BIRDING ALTONA: TRUGANINA SWAMP AND CHERRY LAKE

Today my father and I went birding in the Altona area. We hadn't been to any wetlands for a while, so thought this would be a good chance to return to wetlands we hadn't visited for several years. Since our last trip was very successful we returned to the same spot.
The first site we visited was Truganina Swamp. This saltmarsh consists of many sandy spits and mudflats, and is where the Laverton Creek meets the ocean. A variety of birds from the nearby wetlands can be seen resting here during high tide, and feeding along the nearby beaches during low tide.

Royal spoonbills and Australian white ibises flocking together

A massive group of male and female chestnut teals

This black-shouldered kite was probably watching the wetlands for an easy meal

A huge flock of red-necked avocets was one of the highlights of the visit

White-headed stilts were all over the wetland

This eclipse-plumage male superb fairy-wren is one of many in the parklands nearby

On the way back we spotted these two beautiful sooty oystercatchers

Almost immediately the first spit we saw was covered in birds. Hundreds and thousands of silver gulls were flying everywhere, accompanied by a few Pacific gulls. Along the spits were Australian white ibises, royal spoonbills and white-faced herons. Finally, swimming in the water were lots of chestnut teals and a few black swans. As we continued on we spotted more and more birds bunched together on the spits: white-headed stilts and red-necked avocets made an appearance. A single large flock of about 400 avocets was sitting with some teals on a mudflat. The nearby shrubs also held a few birds: lots of superb fairy-wrens, house sparrows, New Holland honeyeaters, magpie-larks, Australian magpies and white-plumed honeyeaters, as well as a single black-shouldered kite that was probably looking for breakfast. All in all it had been a fantastic success. As we were driving to the next site, we also spotted some sooty oystercatchers: a species I hadn't seen for about 4 years!
The next site we visited was Cherry Lake. The lake is a large wetland used to 'drain' stormwater and reduce the risk of floods. It is fringed with reeds that are supposedly a nice place to see Lewin's rail, though we didn't see any on this trip. There is a walk that circumnavigates the lake.
The lake was not as good for birds as the swamp, but we still saw a decent amount of species. Throughout the lake dusky moorhens, Eurasian coots, purple swamphens, Pacific black ducks, black swans and Australian pelicans were swimming around, with little pied cormorants perched on branches protruding up from the lake. A variety of small bush birds were also in the area: New Holland honeyeaters, house sparrows, superb fairy-wrens, red wattlebirds, little wattlebirds and white-browed scrubwrens. The walk itself was also very nice.
In all the trip was really successful and showed the birdlife living so close to the city.
SPECIES SEEN:
1. Black Swan
2. Chestnut Teal
3. Pacific Black Duck
4. White-Faced Heron
5. Australian White Ibis
6. Royal Spoonbill
7. Australian Pelican
8. Little Pied Cormorant
9. Little Black Cormorant
10. Black-Shouldered Kite
11. Dusky Moorhen
12. Purple Swamphen
13. Eurasian Coot
14. Masked Lapwing
15. Sooty Oystercatcher
16. White-Headed Stilt
17. Red-Necked Avocet
18. Spotted Dove
19. New Holland Honeyeater
20. White-Plumed Honeyeater
21. Little Wattlebird
22. Red Wattlebird
23. Superb Fairy-Wren
24. White-Browed Scrubwren
25. Little Raven
26. House Sparrow
27. Common Starling
TOTAL: 27 species
LIFERS: None