WERRIBEE'S WESTERN TREATMENT PLANT

There is no doubt that the Western Treatment Plant at Werribee is Victoria's best birding spot. Other states can argue about their best spot; in Victoria, Werribee is such a superb place that there is no room for debate. I visited Werribee on Tuesday this week and I had a wonderful day.

As I left home, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. This did not last. It was very cold all day. Every time I had to open or close a gate, the rain squalled. The wind kept many of the small birds under cover. I came home disappointed that I had not seen Striated Fieldwren, Greenfinch or Zebra Finch. I also dipped on Freckled Duck and Great Crested Grebe. But I did see 72 species, including 8 Brolga and more Australasian Swamphen than I ever remember seeing in one place. There must have been thousands of them.

The last time I visited Werribee - in April on my unsuccessful Black Tern twitch - I saw lots of Australian Crakes. This time, I saw none. I had a wishlist of course: a list of birds I hoped to see that I had not yet seen in 2023. They included a couple of 'easy' birds that I expected to see, and several difficult birds that I hoped to see, but didn't really expect to. The easy birds were Eurasian Skylark and Yellow-billed Spoonbill. Of course I saw (and heard) several skylarks throughout the day, weather notwithstanding. The spoonbill was more difficult. I saw some Royal Spoonbills, but a Yellow-billed proved to be harder than I'd expected. I did see one in the end, just one bird, flying overhead, which could have been missed easily. So-called 'easy' birds aren't always easy! I managed to see two of my difficult birds: Black-tailed Nativehen (two birds hiding under shubbery on the river crossing) and best bird of the day, an Australasian Bittern! With an estimated total population of 1,300, Australasian Bitterns are endangered and it is always a thrill to see one. This bird flushed and flew away quickly, never to be seen again.

Raptors performed well throughout the day, with lots of Black Kites and Swamp Harriers (such as the one pictured). There were several Black-shouldered Kites, Whistling Kites and Brown Falcons and just one Brown Goshawk. Alas no Black Falcon which I had rather rashly put on my wishlist. Two birds I did see that were new to the year, but hadn't made it onto my list because I thought seeing them was so unlikely, were: Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo and Caspian Tern. I thought it unlikely to see a cuckoo in July (in fact I also saw a Fan-tailed Cuckoo on the Point Wilson Road). This was the first Caspian Tern I've seen at Werribee this century. I'm sorry I dipped on Double-banded Plover and Striated Fieldwren. I've no doubt someone with better eyes would have scored both. But I did see both Red-browed Finches and Yellow-rumped Thornbills These birds used to be very common, but I find they are becoming more and more difficult to add to my list. It is possible that my count of eight Brolgas included some duplication, and there were in fact only six birds. What I actually saw was a pair of Brolga on four separate occasions. I am sure, however, that there were at least six. One bird was sitting on a nest, with her mate standing close by. The others were well spread throughout the farm, and I believe that there really were eight different birds. It was a great day. In winter, on a cold, windy day, a total of 72 species is fine by me, especially when it includes one Australasian Bittern.

BIRD OF THE MONTH

Each month I like to select the bird that has given me the most pleasure and reward it by calling it my Bird of the Month. Sometimes it is easy (for example, if I get a lifer); sometimes it is difficult (if I haven't seen anything special). Most months it is surprisingly easy. Birds tend to self select. However, winter in Melbourne can be hard. Mostly, I enjoy the process. I go through the birds I've seen, I remember good trips. It is fun. So far, this year has been a mixed bunch. January was easy. I saw a Common Kingfisher on Cocos - a lifer, and an exceptionally beautiful bird. February was even easier. I saw the White-necked Petrel, a bird I had been wanting to see for decades. It was bigger and even more beautiful than I'd been led to believe. March was not so obvious. In the end I settled on an Eastern Spinebill - not a rare bird, but to me a special one nonetheless. I grew up with spinebills in my backyard in Ringwood and I have been sorely lamenting the fact that, despite all my native planting for that very purpose, they have refused to turn up in my new garden in East Kew. In March I saw one, just fleetingly admittedly, but I saw one unambiguously in the garden next door. Good enough for Bird of the Month for me!

