We drove down Point Wilson Road, stopping to see one white-necked heron feeding with several white-faced herons along the road. Soon we got to Gate 5. We entered the gate, watching yellow-rumped thornbills, house sparrows, willie wagtails, magpie-larks, crested pigeons, Australian magpies, swamp harriers and hundreds of welcome swallows fly along the road as we opened and closed the gate to Lake Borrie. The lake seemed almost devoid of waterbirds, and we saw only a black swan, a hoary-headed grebe, an eastern great egret, three little black cormorants and two little pied cormorants. We quickly got to our destination, the bird hide looking over the mouth of the Little River. We looked through and saw . . .
A flock of red-capped plovers and red-necked stints!
There were several flocks of waders spread across the mudflats, and I made out a possible double-banded plover, as well as three bar-tailed godwits. Pied oystercatchers and silver gulls were perched further out, and an Australian pelican flew overhead. From the bushes superb fairy-wrens, white-fronted chats and white-browed scrubwrens called. I could just imagine this place in summer...
An adult red-capped plover, its red cap bright in the sun
An immature red-capped plover
Red-necked stints, arguably Australia's commonest wader. The sunlight makes the second and third ones look not unlike sanderlings. These stints haven't migrated, instead staying the winter in Australia. Or they could be very, very early migrants.
Another of Australia's commoner waders is the bar-tailed godwit. Here is a blurry picture of two, with two silvergulls behind them.
A flying Australian pelican.
We drove further on, spotting Australian white ibises, purple swamphens and hoary-headed grebes, but not much else. We also saw a black-shouldered kite hovering over the grass and searching for prey. It dove down once, but then came back up with an empty stomach. It tried to catch its prey again but by then it had hidden, and the kite gave up, swooping away.
Hovering black-shouldered kite
I'm hungry!
Then we came to the Gate. As we were exiting the Western Treatment Plant we saw a raptor flying overhead, coming down to land on the fence post. We checked it carefully, because last time this happened it was a spotted harrier (see previous post). It wasn't a harrier this time, but it was . . .
A whistling kite.
LIST OF BIRDS SEEN
1. Black Swan
2. Hoary-Headed Grebe
3. Crested Pigeon
4. Little Black Cormorant
5. Little Pied Cormorant
6. White-Faced Heron
7. White-Necked Heron
8. Eastern Great Egret
9. Australian White Ibis
10. Australian Pelican
11. Black-Shouldered Kite
12. Whistling Kite
13. Swamp Harrier
14. Red-Capped Plover
15. Double-Banded Plover
16. Pied Oystercatcher
17. Red-Necked Stint
18. Bar-Tailed Godwit
19. Silver Gull
20. Galah
21. Superb Fairy-Wren
22. White-Browed Scrubwren
23. Yellow-Rumped Thornbill
24. White-Fronted Chat
25. Magpie Lark
26. Willie Wagtail
27. Australian Magpie
28. Little Raven
29. Welcome Swallow
TOTAL SPECIES: 29
LIFERS: None
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