A quick trip around the Bellarine Peninsula

This afternoon was my first time out birding for six weeks so I took the opportunity to visit a few of my favourite haunts.

First stop was Swan Bay Jetty, usually a great spot for pelicans and cormorants. It was quite windy today so many of the usual suspects were taking refuge on the shore.

Swan Bay Jetty

This is a common site here

Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Swan Bay Jetty

with some birds allowing quite close approach if you take your time.

Little Pied Cormorant, Swan Bay Jetty

Next stop was Ripview lookout at Queenscliff, where I found this immature Black-shouldered Kite hovering above the sand dunes.

Black-shouldered Kite, Queenscliff

Lake Victoria in Point Lonsdale usually has several species of small wading birds feeding around the edge of the shore. The lake shore has receded due to the lack of recent rain so the few Red-necked Stint and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers there today were too far away to photograph. There were the resident Red-capped Plovers though and they make great photographic subjects.

Red-capped Plover, Lake Victoria, Point Lonsdale

See last stop at Begola Wetlands

Oriental Pratincole at WTP

I had not been out birding for 10 weeks and for much of this time, while overseas, I had been reading reports of an Oriental Pratincole (a bird I'd never seen before) being seen at the Western Treatment Plant. So, despite the weather report of cold, windy and overcast conditions, I ventured out this morning in quest of the elusive Pratincole.

I'd had some good clues as to where to find it so headed for the Western Lagoons but it was nowhere to be seen. However, persistence did pay off. After waiting for 15 minutes, it did a flyby for about 30 seconds before heading over to Austin Road. I only managed a few (really bad) shots but I'm glad I saw it :-)

Oriental Pratincole, Western Treatment Plant

Another 30 minutes of waiting proved fruitless so I headed for the Beach Road entrance and was rewarded with views of six raptor species (Nankeen Kestrel, Black-shouldered Kite, Swamp Harrier, Brown Falcon, Whistling Kite and Little Eagle) during the 10 minute slow drive along Beach Road, with the first two close enough to the roadside to photograph out of the car window.

Black-shouldered Kite, Beach Road, Western Treatment Plant

Nankeen Kestrel, Beach Road, Western Treatment Plant

The Beach Road pond provided good views of a single Glossy Ibis feeding among Purple Swamphens

Glossy Ibis, Western Treatment Plant

Glossy Ibis + Purple Swamphen, Western Treatment Plant

along with several Royal Spoonbills flying around

Royal Spoonbill, Western Treatment Plant

...continued

Black-shouldered Kites Sunset

I was driving home from a meeting in Geelong when I spotted this pair of Black-shouldered Kites along the Barwon Heads Road. I realised I was not going to be able to get close enough for a great shot but the light (close to sunset) was too good to miss and you don't see these beautiful birds in pairs very often so I pulled over just where there was enough tree cover to not alert the birds.

Black-shouldered Kite, Connewarre

Reedy Lake

Reedy Lake is part of the Lake Connewarre-Barwon River complex of waterways (see map) on the Bellarine Peninsula. There are several access points that provide good viewing of the various habitats around the lake shore.

Reedy Lake is one of the most reliable locations in the region to see Swamp Harriers but I find this species incredibly frustrating to try and photograph. They always seem to be too far away and flying in the opposite direction. Today was no exception. The only time one got reasonably close was on my first stop at Fitzgerald Road. The bird was almost directly backlit by the sun resulting in a pleasant silhouette with good tail detail but not a great bird shot.

Swamp Harrier, Reedy Lake

On the way out through Leopold, I noticed a White-necked Heron fly into a new residential development. It allowed me to get quite close while it was concentrating on hunting for food in a newly created pond.

White-necked Heron, Leopold

My second stop was the small reserve at the end of Moolap Station Road which has two areas of bushland along with an easily accessible lignum swamp from which I could hear Superb Fairy-wren, Golden-headed Cisticola and Striated Fieldwren and it did not take long to find all three with two of them allowing close access.

Golden-headed Cisticola, Reedy Lake

Striated Fieldwren, Reedy Lake

The Striated Fieldwren appeared to be taking food to a nest in a nearby lignum bush so I left it to do it's parental duties undisturbed. As I walked back to the car, a Black-shouldered Kite landed in a nearby tree. Unlike Swamp Harriers, this species is a delight to photograph. Apart from being stunningly pretty birds, they allow close approach if you take your time.

Black-shouldered Kite, Reedy Lake

Limeburners Lagoon Nature Reserve, Geelong

Limeburners Lagoon in Geelong Victoria (View Map) is not only good for waterbirds but several birds of prey species can often be seen (due in some part to the close proximity of the Corio landfill).

I stopped in the carpark at the end of Shell Road for a brief look. Not much around but this juvenile Black-shouldered Kite hovered just overhead and was seemingly oblivious of my presence

Black-shouldered Kite (juvenile), Limeburners Lagoon

...well, most of the time...

Black-shouldered Kite (juvenile), Limeburners Lagoon