While waiting for a neighbour to come by so we could walk over to the lake and along Elster Creek I saw this little Brown Thornbill in a tree that overhangs my front garden. Not a very common bird in inner suburbia unless you have good undergrowth for it to escape the attention of other aggressive birds and the predator Butcherbird. I have seen the Thornbills for a couple of years now in the street so the cover must be improving.
Brown Thornbill
After watching the Thornbill for few minutes we walked over to the Lake and saw a few birds, some regular and some not some common.
Australasian Grebe in breeding plumage – one of the three Grebes we see in Victoria but not very often at the Lake
Willie Wagtail – a regular in low numbers
Masked Lapwing – usually a few somewhere in the area and often heard during the night flying over the suburb squawking loudly all the way.
Male Magpie Lark – a crazy bird during breeding season – will attack any reflection of itself even in sunglasses on top of a woman’s head…
Female Hardhead – not that common here. Also called a White-eyed Duck due to the males white eye ring. Has found sanctuary here to escape the current Duck Season.
The Gap Year and Beyond 
Wonderful shots.
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Thanks Boeta
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The Willy Wagtails around the lake can be real characters… they are one of the few birds that will seemingly interact with you… and they’re hilarious chasing moths in season on the eucalypts at dusk.
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I agree Andrew and it can be a test to get one still enough to take a pic. They are constantly on the move and even when perched are wagging that tail…I see them on the island and recently watched as one dive bombed the Crake when it moved underneath where the Wagtail was perched…I see them most often near the golf course lake on the fence. I think they bred there last year.
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