A day on Phillip Island

I spent today on Phillip Island, primarily visiting friends and the National Vietnam Veterans Museum (if you have not been there, go!) but found some time for birding at a few of my favourite locations.

Fisher's Wetland
This is a great place for birdwatching and easily accessed from the road to Churchill Island Heritage Farm via walking tracks, boardwalk and viewing platforms. Birds commonly seen at the wetlands include ducks, swans, geese, coots, grebes, pelicans and swamp hens. This morning most of these were clustered on several small islands in the middle of the wetland

Eurasian Coot, Fisher's Wetland, Phillip Island

but a few Black-tailed Native-hen provided closer views (albeit fleeting - these birds are rarely still and seem to have a much lower tolerance for humans than their close relatives, coots, swamp hens and moorhens).

Black-tailed Native-hen (adult and juvenile), Fishers Wetland, Phillip Island

The island's population of Cape Barren Goose has grown rapidly in the past decade and this is one of the best places to get up close and personal with them as they appear to be quite undisturbed by people. 

Cape Barren Goose, Fishers Wetland, Phillip Island

The Boulevard, Summerland

The 'back road' along the south coast from the Nobbies to Summerland (access is from the Nobbies car park and is one way for most of the way to Summerland) has several pull out points with lookouts providing panoramic views of Bass Strait and the basalt cliffs and rock platforms of the Phillip Island south coast. These lookouts also present great opportunities for viewing and photographing birds in flight as several species of gulls and raptors exploit the updrafts along the cliff face to propel them along the coast.

This male Nankeen Kestrel (males have pale grey crown and tail; in females the head and tail are rufous-coloured like the back and shoulders) was roosting on a rock outcrop just near Seagull Rock. I've seen kestrels on exactly the same location several times before. As I was walking up the road to get a better view with the sun behind me, the bird took off and flew past and just below me giving this great close-up view.

Nankeen Kestrel (male), Seagull Rock, Phillip Island

The Silver and Kelp Gulls usually found at Seagull Rock lookout were all roosting on the rocks far below, so I moved on towards Summerland where I found several Pacific Gulls and one surprise flying past the lookout.

Pacific Gull, Summerland, Phillip Island

...the highlight this morning was this Little Raven - not a view you often get of these striking birds.

Little Raven, Summerland, Phillip Island

Kitty Miller Bay

The combination of beautiful weather, surf and the 'long weekend' meant that most of the usual beaches I visit to look for shorebirds were heavily populated with human tourists today so I opted for a stop at the beautiful Kitty Miller Bay. This bay is surrounded by rocky reefs so does not have the attraction of the surf or easy access for swimming but is a great spot for a fossick among the rocks and for birds along the shore.

There were not many small shorebirds on the beach today but a small flock of Red-necked Stint did allow me to get fairly close;

Red-necked Stint, Kitty Miller Bay, Phillip Island

in fact, I almost tripped over two of them while I was stalking this Eastern Great Egret

Eastern Great Egret

The strong wind was playing havoc with the usually beautifully groomed plumage

Eastern Great Egret, Kitty Miller Bay, Phillip Island

but did give me the opportunity for a few shots of the egret leaping around, wings spread.

Easter Great Egret, Kitty Miller Bay, Phillip Island

A pair of Kelp Gulls landed nearby

Kelp Gull, Kitty Miller Bay, Phillip Island

and sat on the water, posing for photographs.

Kelp Gull, Kitty Miller Bay, Phillip Island

Wendouree Waterbirds

After a great morning at 13th Beach/Black Rocks, I ventured inland to Lake Wendouree in Ballarat to see the nesting Great Crested Grebes.

The lake is buzzing with birdlife this year with many species of waterbirds roosting, nesting and feeding.

Pacific Black Duck, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Pacific Black Duck, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Australian Wood Duck, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Black-tailed Native Hen, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Dusky Moorhen, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Eurasian Coot, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Little Pied Cormorant, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

The highlight was seeing the Great Crested Grebes. These beautiful birds are not rare but are rarely seen close-up so, with at least 6 nests all within 25 metres of the walking track along the edge of Lake Wendouree (in the Fairyland section near the Ballarat Botanic Gardens), there is a lot of activity near the shore giving great close-ups of the birds.

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Some of the nests are quite cryptic

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

but others are wide out in the open

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Great Crested Grebe, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

An added bonus was this male Musk Duck in full display mode. He went through the whole routine for more than 20 minutes including 5 minutes of calling--a shrill whistle. I've heard this call before but never actually seen the bird calling until today.

Musk Duck (male), Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Waders and Waterfowl at the Western Treatment Plant

I spent the afternoon at the Western Treatment Plant. The waders are back in force and waterfowl are more numerous and active than I can remember.

I was lucky enough to get to the Bird Hide as the tide was just going out. There were hundreds of birds on the mudflats at the mouth of Little River. Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpiper were the most common

Waders, Western Treatment Plant

but there were also Australian Shelduck, Pacific Black Duck, Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Pied Cormorant, Australian Pelican, Bar-tailed Godwit, Eastern Great Egret, Little Egret and Common Tern.

Next stop was the Conservation Ponds. On the way there I spotted a pair of Brown Falcons so stopped to see if I could get close enough for a decent photograph from the car. As I put the camera out the window, they both flew away but, unusually, one flew towards me and I managed to catch it in flight just as it went past.

Brown Falcon, Western Treatment Plant

It landed in a tree a few hundred metres along the road so I drove slowly towards it and it stayed in the tree very cooperatively - love the 4-wheel hide :-)

Brown Falcon, Western Treatment Plant

Highlight at the Conservation Ponds was the flock of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers feeding close to the bank.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Western Treatment Plant

A quick stop at the Borrow Pits to see if I could find and photograph the Banded Stilts that had been reported there earlier this week. Found them but too far away for any decent photographs. There was, however, a small flock of Black-tailed Native-hens running around (in their usual fashion) on the mud islands just near the 270S car park.

Black-tailed Native-hen, Western Treatment Plant

Last stop was the T-Section Lagoon 4 to try and find the Spotless Crake that had so far eluded me (see Crake Hunt Part 1 and Part 3). This is an amazing location for waterfowl, with 8 species of Rallids seen in 30 minutes: Eurasian Coot, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Black-tailed Native-hen, Buff-banded Rail, Australian Spotted Crake, Baillon's Crake and (at last) Spotless Crake! Only Lewin's Rail was missing (from SE Australian Rallid species) but was reported as seen at the WTP today by others.

Spotless Crake, Western Treatment Plant

I was also treated to a Whiskered Tern, in full breeding plumage, standing on a rock in perfect portrait pose (albeit a bit far away for a great shot but happy to record this bird that is mostly seen airborne).

Whiskered Tern, Western Treatment Plant