Having taken the scenic route to Colac this afternoon (with stops at
Breamlea and
Wurdiboluc Reservoir), I arrived to find the Lake as calm as I have ever seen it.
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| Australian Pelican, Lake Colac |
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Black Swan, Silver Gull, Pacific Black Duck
Lake Colac |
While
Silver Gulls are common and frequently annoying, they are beautiful birds and usually photographically cooperative, so I couldn't resist this one...
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| Silver Gull, Lake Colac |
A flotilla of
Australian Pelicans, cruised past,
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| Australian Pelican, Lake Colac |
the backlighting showed off the wake and bow wave
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| Australian Pelican, Lake Colac |
and one flew in for some party tricks
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| Australian Pelican, Lake Colac |
Black Swans hung out among the reeds,
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| Black Swan, Lake Colac |
while an odd pair of spoonbills was feeding close to shore
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Yellow-billed Spoonbill + Royal Spoonbill
Lake Colac |
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| Royal Spoonbill, Lake Colac |
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| Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Lake Colac |
and a Magpie Lark was stalking the shoreline.
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| Magpie Lark, Lake Colac |
There's a small swampy wetland just next to the lake (accessible by car from the end of Church St or by walking east along the track around the south shore of the lake) designated as the Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary. By the time I got there it was getting quite dark but I did manage to find this lone
Cattle Egret.
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| Cattle Egret, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary |
but then a few of its mates flew in
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| Cattle Egret, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary |
to join the party.
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| Cattle Egret, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary |
On the return walk to the car, a family of
Superb Fairy-wrens was hanging around the track but only this female sat still long enough for a photograph.
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| Superb Fairy-wren, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary |
but the photographic highlight for the day was this fox. I have rarely seen them this brazen in broad daylight - it was feeding on something in a paddock as I drove by and stayed long enough for me to stop, reverse, park, get out and grab the camera.
