Great Crested Grebe sighting in Swan Bay

NATURE WATCH with Jen Carr

One day on my way to work I passed by Swan Bay Pier where there were lots of little cormorants, pelicans and herring gulls.

There was a lone Great Crested Grebe, one of my many favorite birds.

To my amazement, the Great Crested Grebe paddled to the shore of Swan Bay and then walked to the edge of the bay to rest on the shore. It is not very common to see Great Crested Grebes walking on land as their legs are so far back on their bodies that they have difficulty maintaining balance. This is an adaptation to their swimming skills.

I took a few photos of the Great Crested Grebe running and then watched as a Herring Gull harassed it. Fortunately, the Great Crested Grebe did not seem too disturbed and eventually the grumpy gull retreated.

I saw on Facebook that there are a few Sickle Honeyeaters in the Geelong Botanical Gardens, as reported by Geelong Field Naturalist member Donna Hall. I have seen these birds in Tasmania and Wilson’s Promontory, as well as Anglesea, but I have never managed to get a decent photo.

I went to the gardens on my way to work one sunny morning, not expecting to see the honeyeaters since I hadn’t seen the post until a few days later. As a birder, you know they can be there one day and gone the next. I observed many Eastern Whitethroats hovering around the sage flowers, as well as a few female robins feeding on insects in the garden beds.

Then a flash of yellow caught my attention and a Crescent Honeyeater joined the backbills feeding on the nectar of the Salvia. These birds are known to migrate from the mountain forests to the coastal areas in autumn and winter.

I also read on Facebook that Robin Spry, while walking through the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve, spotted a Weebill, a tiny bird rarely seen in this area of ​​Victoria.

I received a nice email from Alan, who lives near Blue Waters Lake. He said it was interesting to see that Voice reader Lynne had seen an Eastern Spiny-tailed Squirrel in her yard, as Alan had also seen one for the first time in his yard about two weeks ago, albeit only fleetingly.

It landed on a bare plum tree and then flew away again. Within 20 minutes a Brown Thornbill (I think) landed in the lime tree and stayed for about 10 minutes,

perhaps he was interested in the scale insects or other bugs on the tree. It was long enough for Alan to grab the camera and take a photo as it took off from the vegetable garden. Alan was thrilled to spot two birds he had not seen in person at Blue Waters Lake within 20 minutes and from the back deck.

Alan has also updated me on the pair of Tawny Frogmouths that seem to be at Blue Waters Lake. They are there and hopefully getting ready to nest once the weather isn’t so cold.

The resident swan pair at BWL have been actively chasing away other swans, possibly their own young swans, now about 10 months old. The previous two clutches were chased away after about six or seven months after the adults had started breeding again. Alan wonders if this is a sign that the swans will breed again now that the lake has sufficient water? Alan and his partner Anne were visiting friends in the Maryborough area who pointed to a spot where they had spotted Swallow Parakeets. On the first two days they saw none, but the next very frosty morning (-3 degrees) as they stood quietly in the forest about 11 of these beautiful parrots came and began feeding in the canopy above. What a privilege to encounter these critically endangered birds, whose numbers were recently estimated at just 500 in the whole country.

wild. Swallow-tailed Parakeets can also be seen in Ocean Grove when they make their way to Tasmania before and after the breeding season.