornbills and silvereyes were feeding in the trees. The friends had really wanted to see raptors, and soon a swamp harrier flew over the road. We stopped at two dead trees to show the friends a pale phase brown falcon, and a black-shouldered kite. We went further and saw a black kite, as well as three dark phase black falcons and a swamp harrier. All of us carefully approached and photographed these, getting some good shots and views.

A black-shouldered kite perched in a tree

A dark phase brown falcon stretches its wings 

A pale phase brown falcon takes off, photo taken by the friend

A black kite in the distance, photo also taken by the friend

We went on to Lake Borrie, showing the friend some Eurasian coots, hoary-headed grebes and black swans that were in the lake. Several whiskered terns in breeding plumage flew by as we stopped to take photos of some sharp-tailed sandpipers.

A whiskered tern in breeding plumage

A sharp-tailed sandpiper, note the characteristic rufous crown

After some more driving, spotting a yellow-billed spoonbill, Australian pelican, hoary-headed grebes, an eastern great egret and some chestnut teals and Pacific black ducks, we finally reached the hide, and I knew the day would get even better.
Just in front of the hide was a flock of red-necked stints, sharp-tailed sandpipers and curlew sandpipers. We stepped inside the hide, opened the hatch and . . .

TERNS! TERNS! TERNS!

Hundreds of them! Whiskered terns were everywhere. Further out were red-necked avocets and pied oystercatchers, and closer in were a few bar-tailed godwits. Even closer in were many red-necked stints, curlew sandpipers and sharp-tailed sandpipers feeding on the rich nutrients of the Little River. Further out were grey teal and black swans. In the bushes on the beach, just to top it off, were singing white-fronted chats. 

The red-necked stint is one of Australia's commonest waders

We then drove back along the Coastal Road, stopping for another flock of waders which had whiskered terns, silver gulls, Australian pelicans, red-capped plovers, black swans, grey teal, Eurasian coots,  curlew sandpipers, sharp-tailed sandpipers and red-necked stints!

After stopping to see two Cape Barren geese we headed back home.

LIST OF SPECIES SEEN

1. Hoary-Headed Grebe

2. Pacific Black Duck

3. Chestnut Teal 

4. Grey Teal

5. Cape Barren Goose

6. Black Swan

7. Eastern Great Egret

8. Australian White Ibis

9. Yellow-Billed Spoonbill

10. Little Pied Cormorant

11. Australian Pelican

12. Black-Shouldered Kite

13. Black Kite

14. Swamp Harrier

15. Brown Falcon

16. Purple Swamphen

17. Eurasian Coot

18. Bar-Tailed Godwit

19. Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper

20. Curlew Sandpiper

21. Red-Necked Stint

22. Black-Winged Stilt

23. Red-Necked Avocet

24. Pied Oystercatcher

25. Red-Capped Plover

26. Silver Gull

27. Whiskered Tern

28. Common Tern

29. Spotted Dove

30. Crested Pigeon

31. Rainbow Lorikeet

32. Galah

33. Superb Fairy-Wren

34. Yellow-Rumped Thornbill

35. New Holland Honeyeater

36. Red Wattlebird

37. Magpie-Lark

38. Willie Wagtail

39. Australian Magpie 

40. Little Raven

41. Silvereye

42. Welcome Swallow

43. House Sparrow

44. Common Myna

45. Common Starling

TOTAL: 45

LIFERS: 1

WELCOME SWALLOWS AT THE NEST

Ah, the swallow. If it weren't for them, there would be a lot more insects in this world (and since I don't really like insects, I'm glad that swallows exist). Australia has several kinds of swallow and martin, but by far the commonest of them all is the Welcome swallow. This brilliant bird is hard to dislike (unless, of course, you're an insect). Just today, I saw a nest of them at Anglesea. Here are some photos I took of the nest.

The nest was under the right corner of the sign saying JUMS

There were four nestlings in the nest, but you can only see three in this picture

The nest is made up of mud, sticks, leaves and similar, all glued together

The parent bird flew in regularly to bring little bits of food to the nestlings

The parent rests while its partner hunts for something to give to the nestlings

A VISIT TO POINT ADDIS

Today we woke up early in the morning and drove to Point Addis. Some birdwatcher friends of ours were coming over from Sri Lanka, and we were supposed to show them a few birding sites. This was one of the places we chose, but since we had never been there before we decided we would visit before the friends came over just to scout the place out. After a long drive, we finally reached the Point Addis Road.

