A passion for birds...: Begola Wetlands

Monday, 18 February 2013

Begola Wetlands

Begola Wetlands is a remnant of the once more extensive wetlands that ran behind the dunes of Ocean Grove and Pt Lonsdale to Swan Bay (see map). It contains a shallow lake that dries out in most summers and is a haven for waterbirds that feed in shallow water or mud. The recent hot, dry weather has dried up most of the lake leaving extensive mudbanks that have attracted a large number of birds.

Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

I spent an hour walking around the wetlands this evening as the sun was setting and saw 25 species:

Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Chestnut Teal
Australasian Grebe
Purple Swamphen
Dusky Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
Australian Spotted Crake
Masked Lapwing
Nankeen Night-Heron
Australian White Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
Silver Gull
Latham's Snipe
Black-fronted Dotterel
Rock Dove
Spotted Dove
New Holland Honeyeater
Australian Magpie
Magpie-lark
Willie Wagtail
Superb Fairy-wren
Common Starling
Little Raven
Welcome Swallow

I'm not a great list keeper but I cannot remember seeing this many species here in a single visit before.

With the receding water, most of the birds were in the central part of the lake, 50-100 metres away, so were not the best photographic subjects but I managed to capture a few (mostly cropped quite heavily).

Masked Lapwing, Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

Australian Spotted Crake, Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

Black-fronted Dotterel, Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

Chestnut Teal, Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

Grey Teal, Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

Nankeen Night-Heron, Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

Royal Spoonbill, Begola Wetlands, Ocean Grove

I counted at least 6 Latham's Snipe, all out in the open, feeding and preening on the mudflats. Snipe are usually quite secretive so it was great to see them so clearly and manage to photograph some, albeit from a long distance.

Some were heavily camouflaged among the weeds in the mud