WERRIBEE: VICTORIA'S TOP BIRDING SPOT

A Sydney birding friend once said: 'It's impossible to have a bad day at Werribee.' Of course he's right. It is, after all, Victoria's top birding spot.

My birding friend, Ken Haines, and I enjoyed a great day at Werribee last Thursday, persistent cold wind notwithstanding. We clocked up only 75 species, a little disappointing for summer I thought, but we had a most enjoyable day and saw some beautiful birds: what more do you want? The water levels were high just about everywhere, so there wasn't much suitable habitat for waders. We did see quite a few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers (see Ken's photo above, all photos on this page are from Ken) but other waders were all in small numbers. In fact we saw just one Red-capped Plover. There were a few stints and greenshanks and we saw some Marsh Sandpipers, but we had to look hard for Curlew Sandpipers. There were avocets and both kinds of stilts, Banded Stilts coming obligingly close to the car.

There were several Pied Oystercatchers, one with two half-grown chicks.

For Ken, the highlight of the day was a young Spotted Harrier.

For me, the highlight was a Baillon's Crake. I'm told they are easily seen in Victoria at the moment, but I always get a thrill out of seeing a crake, and Baillon's are always special.

We did quite well for ducks, with big numbers of Pink-eared Ducks and Australian Shelducks. The only duck we didn't see which I'd hoped for was a Freckled Duck. There were more White-necked Herons than usual, but we were really down on raptor numbers. We saw just one Brown Falcon as we were leaving, and only two Black Kites for the day. There was just one Black-shouldered Kite and very few Whistling Kites and hardly any Swamp Harriers. Ken may not appreciate my including this blurred photo of the young Spotted Harrier. The joke is that neither of us noticed the Brolgas behind him! We came home without Brolga on our list.

Thanks, Ken for a great day. And thanks for your terrific photos.