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