The Mistletoebird, mainland Australia's only flowerpecker

The silvereye, Victoria's only species of white-eye

Point Addis is one of Victoria's better sea-watching sites, and the carpark is also home to the rare and secretive Rufous bristlebird, which I knew the friends would want to see. We arrived at the carpark, but couldn't see a thing. So we walked down the wooden boardwalk.
There was movement in the bushes. We looked and it was . . . A silvereye. We looked closer at the bushes and realised there were silvereyes, mistletoebirds, superb fairy-wrens and crimson rosellas everywhere. All nice, but where were the bristlebirds?
We searched and searched and searched again, but couldn't find anything. Just when we were about to give up, we looked around the carpark and there, dashing into the bushes, was a pair of Rufous bristlebirds! They chased each other around the carpark, letting me get just one photo before they finally darted into the undergrowth.

Probably the world's blurriest photo of a rufous bristlebird. 

Another lifer on the list!

LIST

1. Crimson Rosella

2. Superb Fairy-Wren

3. Rufous Bristlebird

4. Silvereye

5. Mistletoebird

6. Welcome Swallow
TOTAL: 6
LIFERS: 1 

FAVOURITE BIRDING SITES: Jawbone Reserve

This park is very close to the inner city, situated in Williamstown. It consists of several shallow lagoons, as well as some saltmarsh. A variety of different waterbirds can be found in the park, and it can be accessed by car (parking on one of the many roads overlooking the park) or bike (along the Bay Trail.)

Black-winged stilts are common throughout the park 

From the east of the park, there are several walks going down to the beach. At the far east, there is a short walk going down to a beach that people are allowed to use. Here there are few birds, only grey teal, black-winged stilts, common starlings, house sparrows and silver gulls. This walk eventually joins up to the other boardwalk.  Further west is a much better boardwalk that goes through saltmarsh before stopping at a place where you can see another beach people are not allowed to use. Watch for fairy martins, welcome swallows, superb fairy-wrens, sharp-tailed sandpipers, common mynas, house sparrows, sharp-tailed sandpipers, royal spoonbills, white-faced herons, pied cormorants, black swans, black-winged stilts, common starlings, silver gulls and Australian spotted crakes, among other birds.

A view of the ibis rookery in the evening

A bit further on from the boardwalk is a bird hide overlooking an ibis rookery. There are always a few Australian white ibis at the rookery, along with Australian pelicans, little black cormorants, grey teal, little pied cormorants and the occasional royal spoonbill. The mudflats near the hide can be good for Australian spotted crakes, black-winged stilts, Australian white ibises and red-kneed dotterels. There are also often superb fairy-wrens and New Holland honeyeaters in the bushes around the hide. Finally, a flock of black-tailed native-hens inhabits the area around the hide as well.

One of the black-tailed native-hens that inhabits the area around the hide

If you continue walking west you will pass a large lagoon where a variety of waterbirds can be seen, including little pied cormorants, grey teal, dusky moorhens, purple swamphens, Eurasian coots, blue-billed ducks, musk ducks, whiskered terns, black swans, Australian pelicans, silver gulls, black-winged stilts, little black cormorants, eastern great egrets, royal spoonbills and Australasian grebes. Walk west even further and you will come to Maddox Road. Down the road is a bird hide where a variety of other waterbirds and waders can be seen. While walking to the hide look for yellow-rumped thornbills.
Other birds common in the area include common mynas, common starlings, spotted doves, New Holland honeyeaters, little ravens, silver gulls, red wattlebirds and superb fairy-wrens. 
This is all from a site only a 15-minute drive away from the Melbourne CBD.

A VISIT TO JAWBONE RESERVE

In the afternoon, my dad decided that we should go to Jawbone Reserve and check out this boardwalk we hadn't explored previously. Thinking we might see a lifer, I agreed.

Silvergulls are very common around Williamstown

We parked the car near a playground and looked out at the lagoons. There were many silvergulls hanging around, as well as a black-winged stilt and some Eurasian coots swimming in the water. We walked on until we reached the ibis rookery hide, stopping to look at two black-tailed native-hens. 

