Victoria

After the rush of Christmas I decided to have a quiet Boxing Day bird watching along the banks of the Yarra in Yarra Bend Park .

I began my walk in Yarra Bend Park at Dights Falls Park. I sat for a while in the Koori Garden and watched a Great Cormorant fishing at the base of the falls, Australian Reed-warbler could be heard calling from the reeds on the opposite side. I walked along the Capital City Trail, there weren't many interesting birds to be seen along this stretch but I did find a flock of Brown Thornbills, some Superb Fairywren, on the river were Pacific Black Duck and Dusky Moorhen.

View over the Yarra River

I crossed the river at Johnson Street Bridge and took the unpaved path which follows the other side of the river. I expected to see more birds in this area although it was still very quiet bird wise, I did see a Kookaburra, a Grey Butcherbird and at one point a Nankeen Night Heron flew high over the river. I climbed a steep section of the path to reach the Yarra Boulevard. This section of the road is closed to traffic and is frequently used by cyclists. A monument sits at the highest point which provides a fantastic view over the river and the park, Spotted Pardalote were calling in the Eucalypts bordering the monument.

I walked along the Yarra Boulevard towards Galatea Point, and found a small flock of Dusky Woodswallows diving down to catch insects along the roadside, as I watched them I spied a Grey Currawong stealthily and quietly moving through the scrub. Tawny FrogmouthsThings got better from here on. Near the top of Galatea Point a Sacred Kingfisher was perched in a tree, an adult and juvenile Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike flew through making beautiful chirring calls. ]I took the path towards Galatea Point and was a little disappointed to see that most of the area was dominated by Noisy Miners but was pleased to find a pair of Tawny Frogmouth in a tree above the point in the river. I continued along the path and caught the bus home from Studley park road.
Yarra Bend Park has a lovely feeling of isolation for a park so close to the city.

Salt Marsh

We went to look for the Hudsonian Godwit today, which according to Birdline reports, is frequently seen feeding at the mouth of the Laverton Creek in Altona.

We parked our car in the car park off Maidstone Street and walked along the pathway running alongside the foreshore, when we arrived at the creek mouth we were surprised at the profusion of birdlife feeding around the sandbars at low tide. There were hundreds of ducks mixed Chestnut and Grey Teal, a Royal Spoonbill, a Great Egret and many Black-winged Stilts present. Out on the sandbar a single godwit was feeding, we wondered if this was the Hudsonian but after checking with another more experienced birdo who was also out for the morning to see the Hudsonian Godwit we discovered that this was a Bar-tailed Godwit. Accompanying the godwit were many Red-capped Plovers.

We decided to go for a walk out to the sandbar while waiting for the hudsonian to show. To get out nearer to the sandbar and beach we walked along the north side of the Laverton River to the foot bridge that crossed the river, on the way we saw a Little Eagle and Nankeen Kestrel soaring overhead and other smaller birds were in the bushes including, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Yellow Thornbill and Silvereye.

After crossing the bridge we headed out to the salt marsh, navigating this area proved to be a bit tricky as there were lots of little rivulets and soggy areas to cross which meant our feet got wet (we wished wed brought our gumboots). Raptors were stirring up the birds out on the sand dunes, a couple of Whistling Kites flew over head and landed on the waters edge, as we looked we saw five Whistling Kites sitting out the beach. On another section of the beach was a flock of around 100 Little Black Cormorants huddled near the shoreline. On our return we walked along the cyclone fence bordering Cheetham Wetlands and saw a couple of Striated Fieldwren through the fence.

Heading back to the creek mouth we could still see the Bar-tailed Godwit feeding but unfortunately no Hudsonian Godwit for us today.

Laverton Creek Mouth Trip List

Laverton Creek Mouth

Little Black Cormorants

Lake Surprise

Lake Surprise is a large lake formed by three craters on the edge of Mount Eccles National Park. This area of the park can be reached via the township of Macarthur. Several walks lead around the lake, we decided to take the 'lake rim walk' to enable us a close look at the lake and also the forest within the crater. We took the many stairs that lead down from the picnic ground inside the crater to the lakes edge. In the lake were Musk Duck, Grey Teal, and Australian Shelduck, also coots and cormorants. The forest here is a thick Manna Gum woodland with Cherry Balart, Blackwood and bracken, all of the usual bush birds were present including Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Eastern Yellow Robin, Golden Whistler, Whit-throated Treecreeper and Crimson Rosella. Long-billed Corella and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos wheeled around overhead.

At this point on our walk it started to rain heavily so we cut our walk short and doubled back along the edge of the lake to take a peak at what was in the other end before heading back to the car park. To my surprise four Spotless Crakes were foraging around the sandy exposed banks of the Northern end of the lake. Once we arrived back in the car park the rain cleared so we took a walk around the picnic ground to see which other birds were around. We could hear Spotted Pardalote and a White-naped Honeyeater nearby. Suddenly two Wedge Tailed Eagles could be seen through a clearing in the trees, we watched them thermaling around for a few minutes. Near the picnic tables a large flock of Red-browed Finches were foraging.

This is a beautiful area worth spending more time at when the weather is better.

Bird List for Mount Eccles