This lovely photo by Ken Haines is not of the bird next door, but I couldn't tell the difference. (All the birds in Victoria are the same race.) The winner for April again was not obvious. I'd been to Werribee, hoping for a Black Tern, which, unfortunately, I did not see. But that day I had been struck by the large number of Australian Crakes. They all wanted to say hello. I think of crakes as being secretive and shy. These birds were not. I've always loved crakes and rails and I do not see them every month. On reflection, the crake was a clear winner. In the end May was easy, despite a large number of excellent contenders. I went to Sherbrooke and saw several Superb Lyrebirds. I saw Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos at Hay's Paddock. I visited Kamarooka and saw lots of wonderful birds, each worthy of being awarded Bird of the Month. There were honeyeaters (Purple-gaped, Tawny-crowned, White-eared and more), Red-capped Robins, Purple-backed Fairywrens, Shy Heathwrens, Crested Bellbird and (a most worthy nomination) Western Whistlers that I didn't know occurred in Victoria. So May was already spoiled for choice when I saw my clear winner: an Olive-backed Oriole in my street. It was sitting on top of a silver birch singing its heart out. In May! These summer migrants should be far north by May, certainly not sitting in my street singing. Another clear winner.

Again, the photo is by Ken Haines and again, it is not the bird in question. However, it is a Victorian Olive-backed Oriole so it is near enough for me. Now as June comes to a close, I am considering who deserves my award this month. I have been to Eden where I admired five species of albatross, each one worthy of Bird of the Month appellation. I saw friendly Buff-banded Rail at Eden, and, even better, Southern Emu-wren. En route I saw Spotted Quail-thrush and, again at Eden, I saw a magnificent white Grey Goshawk. Plenty to choose from. But the winner is none of these. The winner is Dame Edna! A bird I have been wanting to see ever since I heard of her existence. She lives in Royal Park and I look for her each time I visit. This time I saw her. She is an old female Superb Fairywren with a male's blue tail. I have been told that the experts think this is due to her age and an excessive build up of testosterone over the years. This fascinated me, as (in my ignorance) I had not heard of it before. I just happen to be reading 'The Wisdom of Birds' by Tim Birkhead (which I thoroughly recommend by the way) and came across a passage discussing just this issue: female birds exhibiting male characteristics. Here's the relevant bit (from page 282): 'Science is often sexist and, perhaps not surprisingly, until recently it was widely assumed that male hormones controlled male sexual traits - like a cockerel's plumes. The truth is that many male characteristics are determined not by the male hormone testosterone, but by the absence of the female hormone, oestrogen. Typically, males do not secrete oestrogen (or at least not very much), and consequently produce male plumage. Females secrete oestrogen and develop female plumage. A female with a diseased ovary that ceases to produce oestrogen reverts to the default situation of male plumage.' Fascinating. Whatever the cause, Dame Edna is the clear winner for June. And here she is:

The photo is by Peter Petinatos, and you can see that she has a female's orange eye-ring and a male's blue tail. So, so far at least, winter has not been difficult for selecting my Bird of the Month. Fingers crossed for July!

IT IS WINTER AND I GO TO EDEN

On the first of the month, I like to go birding, to start the month's birdlist off appropriately. I often walk to Willsmere Billabong, then on to Darebin Parklands, which is what I did on 1 June 2023. I saw all the usual suspects, including a Common Bronzewing, ducks, parrots and a very vocal Grey Butcherbird. I dipped on Red-rumped Parrots - one of many birds I used to consider a certainty, but alas no longer so. I did see a Buff-banded Rail beside the creek, only my second sighting of this species on this walk. I ended the day with 35 species, which is acceptable for Kew in winter.

