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 