Today I made my first visit to Werribee for the year. The number of Australian Shelducks, Purple Swamphens, Pink-eared Ducks and Red-necked Avocets was phenomenal. There are always huge numbers of Grey and Chestnut Teal.
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Moulting Australian Shelducks at T-Section Lagoons
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There is always something exciting at Werribee. At the T-Section Lagoons, we saw three Zebra Finches and one Brown Songlark, as well as one mystery bird. This unidentified wader has me stumped. It was about the size of a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, with a stout, very slightly upturned bill and an obvious white eye-ring. There was no supercilium. Underparts white, splotched on the back and wings and a striated head. This bird simply doesn't exist according to the field guides. Yet I saw it. The uncooperative creature flew before I could examine it further, so I didn't see leg or tail colour, and I was busy consulting my field guide and didn't see it fly.
Another highlight today was hearing and then seeing four Brolga - such beautiful big birds. We saw seven Australasian Darters - unusual for Werribee, and a flock of about a dozen Black-tailed Native-hens at the Borrow Pits.
A great day as usual. Werribee never lets me down.
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