The next day I set off with my birding mate, Ken Haines, for Eden in New South Wales, where we were booked to do back to back pelagics on the M.V. Connemara on Saturday and Sunday. The highlight of the drive to Eden was three (perhaps four) Spotted Quail-thrush spotted by keen-eyed Ken beside the road. Unfortunately, they did not hang around to get acquainted, but they managed to get on my birdlist. We stayed in Reflections Holiday Park and arrived in time for a walk around Lake Curaio, where we met several very friendly Buff-banded Rail, who really did want to get acquainted. We also saw some Southern Emu-wren - always a thrill.

On Saturday morning, we arrived at the wharf in good time for our 7 a.m. departure. We met Julian, our leader, Mark, the captain, and Luke, the crew. There were twelve passengers in all, a perfect number for the size of the boat. It was cold, but we had only one or two drops of rain all day. The birds behaved well. One or two Brown Skuas accompanied us most of the day. There were lots of Australasian Gannets. They may be common, but they are very beautiful birds. We saw five species of albatross, which isn't bad. There were several people on board who were experiencing their first pelagic. How very special to see five species of albatross on your very first pelagic! The first (and most numerous) was a Shy, then Yellow-nosed, Black-browed, Buller's and finally, Campbell's.

The albatross were, for me, the highlight of the day. Others were more excited by the one Cape Petrel who put in an appearance in the afternoon. No birds were in big numbers. We saw a single Fairy Prion, one Grey-faced Petrel, one Providence Petrel, one Short-tailed Shearwater, a few Wilson's Storm Petrels (but not many), one White-chinned Petrel and two Northern Giant Petrels. There were some Grey-backed Storm Petrels, but they did not come very close to the boat. I dipped on the one Fluttering Shearwater, seen early in the day on the other side of the boat. Coming into port in the afternoon, we saw plenty of Black-faced Cormorants and several Little Penguins. There were White-bellied Sea Eagles (always very regal) and a few Pelicans. My list for the day totalled 25, which I thought was pretty good. We saw lots of Common Dolphins and a few Bottle-nosed. Some tail splashing Humpbacks right near the boat were quite spectacular - and a new experience for me.

The boat returned at about quarter to four, giving us time to explore Lake Curaio a bit further in the daylight. There was a noisy colony of Bell Miners which dominated, but didn't deter some inquisitive whipbirds (or a Brown Antechinus for that matter). The highlight today was undoubtedly a pure white Grey Goshawk, a bird I don't see often enough. (I think I'm correct in saying that I haven't seen one since June 2013.) I thought Sunday could not be as good as Saturday, and I was right. I did manage to add the missing Fluttering Shearwater to my list, but that was all.

The good photos on this page are by Ken Haines. That's the Southern Emu-wren, the Buller's Albatross and the Fairy Prion. The lousy ones are mine, taken with my phone. We spent the night at Lakes Entrance and arrived home in time for lunch on Monday. What better way to spend the first weekend of winter? I can't think of any.

KAMAROOKA

What a wonderful day I had birding yesterday at Kamarooka! May in Melbourne can be cold and unfriendly. Yesterday at Kamarooka it was sunny and welcoming. I could not in all honesty say that it was warm, but there were plenty of birds to warm my heart. Not wishing to sound too old, I must say nevertheless, that yesterday was what birding used to be like in my youth. So many beautiful birds, you didn't know which way to look first. It was better than any Christmas celebration I can ever remember.

Kamarooka is part of the Greater Bendigo National Park. I'm told the word means 'wait a while' in the local Aboriginal language. Conditions (and birds) yesterday certainly encouraged us to wait a fair while.