A view of the ibis rookery

The hide no longer overlooks a rookery (the rookery is to the side) but it is near some rocks where several birds were resting. I saw many Australian white ibises and Australian pelicans, as well as a few little black cormorants, some chestnut teal and a single royal spoonbill.
We went a bit further on looking for the boardwalk. Unknowingly, we passed the boardwalk and went along this other track instead. The track ended at a beach which I scanned for waders, but there were only common starlings, silver gulls and a few black-winged stilts there.

We got close views of this black-winged stilt on the beach

We headed back and stopped to check a sign, then realising that we had actually passed the boardwalk! We got to the real boardwalk and walked along. The walk headed through a saltmarsh with many fairy martins and welcome swallows flying around. It got close to another beach where people weren't allowed to walk, and where I saw black swans, common starlings and two pied cormorants sitting on some rocks. Then we reached the end of the boardwalk, which looked over some pools of water. In one of the pools was a black-winged stilt, which flew into another pool. As I was photographing the stilt, I noticed a small, dark bird behind it . . .

AN AUSTRALIAN SPOTTED CRAKE!

Not bad, even if it wasn't a lifer. We headed back along the walk and stopped at the beach, where I noticed something. Two light brown waders were looking for food on the ground ...

 SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS, A LIFER FOR ME!

Then it was time to go, and we headed back, spotting purple swamphens, little ravens, common mynas, common starlings and all the birds in the ibis colony as we got back to the car.

A little raven, the commoner of Melbourne's two resident corvids

LIST OF BIRDS SEEN

1. Black Swan

2. Pacific Black Duck

3. Chestnut Teal

4. Pied Cormorant

5. Little Pied Cormorant

6. Little Black Cormorant

7. Australian White Ibis

8. Royal Spoonbill

9. Australian Pelican

10. Australian Spotted Crake

11. Dusky Moorhen

12. Purple Swamphen

13. Eurasian Coot

14. Black-Tailed Native Hen

15. Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper

16. Black-Winged Stilt 

17. Silver Gull

18. Spotted Dove

19. Superb Fairy-Wren

20. Red Wattlebird

21. Little Raven

22. Magpie-Lark

23. Welcome Swallow

24. Fairy Martin

25. House Sparrow

26. Common Myna

27. Common Starling

TOTAL BIRDS SEEN: 27

LIFERS SEEN: 1

ITALIAN SPARROWS: A GALLERY

In Italy and the Mediterranean region, the house sparrows are sometimes considered a different species, the Italian sparrow Passer italiae, also known as the Cisalpine sparrow. There is great taxonomic confusion over this species. Some consider it a hybrid of the house sparrow and Spanish sparrow, others consider it a subspecies of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus italiae), still others consider it a species in its own right, and yet others consider it a subspecies of the Spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis italiae). Whatever you think about its status as a species, here are some photos of them!

A male Italian sparrow on a bridge in Florence

Another male Italian sparrow, in the Villa Borghese park of Rome

Yet another male Italian sparrow, in the gardens of the Parco de Princippi Grande Hotel

Another male Italian sparrow, in the exact same place

A female Italian sparrow, in the same gardens

A flock of Italian sparrows at the Villa Borghese, as well as a feral pigeon on the left. 

THE GULLS OF VENICE: BLACK-HEADED, YELLOW-LEGGED AND MEDITERRANEAN

In Venice, along with feral pigeons, gulls are everywhere. Black-headed gulls are the commonest, with yellow-legged gulls also present. Further out in the countryside, you can also see Mediterranean gulls and slender-billed gulls. This post is a gallery of some of these gulls. First, let's have a little information on these gulls.
The black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, is a small gull found in much of Eurasia, as well as coastal eastern Canada. In breeding plumage, the adult has a chocolate-brown coloured head (which can look black from a distance), a red bill and feet, a mostly white body and grey wings. In non-breeding plumage, the chocolate-brown hood is lost, with two dark spots on the head all that remains. This bold and opportunistic gull eats insects, fish, seeds, carrion, food scraps, invertebrates and worms, among others. Its call is a kree-ar. It can live for up to 32.9 years in the wild.
The yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis, is another very common gull. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Herring gull, L. argentatus, or the Caspian gull, L. cachinnans. There are two subspecies, with subspecies michahellis in the Mediterranean area, including Venice. It is very common in Italy. Adults have slate-grey wings, a mostly white body and yellow legs, as well as a yellow bill with a red dot on the lower mandible. It has a red ring around its eye. Younger birds, or juveniles and immatures, are pale mottled brown. The call is a loud laugh deeper and more nasal than that of the herring gull. Like most Larus gulls, it is omnivorous, eating pretty much whatever it can get its beak on.
The Mediterranean gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, is less common than the two gulls above. In breeding plumage, it can be distinguished from the black-headed gull by its jet-black head and white eye crescents. In non-breeding plumage, instead of two dark spots it has a dusky-coloured 'bandit mask; through the eye. Once this bird was found only in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean, but it has now expanded over most of Europe, as far north as Ireland and Britain.
Now here are the pictures.

