With the slow wilding of the local ex-golf course into an extensive wetlands and woodlands, more birds are spending time in the existing Elster Creek lagoons. One of the semi-regular visitors is the Great Egret below. The egret hunts along the creek during the day and in the evening flies to the larger lagoon for a quick bath and a preen.
Great Egret, Elster Creek, Elsternwick, Vic
Bathtime
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Near Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve is the Kororoit Creek mouth opening into the bay. Low tide exposes a lot of mud and the roots of the mangroves. It is a good spot to walk along and look for a few species that may not be found at Jawbone. The walking and bike path is placed higher than the creek so there are many opportunities to photograph birds from different angles. The spot where I turn-a-round and wander back to the car is a roosting spot for many birds during the day. I found Straw-necked and Australian White Ibis, as well as pelicans, swans, egrets and Australasian Darters and Cormorants drying their feathers after a morning hunt. The Straw-necked Ibis were preening and squabbling with each other while resting on the rocks in the creek.
Straw-necked Ibis, Kororoit Creek, Altona, Vic
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Darter, Kororoit Creek, Altona, Vic
Great Egret, Kororoit Creek, Altona, Vic
A recent visit to the Western Treatment Plant with the Port Phillip Birders produced a good day with many birds on display and good opportunities for taking flight images.
White Necked Heron, Weribee
Pelicans, Weribee
Great Egret, Weribee
A beautiful sunny day in Melbourne today. Met up with Dave E down at St Kilda Marina to look for some uncommon birds. No luck for me but we did find the more common birds and enjoyed some rare sunshine. Walked back up Elster Creek and ran into Gio (another local birder) and took a few more pics. Quite nice to be out and in the sun for a change – it has been so cold and wet lately.
Currawong, Elster Creek
Little Wattlebird, Elwood
Cormorants and Pacific Gull
Great Egret, Elster Creek
Great Egret, Elster Creek
En Plein Air Artist
My local birder network sent through a message that said a rare bird had popped up in our neighbourhood – a Western Gerygone. It had been sighted down Elster Creek near the mouth. So after leaving work earlier than usual on Friday and having a few extra hours of light I headed down the creek to look for the little bird. It is usually found north the Great Dividing Range so we are not too sure why it has ended up along the Southern coast.
Along the way I found a Great Egret grooming between snacks.
Great Egret
Great Egret
Eventually I found the Gerygone where it had been reported, flying over the creek from side to side with two little Brown Thornbills.
Western Gerygone
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After our walk into the Woodlands Park wetlands we crossed over into the Braeside Parkland and had look around the usual spots. It was pretty quiet overall and the water has dropped considerably with many birds moving on until the lakes start to fill up again. I did mange to get a few interesting shots.
Great Egret on a dead tree roost in the middle of the evapourating lake.
Juvenile Grey Butcherbird
Superb Fairy Wren -shot taken from the inside of the Bird Hide through glass. The Wren’s frenetic hunting in the grass and the window glass made for a strange effect.
Straw necked Ibis – straw neck feathers on show and as well as the vibrant colours the wings.
Straw necked Ibis II
I  explored a new area last week. The Kororiot Creek mouth opens out into Port Phillip Bay in Williamstown next to the Jawbone reserve. To access the area you need to park at either the sports ground or next to one of the many fishing club shacks that line the Creek mouth on one side. As the nearby areas gentrify this part is fighting to stay the way it has always been – a working class fishing area/village. On the opposite side is a bank of salt marsh vegetation while on the village side it is Banksia trees and attempts at regeneration of creek side flora including White Mangroves. It is a remnant of the tidal wetland that ran right across this coastal area.
Further up the creek is the Mobile Oil Refinery Storage tanks. Considering the local birdlife including many migratory waders, it is surprising that such heavy can co-exist successfully with the wetland.
Great Egret
Welcome Swallow
Little Black Cormorants – I watched these Cormorants hunt as a pack. There were 6 in the group working closely together.
Black Swan P81 – I reported the swan through the myswan link . See Jawbone link above for more details on tagged swan research.Â
Pelican
Pelican II
New Holland Honeyeater
Little Pied Cormorant
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The Gap Year and Beyond 