When we arrived, we were greeted by several Shy Heathwren. I'm used to seeing these birds on the ground, but they were calling from the bushes, and not initially very cooperative about showing themselves. (This photo, incidentally, is from my library and was not taken yesterday. It is one of Ken Haines' treasures - and he wasn't with me yesterday.) We did get good looks a little later, but it was reassuring to know that there is a very healthy population of Shy Heathwren in this area. We saw lots of honeyeaters here too. In fact we saw lots of honeyeaters everywhere - there were several species of eucaplypts flowering. There were Red Wattlebirds everywhere and a few Noisy Friarbirds sprinkled throughout the day. We saw both my favourite honeyeaters in good numbers - Brown-headed and White-eared. We admired Fuscous, Yellow-tufted, and Yellow-faced and had excellent views of Purple-gaped and Tawny-crowned. I reckon we saw hundreds of Yellow-plumed. This photo of a Yellow-plumed is also by Ken Haines from my library.

We had excellent views of Red-capped Robins (the female Red-capped Robin really is one of our most exquisite birds - too often over-shadowed by her showy mate) and also Restless Flycatchers, which lived up to their name. We had but a fleeting glimpse of a Crested Bellbird, although they serenaded us with their ventriloquial calls for quite some time. There were fairywrens (both Variegated and Superb) and Thornbills (Yellow, Inland and Yellow-rumped - but, surprisingly, no Chestnut-rumped yesterday). There were lots of fresh platelets from Painted Buttonquail and I fancy I saw some movement which was probably them, but no sighting I could confirm.

I would have liked a Southern Whiteface, a Speckled Warbler and a Gilbert's Whistler, but I clocked up a total of 66 species for the day, including one Peregrine Falcon on the way home, so I am not complaining!

200 BIRDS FOR 2023 - AT LAST!

At last I have clocked up my 200th bird for 2023! It took until 10 May to achieve a goal I'd thought I'd achieve in February. And it's not as if I wasn't really trying. Apart from my local haunts (Burke Road Billabong, Darebin Parklands, Wilson Reserve and Banyule), I've been to Blackburn Lake, Royal Park, the You Yangs, Karkarook, Braeside, Cranbourne Botanic Gardens, Werribee and Sherbrooke Forest. The 200th bird was a Superb Lyrebird in Sherbrooke Forest on a Birds Australia weekday outing. The weather was cold and grey. It alternated between rain and drizzle as I drove to Sherbrooke, and I wondered why I was bothering to go. Of course the lyrebirds (there were several) made it all worthwhile, as did the happy group of friendly birders who'd gathered to enjoy the delights of the forest. However, I confess that I'd been hoping secretly for more than just one new bird for the year. I had compiled a little wishlist, but, apart from the lyrebird, it remained unfulfilled. That, I'm afraid, has been the story of 2023: altogether an unfulfilled wishlist. My one and only trip to Werribee this year was also a disappointment. It was in April and, of course, I was hoping to see the vagrant Black Tern, a very exciting visitor from the Northern Hemisphere. I saw lots of lovely birds that morning, but unfortunately had to hurry home because I had guests for lunch (why didn't I just put them off?). I stood hopefully with a group of eager birders watching White-winged Terns swooping over the sea. We knew that the Black Tern had been seen with this flock. And it is possible that amongst those fast swooping birds I did glimpse the Black Tern, but I certainly did not get an unambiguous identifiable tickable sighting. I came home very disappointed and pretended to be a happy hostess. The bird of the day was without doubt the Australian Crake. I saw at least seven, and they were quite fearless, not exhibiting their usual shy behaviour at all. I always get a thrill out of seeing crakes. This beautiful photo was taken by Ken Haines, who took me on my unsuccessful tern hunt.

