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Herdsman Lake
May. 9th, 2004 01:58 pmThere was a morning walk down at Herdsman Lake today. Being early and Mother's Day and threatening weather there was barely anyone there. Got a little rained on but nothing major - 53 species in all which was good - but there will still birds notably absent.
A few highlights
A whistling kite swooping on an unfortunate moorhen. The kite had a few goes at the poor creature as it tried to make its way to the reeds. Either the moorhen was too heavy or we distracted the kite because in the end it didn't take it. We later found the moorhen - dead if not very close to it. Its head had dropped into the mud and water and we guess it probably drowned.
I guess it was due to the weather - there were CLOUDS of tree martins with the odd swallow among them. They would soar over our heads and get swept up by the gusts of wind then wheel around and fly back. Then they'd all land in a tree then suddenly *whoosh* all fly off again.
Male and female rufous whistler being very loud and visible. Lovely birds. In the same area were some fantails twittering away, silvereyes and a few thornbills. Two thornbill nests were spotted in a tree.
Great cormorants nesting on the dredger in the middle of a smaller lake - as well as little blacks, little pieds and darters. The barge is wildly popular with the great cormorants and it's interesting to watch them bringing in sticks for nest and croaking at each other.
Notable abscences - Australian shelduck, rufous night heron (they seem to roost in the trees a little further from where we walked however) and white-faced herons.
A few highlights
A whistling kite swooping on an unfortunate moorhen. The kite had a few goes at the poor creature as it tried to make its way to the reeds. Either the moorhen was too heavy or we distracted the kite because in the end it didn't take it. We later found the moorhen - dead if not very close to it. Its head had dropped into the mud and water and we guess it probably drowned.
I guess it was due to the weather - there were CLOUDS of tree martins with the odd swallow among them. They would soar over our heads and get swept up by the gusts of wind then wheel around and fly back. Then they'd all land in a tree then suddenly *whoosh* all fly off again.
Male and female rufous whistler being very loud and visible. Lovely birds. In the same area were some fantails twittering away, silvereyes and a few thornbills. Two thornbill nests were spotted in a tree.
Great cormorants nesting on the dredger in the middle of a smaller lake - as well as little blacks, little pieds and darters. The barge is wildly popular with the great cormorants and it's interesting to watch them bringing in sticks for nest and croaking at each other.
Notable abscences - Australian shelduck, rufous night heron (they seem to roost in the trees a little further from where we walked however) and white-faced herons.
