Birdlife Werribee – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER

Counting Birds at Mt Rothwell

October 22, 2018November 13, 2018Posted in Mt Rothwell, Rainbow Bee Eater, Striated Pardalote, Tawny Frogmouth, Uncategorized, Werribee WagtailsTagged Birdlife Werribee, Mt Rothwell, Werribee Wagtails4 Comments

My local bird group, BirdLife Werribee, or more affectionately known by the previous name, “Werribee Wagtails” has for many years been doing bird surveys once a quarter at various sites.
This weekend we surveyed the Mt Rothwell Conservation and Research Centre just to the north of the You Yangs range.
To quote Peter Sellers from “Balham Gateway to the South”,
—It is exciting work and my forefathers have been engaged upon it since 1957—

The previous few days of rain had managed to get past the You Yangs rainshadow and give the area decent drink. As we assembled, we were joined by a group from BirdLife Australia, Ovens and Murray.

And the bush seemed to respond to our enthusiastic banter as we walked over the various tracks that lead through the park.

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Wagtails visit Western Treatment Plant

March 2, 2016March 2, 2016Posted in "Western Treatment Plant", Werribee Wagtails, Western Treatment PlantTagged Birdlife Werribee, Werribee BirdLife, Werribee Wagtails, Western Treatment Plant4 Comments

Ahhh, a tour update and trip report.

The Werribee BirdLife group had their monthly outing yesterday and visited the Western Treatment Plant.
The weather has been predicted to be sunny and hot, so it was with a touch of bemusement that we headed off down the highway in the fog!

But it did give us a lovely cool morning, so the sulking photographer in me just had to make do for awhile.

Travelling with the Wagtails (Werribee Birdlife in a former name), is a fun experience. There is a great deal of knowledge of the birds, and the area, and the social activity makes for a fun filled and well fed day.

We went down to the T Section, an area that is fast taking on hero status as a Red Phalarope has come down to visit over. Perhaps to the uninitiated a bit hard to spot, but once seen the frenetic activity of the bird makes it reasonably easy to locate. And especially if the tour leader. (D Torr esq.) lines it up in the spotting scope at the start of the activity.

Here is a quick take from some of the events.

Black-shouldered Kite, in pursuit of a really annoying Raven

A Welcome Swallow decided to join in the chase.

Down at the beach, the Red-necked Stints are really putting on the weight now.

The amazing T Section ponds. Spot the Red Phalarope for extra points!

Sharp-trailed Sandpiper. Trialling the travelling equipment.

Purple-crowned Lorikeets.

July 8, 2015July 8, 2015Posted in Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Werribee WagtailsTagged Birdlife Werribee, Purple-crowned LorikeetLeave a comment

I’ve been asked to hurry up and post some shots of Purple-headed Lorikeets from the Birdlife Werribee (Formerly Werribee Wagtails) excursion on the July 7th.

So, here tis.

What is the Little Lorikeet doing in here.

Werribee Wag Tales April 2015

April 23, 2015April 23, 2015Posted in Werribee Wag Tales, Werribee WagtailsTagged Birdlife Werribee, Werribee Wagtails, Western Treatment Plant2 Comments

Formerly called Werribee Wagtails, Birdlife Werribee had a day at the Western Treatment Plant. Stories about that event and a few others are available in the Werribee Wag Tales Newsletter for download here, or from the Wagtails tab on the front page.

WER Wag Tales April 2015