A VERY DISAPPOINTING PORT FAIRY PELAGIC

My birding mate, Ken, drove me down to Port Fairy on Saturday in preparation for a pelagic on Sunday 8 October 2023. At Port Fairy, I heard a Greenfinch (but couldn't see it) and saw several Kelp Gulls.

We also saw a couple of Latham's Snipe in a pond (over the road from the Griffith Island carpark) where Neil Macumber said he'd seen 21 a couple of weeks before. On the pelagic on Sunday, aboard the 'Southern Explorer' I recorded 20 bird species, but only because I started my list before we left port and included such exciting birds as Magpie, Welcome Swallow, Starling, Australian Raven, Silver Gull, Australian White Ibis, Willie Wagtail (I lie! that's always exciting) Kelp Gull (again), Greater Crested Tern and both Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers. That's 12 of my day's 20 species. I saw lots (and lots) of Shy Albatross and Short-tailed Shearwaters, and quite a few Australasian Gannets. There were a handful of Northern Giant Petrels throughout the day - or else a couple kept returning over and over again. Other people on the boat glimpsed one Yellow-nosed and one Black-browed Albatross. I did not, but I had good brief views of one Northern Royal Albatross - the only bird I saw all day which was new for my year list.

There were a few Grey-faced Petrels and I think only one White-chinned Petrel and one Sooty Shearwater. Altogether a disappointing day, I'm sure you'll agree. Others were very excited to see three orcas, but I'm afraid I was there to admire birds not whales. On Monday, on the drive home to Melbourne, we stopped at Lake Colac in the hope of adding Freckled Duck to our weekend list. We were delighted to see about 200 of them, doing what Freckled Duck do, that is, precisely nothing. However, we could see no sign of breeding plumage. We must have been a little early for that. This beautiful photo is by Ken Haines. Indeed all these beautiful photos are by Ken Haines.

We also saw a very interesting Reed Warbler with an aberrant black throat marking. I've never seen that before, nor could I find any mention of it in any of my field guides. But by far the most exciting thing, which made the entire trip worthwhile and transformed what had been a wasted weekend into one of my most memorable birding experiences ever, was: dozens, yes, dozens of Great Crested Grebes. Several pairs were performing their synchronised mating dance. This is a spectacle I'd only ever seen before on film and it certainly lived up to my expectations. I found it literally breathtaking. The birds faced each other in the water. They turned their heads to the side in unison. They twisted their heads and touched their backs in a mirror image of each other. They dived underwater and he emerged with gifts of waterweed to present to his would-be mate. We watched enthralled as several pairs performed their ballet for us but, on each occasion, after the dance was over, the birds each went their separate ways. We didn't see any mating. The main breeding season of Great Crested Grebe (according to the 8th edition of Simpson and Day) is November-January, with possible casual breeding in October and February. So, at the beginning of October, these birds were just starting to think about breeding. Perhaps if we returned in a month's time, we might see some proper mating activity.

So instead of coming home disappointed at our inferior day at sea, Sunday was quite forgotten, and we arrived home thrilled at our most memorable sighting of Great Crested Grebes.