August 2023 – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST

As it Happened: Ringside Seat

August 28, 2023Posted in "Western Treatment Plant", Western Treatment Plant, White-faced HeronTagged Western Treatment Plant, White-faced Heron10 Comments

Wrestling, I have to admit has never been “my” sport. Too much huffing, puffing and sweaty armpits for me.

So you can imagine my surprise when I came across two White-faced Herons in the middle of a ding-dong battle.

A lot of name calling began, as they sized one-another up on the roadside. The bird, that I think, throught it owned the territory arrived with neck outstretched and loud calls to intimidate the pretender.

From there it escalated quite rapidly.

Gracefuness is not an essential sparring technique

It might seem like chest bumping, but its designed to get the advantage

It’s bar-room brawl scruff of the neck time

In the end, the challenger made one move too many with enthusiasm and less skill

And the old hand was ready to press home the advantage

That beak is good for more than just catching fish

Released, the pretender admitted defeat and flew off. Seemingly none the worse for wear, but perhaps a little wiser.

The local champion flew up and down the pond with neck outstrectched and very vocal. Now everyone knows whose pond it is.

As it Happened: Gannets Galore Take #2

August 22, 2023August 22, 2023Posted in "Australasian Gannet", Point CookTagged "Australasian Gannet", Point Cook Coastal Park9 Comments

I didn’t expect to be showing another Gannet trip so soon, but the other day, the strong northerly winds and a very low tide exposed the sand and mudflats over the end of the basalt flow into the bay, and the conditions somehow suit the shoals of fish that work along the edge of the flats.

And of course the Gannets come up the bay to feast.

There is something quite magical about watching these creatures slice through the 40kmph+ winds, a flick of the tail, an adjustment of wing angle, a feather tip control and picking the right body angle into the everchanging winds is wonderful entertainment.

Here are a few from your wind-blown scribe standing in the mudflat at the water’s edge.

One photo does not do justice to the fine control they seem to have in the strong winds

In that strong wind, it was just one wingflap and a jump and it was easily airborne again

Timing, timing, oh well, Just missed the best angle on the obligatory body shake to get rid of the excess water

Pretty excited today to see several young. They seemed to not come into close to the beach preferring to work in the deeper water

Pleasing to see that rich young colour set

Because of the shallow water they don’t do straight vertical dives.

Enjoy

Along the Track: Such a Thrill

August 17, 2023Posted in Scarlet RobinTagged Scarlet Robin6 Comments

We found this Scarlet Robin lass hard at work on preparing for the next generation.

Normally I don’t pubish small bird nesting cycles (Willie Wagtails being a notable exception).
You’ll note there is no photo of the nest location, and I’m pretty confident that no one is going to stumble over its location.

Only spotted her as she darted from one side of a small clearing to another. And after standing still for awhile, it was obvious she was hard at work on her little home.

The male flew in a couple of times to see how things were progressing.

In the end, I walked away thrilled to have watched the process and ever so hopeful that she would be successful, both for the species and because of her hard work paying off.

Enjoy

She came out in front of me, checked it out and disappeared again into the nest site.

It took a few moments to realise she wasn’t just hunting food, but looking for web and suitable materials

Her little beak can only carry so much stuff

He seemed pleased that it was all under control

I waited for one final image, she seemed to oblige and I wished her well and moved on.

As it Happened: In the Early Morning Light

August 10, 2023Posted in Brolga, WTPTagged Brolga, Western Treatment Plant, WTP12 Comments

+D4 had turned up for a couple of days, and we decided a trip to the Western Treatment Plant would be possible given the weather looked like it was going to be pleasant for most of the day.

Despite the need to get up early in the cold, we took an early morning run down the freeway and arrived not too long after sunup.

Breaking from usual tradition we started at the “Western Lagoons”. The clever plan was to look for, see, and photograph Black Falcon. Great idea, but not very well implemented as the Falcon didn’t seem to get out of bed early.

There is a spot about halfway along the Lagoons where the ponds are much higher than the abutting farm fields, and a water channel seperates the road on the bund of the ponds with the lower paddocks.

As we travelled along the pond road, EE took great delight in pointing out there were Brolga ahead, and sure enough, of course, you dear reader would not have doubted, she was right.

They were gathering together in the lower paddock, and eventually we saw eight of them. We sat on the upper road for around an hour or so, as it was easy to look down toward them, they were comfortable with the distance we were away, and the channel also gave them protection from close approaches.
So unpreterbed, they walked back and forth, preened, feed and did a few dances and introductions.

The one thing I noted, as I sat there was because of the richness of the early morning light, was how their feathers have a most attractive sheen.

So in no particular order here are a few from the morning’s visit. ro

Every so often one would stop and give a call. In the still early morning air, the calls were quite powerful

The grasses and shallow water seemed to suit their feeding habits

From where I sat on the high grasses, everyso often my long lens was just too long.

Several were fascinated by clumps of grasses and merryment enused as they tossed it about and jumped around

It seemed to be a game that only one played at a time

Perhaps they were practicing for a grass throwing event at the Olympics.

It wasn’t always immediately obvious which of them were a couple, but some times two would seperate away for a quiet stroll together

The calling seemed to make the rest of the group away that they wanted a few private moments

There is the overall scene. I had to borrow +D4’s zoom for the shot

As it Happened: Gannets Galore

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023Posted in "Australasian Gannet", Pope's EyeTagged "Australasian Gannet", Pope's Eye8 Comments

Port Philip Bay is home to several colonies of Australasian Gannets. One of the larger colonies is near Queenscliffe at a man-made island called “Pope’s Eye”. The reference is a midshipman Pope who was involved in building the bluestone basalt annulus. Originally designed as a gun-emplacement to protect the fledgling colony of Victoria.

The area is managed by Parks Vic and the Portsea-Queenscliffe ferry passes reasonably close by on its journeys back and forth.
There is also a live-stream camera setup, so its possible to get a sneak peak of the Gannets resting or nesting. The link to the camera sometimes is down, but today it is live on Youtube here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCB9pUbrme4
As I’m typing its a very wet and windy day on the rock.

On occasions, the Gannets will come up the western side of the bay, and at Point Cook Coastal Park, its sometimes possible to have them in close. There are some wind and tide connections that seem to favour this, and a high tide and strong northerly off-shore wind bring the fish in over the edge of the lava flow sand and mud flats and the Gannets can be seen fishing less than100m out.
However it’s a bit hit and miss as to when the fish will run in, so the birds might not show at all, or be gone up the coast in what sometimes feels like the blink of an eye.

Here are a few shots from recent visits.