I've made several unsuccessful trips looking for a Tawny Frogmouth to add to my annual list. I did find a dead frogmouth in the local park and subsequently investigated every tree in that park very closely, with no result. We often see frogmouths at Royal Park, but not this year. I also have roosts to check out at Willsmere Billabong and Heidelberg. All empty so far this year. Eventually, thanks to my cousin, I was alerted to a bird roosting in Blackburn Road, Blackburn. I rushed out to see it and this time I was successful. My trip to Braeside gave me my first Australasian Shoveler for the year and my second trip to the You Yangs in 2023 delivered a White-naped Honeyeater and a Jacky Winter. I don't remember ever trying quite so hard for so many months to achieve so little! In fairness I might say that had I managed to get to Werribee earlier in the year when the Northern Hemisphere migrants were still present (say, in February) I could well have achieved my target then. Winter is almost upon us - it feels as if it's here - and I'm looking forward to back-to-back pelagics out of Eden in early June. Of course I have a little list. Let's see if I can cross more than one species off it.

KIAMA PELAGIC

Plans were already in hand for me to do my annual Kiama pilgrimage hoping for a White-necked Petrel, when I unexpectedly saw not one but two White-necked Petrels off Southport earlier in the month. Of course I still wanted to go to Kiama. Who wouldn't? We left on Wednesday and had a liesurely drive to Gundagai. The bird of the day was an Oriental Dollarbird, sitting high up on a dead tree, giving us great views. On Thursday, we drove to Gerroa, where our cabin had a first floor balcony, allowing us to admire Australasian Figbirds at eye height in the adjacent palm trees. The bird of the day was a very beautiful young Pacific Koel, also at eye height in a palm tree.

All the beautiful photos on this page were taken by Ken Haines. The other birdy highlight on Thursday was a visit to Jerrara Dam. The birding was so good that we went back again on Friday. There were Silvereyes and whipbirds, Beautiful and Red-browed Firetails, Eastern Yellow Robins and Crimson Rosellas, Black-faced Monarchs and Leaden Flycatchers, Grey Butcherbirds and Australian Golden Whistlers, and lots of Red-whiskered Bulbuls. There were several Lewin's Honeyeaters, but the only other honeyeaters we saw were a couple of Eastern Spinebills and just one New Holland and just one White-cheeked. Likewise, I saw just one Australian Reed Warbler. There were Superb Fairywrens and White-browed Scrubwrens. Most exciting (for me at least) were Topknot Pigeons, a bird I don't see often enough. We could see swans, swamphens and moorhens on the dam below. Not a bad list at all. We visited Bomaderry Creek looking for Rockwarbler. Alas, the only bird we saw or heard was a Red Wattlebird. Last year we had been unsuccessful at Bomaderry Creek too. I wonder if the Rockwarblers are still there? They are certainly not as common and easily seen as they used to be. We went to Spring Creek Wetlands, which accommodated a large colony of very noisy flying foxes. There were also Satin Bowerbirds and bulbuls, but not much else. And we went to the mouth of the Broken River, hoping for Little Terns. All we saw for our effort was Silver Gulls.

Saturday's pelagic, aboard 'Kato', was great. I had not realized just how much my recent Kiama pelagics have been influenced by my overwhelming desire (obsession?) to see a White-necked Petrel. With this bird happily on my list, I could sit back and enjoy myself. I really didn't care what we did or didn't see. What we did see were lots of shearwaters (Flesh-footed, Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed), some Grey-faced Petrels, at least one Kermadec, a couple of jaegers and at least one Wilson's Storm Petrel. We had great views of a Wandering Albatross and difficult sightings of one Black Petrel. I say difficult, because I for one, thought it looked exactly like the Flesh-footed Shearwaters beside it. Until I saw its black feet, I could not tell the difference, even when the birds were right in front of me.

And then, beleive it or not, we saw (again) not one, but two, White-necked Petrels! What is the chance of that! With a couple of terns and seagulls, I recorded a total of 16 species for the day. Others saw more. But I was extremely happy with my White-necked Petrel. The Wandering Albatross and the Black Petrel were icing on the cake. I will certainly return to do more Kiama pelagics, but I will no longer be driven to undertaken an annual summer pilgrimage. That, at least, is behind me.

