Werribee South – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST

Yo Ho Ho

April 7, 2026April 8, 2026Posted in As it Happened, Werribee SouthTagged As it Happened6 Comments

EE and I had been out in the morning for some important appointment(s)

Being in the area of the local boat harbour, and fancying a coffee, we also had an ulterior motive that we should check to ‘monitor the Great Crested Grebes ‘ that had made the harbour area home at present.

So with coffee in one hand, trusty camera in t’other, (we just happened to have the cameras in IamGrey— who’d have guessed.)

“We should only be a few minutes, and then home for lunch,” we had assured ourselves.

The local sailing school was running lessons in the safety of the harbour, so we didn’t think it would yield many Grebes.
So as the yatchees sailed out, we walked along the boardwalk.
When suddenly, and certainly, to all watching, a huge surprise, some grey shapes rolled out of the water in the harbour and made their way among the boats.
I’m not sure if the kids were squealing with fear, mock fear, or just plain enjoyment.
The pod, at least two young and adults and two or three other adults, were Burrunan dolphins (Tursiops australis), Thanks Eleanor.
Being a protected species, there are certain rules about distances of approach and the like, to protect the creatures, but it seems this pod had not read those regulations and were happy to move among the moored boats in the harbour as well as provide some extra excitement for the kids as they passed close by.
And you can only image how jealous I was of those kids, in a good way.

In the end, my coffee was cold, I’d learned a lot about how ineffective I am at predicting where a dolphin might surface and, well—look at that—over an hour or more had gone by.
What amused me somewhat was a couple of sailor-types on their floating mansion who declared, “Well, we’ve never seen dolphins here, in all the years….” to no one in particular.

Here is just a few from the day.

Saturday Evening Post :29 “Salty”

April 27, 2019Posted in Saturday Evening Post, Uncategorized, Werribee South9 Comments

Meet “Salty”.
I don’t know if that its real name, but an old sea dog deserves a distinguished name.

EE and I were at the Werribee South beach photographing Pelicans. Hmm, there is a post somewhere back there about the adventure.

I turned round ‘seaward’, to see a bloke, and his kayak and his dog, paddling along the water’s edge. Salty had a front row seat on the kayak.

Not sure if I’m more impressed by Salty’s excitement about being on the sea, or the owner’s clever solution for holding the plastic bucket on top of the kayak.

Took me back to me childhood of messing about in boats on the mighty Murray River. Among some of our summer fun as growing lads was a small skiff which plied the river from dawn to dark, and carried home our catch for the day. Sometimes it was a pirate ship, sometimes a mighty naval vessel, and sometimes it, just like us kids, ‘went exploring’. And always in the company of one or two of the family dogs.
One particular dog, I’ve talked about here before. “Puppy, or Dog’, depending on who was talking, and what were the circumstance, was a Blue-Heeler cross Fox Terrier, with a snippet of whippet thrown in for good measure.

Like Salty, Dog would sit up in the bow, or sometimes hang off the stern fascinated by the rippling water passing by. So it was a little bit nostalgic for me to watch the delight and exuberance of Salty as they sailed by.

They returned an hour or so later, and I saw them disembark on the pier about 500m from where I was standing. Salty, jumped onto the pier, a few quick shakes, and look around, it then trotted off the pier in search of new adventures.

I love to see dogs without collars and tags,—I’m an anarchist, or perhaps a iconoclast when it comes to having to id my ‘stuff’. I’m not against the registering of animals etc, just the need for them to carry such id as a sign of being ‘owned’ by some human type person. Dog was never owned, it shared its life with us, and in return we shared with it. She didn’t need a ‘tag’ to know she was part of our family. And for all those who have had such relationships, you know no-one can break that bond.

So sail on Salty, may the kayak take you on many an adventure, “yo, ho ho, it’s a pirates life for me!”

Snapshots: The Delight of Flight

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019Posted in Australian Pelican, Werribee SouthTagged Australian Pelican, Werribee South10 Comments

Most of us see Pelicans sometimes inflight, sometimes fishing, sometimes just paddling about. We also find them out of the water, and their huge bellies, beaks and ungainly legs makes them look amusing to say the least.
Have to be careful in this day of Political Correctness, that I don’t infer that a large slow stepping creature is any less a wonderful and important member of the bird society and any avoid any reference to them as less than fulfilling their chosen goals and aspirations and dreams.

However all that aside, tis when they take to the air, that their great beauty and artistry in the air is instantly apparent.

EE and I had a lovely sunny afternoon with nothing special planned so took the opportunity to head down to Werribee South, and stop at Wyndham Harbour for a coffee and ponder the fish’n’chip shop next door, and wouldn’t it be a good idea to grab some and take down to the foreshore and watch the birds. But diets, being what they are, we simply passed by the shop without stopping, much, except to sniff the air and enjoy the aroma and ohh, and ahh at the plates of rich looking fare on the tables outside. Oh Well!

There was not much happening at the Werribee River entrance either. Lots of fishing boats a’comin’n’goin’ Ho, yah ho, ho, ho.

Which meant the pelicans were ready to help the fishermen dispose of any scraps of fish that were being cleaned.

So we sat on the grass, me on a seat, and she on Dolly, and enjoyed the birds as they preened, argued and flew by. Such masters of the air. Able to propel that huge body and large wings with such skill.

Enjoy. We did.