WONDERFUL WERRIBEE - AGAIN!

Yesterday, I had the most wonderful day birding I've had in a long time. Yes, I know I saw a lifer last month (the Western Shriketit in the Stirling Range) and, of course, that's always a thrill. But yesterday was a full day of superb weather, blue skies, sunshine, no wind, great company and lots of fantastic birds. Can anyone do better? This is the spot where we heard a Lewin's Rail.

Alas, we could not see it. What strange noises Lewin's Rails make! We did see several Australian Crakes, at least four, perhaps more. I saw just one Spotless Crake. I was with Tim Dolby, it's possible he saw more than one. We saw just a couple of Double-banded Plovers, fraternizing with (or perhaps hiding amongst) a flock of Red-capped Plovers. The male Red-caps looked absolutely splendid - at their breeding best I thought. In my ignorance, I would have said that they were summer breeders, but, after this sighting, I looked them up, and, although they may prefer the warmer months, according to Simpson and Day, they can breed at any time of year. I reckon these birds had breeding in mind. I wanted a sea eagle for my year list and my wish was fulfilled. One memorable sighting of the day was Brolgas. Yes, I know, you've seen Brolgas at Werribee lots of times. But have you ever seen eleven birds at once? I certainly hadn't before yesterday. I had to count them twice to convince myself that there really were nearly a dozen of them. One very handsome Black-shouldered Kite endeared himself to us by sitting quite close to the car and posing for his photo. I thought he was a young bird: some of his feathers were very fluffy. Here's one of Tim's photos.

A rather unusual sighting was an aberrant Straw-necked Ibis. He had lots of white on his wings, which, according to the field guides, should be all black. This is Tim's photo.

Towards the end of the day, after we had persuaded ourselves that the American Golden Plover really had vacated the Borrow Pits, we saw that the adjacent pond was brimming with ducks, mainly Pink-eared and Shovellers, but also some teal, Musk Duck and Pacific Blacks. It was the pinkies and the shovellers that stole our hearts. There were so very many of them so very close, it was breathtaking. I thought perhaps a thousand of each species, both in the water and on the bank. Unfortunately impossible to photograph, but very easy to admire. Although we were very close to them, the car was hidden by reeds. As soon as we attempted to get out of the car, the birds flew. But what a beautiful sight! Again, this is Tim's photo.

Another bird I wanted for my year list was a Singing Bush Lark. Bush Larks can be difficult and I didn't really expect to see one. Tim deviated up Beach Road to check out the Banded Lapwings, and there, on a fence post, wanting to be admired, was a Singing Bush Lark. I looked at it and didn't believe it. Its bill did not look thick enough; its plumage was too colourful. Its belly, in particular, looked a lemon colour. I expect my bush larks to be dressed in sparrow colours. I could not accept this colourful creature really was a Singing Bush Lark. Fancy being cheeky enough to question Tim Dolby! Tim took a photo, and there, unquestionably, sitting on a fence post was a Singing Bush Lark, just as I had ordered.

In my opinion, the Bird of the Day was none of the above. It was a dear little Stubble Quail, walking towards the car in Paradise Road as we were driving out. He looked like he wanted to be friends. A fitting end to a great day. We clocked up 81 species - of course I always want more! But that's not too bad for autumn. I don't believe I've ever enjoyed such perfect weather at Werribee. And I think I've proved that I don't really need rarities to have a good time birding.