The problem with setting targets is that you might not meet them! I did not achieve my target of seeing 100 new birds in February (after I'd seen 100 in January). I think I would have made it had I managed to visit Werribee. For a variety of reasons, I did not get there. However, I'm hoping to get there next week, so we will see if I can top up my total to 200 birds for the year. I am presently sitting on 175. Wish me luck!

BRITANNIA SEAMOUNT

On the weekend of 3-6 February 2023, I went to the Britannia Seamount off Southport in the Gold Coast. I was hoping for a New Caledonian Storm Petrel, and came home with a bogey bird crossed off my list! Howzat! The trip was organized by Paul Walbridge. We were on M.V. Grinner, captained by Craig Newton, and a lovely new boat it was too. It only rained at night (sounds like Camelot!) but it was a bit warmer than I'd have liked. In fact, although I wore my hat most diligently, I came home with a bright red burnt face. (Most captivating for my early morning meeting with my publisher on Tuesday I'm sure you'll agree!) I recorded 17 species, and I know I wasn't alone in secretly hoping for more. Most common were Grey-faced and Tahiti Petrels, but there were also good numbers of Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Sooty Terns. There were fewer Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and a surprisingly large number of Kermadec Petrels, all in various stages of moult. One very handsome Gould's Petrel flew past giving us all good looks, contrasting with one Long-tailed Jaeger and one White-tailed Tropicbird, which each grudgingly and fleetingly put in an appearance, just long enough to get onto the list but not to satisfy anyone. There were two Red-tailed Tropicbirds. But, sadly, no New Caledonian Storm Petrels, the main reason most of us were there. This bird was discovered in 1839, then not seen again for 169 years. It was rediscovered in 2008 off Noumea, and since 2011, 170 sightings have been documented off Southport. Most unfortunately, we were not able to add to that total. We did see three or four White-bellied Storm Petrels, each of which hung around the boat, giving everyone a good opportunity to study it. I think everyone agreed that the Bird of the Day on Saturday was one single Bulwer's Petrel, that flew by quickly giving just a fleeting glance. When photographs were examined later, opinions differed as to its identification. It wasn't a Bulwer's Petrel at all! It was a dark storm petrel, but which one? Sadly, no one had a definitive photo. As I write, the bird's identity remains a mystery. Overnight a Tahiti Petrel landed on deck and we awoke to the pleasure of letting it go. I'm delighted to report that, by the time I emerged, it had already been captured and safely placed in a crate with a towel on top. I was told it was to be measured before it was released. In the end it was released without being measured, because no one had sufficiently robust protective gloves. It was not in the least bit scared and sat on the edge of the crate eyeing us all with an interested gaze, before finally flying to freedom. We were all becoming a bit dejected by the early afternoon on Sunday, when we hadn't seen anything really exciting. Then my bogey bird appeared. I had given up and gone into the cabin to treat myself to a beer. No sooner had I sat down, than I was called outside. My bogey bird had appeared! And there it was. Unambiguously big and beautiful. As shown in these terrific photos by Paul Walbridge.

I find myself no longer able to feel any animosity towards the White-necked Petrel, which over the years I have learned not to love. I have travelled interstate on 23 occasions attempting to see this bird. Now, while attempting to see something else, I have seen it. In fact I saw two birds. And magnificent they were too. Very big and very beautiful. Perhaps not worth 23 interstate trips, or waiting twenty years to see it. On the other hand, perhaps it was worth the wait. They really were most impressive. In fact, I'd say, literally breathtaking. Included in my notes to help me identify a White-necked Petrel if I ever happened to see one, is the comment: 'more relaxed flight than smaller cookalaria.' This seems to me a most unhelpful comment. Both birds I saw flew so fast, that everytime I took my binoculars off one, I couldn't find it again without some trouble. I reckon it would be hard to describe the flight as 'relaxed.' I believe a good weekend was enjoyed by all, even those of us who didn't get a lifer. Of course I was disappointed that I didn't see my New Caledonian Storm Petrel, but I can hardly complain, can I?