Serendip Sanctuary is located about an hour from Melbourne.  See here

Went down with some of the former Werribee Wagtails, now Birdlife Werribee, for a beginners day.

Now a sanctuary is not the greatest place for those who are counting bird lists, as the somewhat enclosed status of the birds means they don’t count on lists. But, for us beginners its a great way of seeing birds that normally would be difficult to find.  And not all the birds are enclosed. Some like the Magpie Geese and Cape Barren Geese and others are free to come and go, but with a ready supply of food on hand, there doesn’t seem much incentive to wander out of the area.   Add to that the raptors that waft over from the surrounding farmlands and plains and it can be a great place to actually see birds.

So, loading in the cameras we went.  And spent most of the morning in a couple of the enclosures having close encounters with such new friends as Buff-banded Rails, Freckled Ducks, Tawny Frogmouth and Blue-faced Honeyeaters, and watching the Bush Stone-curlews do their amazing ‘freeze’ stance.

All in all a good day for photography.  All the shots here are from the sanctuary and the birds are quite human tolerant.  So the usual disclaimer on our photo endeavours don’t apply.
Enjoy

The leader of the welcoming committee

Inflght, they have a most beautiful wing action

Missed the wing tips, I’ve got to be more careful

Buff-banded Rail in action

I would never get this close in the wild

Freckled Duck Portrait

Bush Stone-curlew. Or sometimes called Bush Thicknee

White-bellied Sea-eagle