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

Caspian Tern @ Swan Bay Jetty

Swan Bay Jetty, at the end of Swan Bay Road (see map) is one of my favourite locations for birdwatching on the Bellarine Peninsula. There are often dozens of cormorants, gulls and terns on and around the jetty, along with a range of small wading birds on the mudflats at low tide and passerines in and around the saltmarshes on either side of the jetty.

I went for a brief visit at lunchtime today and arrived just as a solo Caspian Tern landed on the mudflats directly in front of the car park and stayed long enough for me to capture a few shots.

Caspian Tern, Swan Bay Jetty

Swan Bay Jetty

Swan Bay has a number of great birding sites (I will add more as soon as I get to them again). One of my favourites is Swan Bay Jetty at the end of Swan Bay Rd (View Map). The sheltered bay has extensive mudflats and salt marshes and is surrounded by a range of habitats including coastal woodland and open pasture; even the jetty itself is a roosting site for many species of birds.

It was a windy and overcast day and not many birds on the shore or jetty but this "odd couple" caught my eye:

Caspian Tern and Little Egret, Swan Bay Jetty