A black-headed gull, in non-breeding plumage

A flock of black-headed gulls in the Venetian countryside, all in non-breeding plumage

Another black-headed gull in non-breeding plumage

A swimming black-headed gull in non-breeding plumage

A black-headed gull, again in the Venetian countryside, also in non-breeding plumage

Here we have two different gulls. On the left, a black-headed gull in non-breeding plumage. On the right, an adult yellow-legged gull.

A closer view of that adult yellow-legged gull.

Another yellow-legged gull, this photo was taken from the deck of a water taxi

A subadult yellow-legged gull

A juvenile yellow-legged gull. Notice the difference?

A flock of yellow-legged gulls. Some are subadults, some are adults, some are juveniles.

A yellow-legged gull on the head of a winged lion statue, St. Mark's Square, Venice

Finally, a Mediterranean gull in non-breeding plumage.

A BIRDING TRIP IN VENICE

My mother organised it so that when we were staying in Venice, I would get to go on a birding trip with a birding guide. This was meant to be with my father, but he got sick so I went with my mother instead.

We took a train to a station where we would meet our guide, Menotti. He would be driving us to the Po Delta area, a large wetland where we could see a variety of waterbirds. Along the way, Menotti pointed out a variety of birds common in the Venice countryside, most of which were lifers I would never have seen otherwise. Eurasian jays, magpies, Mediterranean gulls, great spotted woodpeckers, collared doves, wood pigeons, feral pigeons, yellow-legged gulls, black-headed gulls, Eurasian kestrels, little egrets, cattle egrets, great egrets, grey herons, dunlins, great crested grebes, little ringed plovers, avocets, caspian terns, common buzzards, little stints and common moorhens, among others.

Eurasian magpies are abundant in the Venice countryside, and we saw many of them

Collared doves were also common

We saw several of these Mediterranean gulls

We saw this great spotted woodpecker not very far from Venice

We saw several of these Eurasian kestrels

A flock of these dunlins were seen next to a road, along with two avocets, many yellow-legged gulls, a caspian tern, little stints and little ringed plovers

A little ringed plover

Two little stints

Soon, we arrived at the Po Delta area. We followed a road through some wetlands. A red-backed shrike flew out of a bush, as avocets, little ringed plovers, little egrets, black-headed gulls and greenshanks fed in the mud.

A pied avocet, a bird I've always wanted to see but never thought I would

Two common greenshanks, a familiar sight from Australia and Sri Lanka

Then we came to a larger pond, in which there were great crested grebes, little grebes, grey herons, mute swans and pygmy cormorants. 

A great crested grebe, we saw several of these in the pond

A little grebe, a familiar sight from Sri Lanka

A pygmy cormorant

I spotted something flying in the sky and landing in a nearby pond. We went to investigate and I saw a sight I definitely had not been expecting . . .

GREATER FLAMINGOES!

After staying around to watch the flamingoes for some time, we kept going. We came to another pond where there were avocets, black-headed gulls, black-necked grebes, yellow-legged gulls, wood sandpipers, mute swans, a Caspian tern and a rare vagrant to Italy, a Western reef egret. 

A wood sandpiper

A black-necked grebe in non-breeding plumage

A Caspian tern on the left, and a black-headed gull on the right

A rare vagrant to Italy, a western reef egret

A mute swan, its young and two gulls

We then drove back to Venice, stopping on the way to look at a common buzzard.

A common buzzard, we saw several of these