[MikeMules]

Werribee Sewage Treatment Farm, that is. It's 11 000 hectares of grassland, effluent ponds and wetlands to the South-west of Melbourne. It is also one of the meccas of Australian birdwatching.

I was picked up at around 9:30 by my friend, who had already made a 50km trip to my place, and set out for the 65km journey to Werribee. Traffic being what it was, we didn't arrive at the main gate until 11:00, where in quick succession we saw the most boring birds of the trip: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus ), Spotted Turtledove (Streptopelia chinensis) and Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Fortunately, a gorgeous Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) was hawking for insects nearby, and Fairy Martins (Hirundo ariel) were dashing in and out of road culverts.

Before reaching the ponds and lakes at Werribee, we had a 5-10km drive through dusty, close-cropped farmlands, where we picked up Willie Wagtails (Rhipidura leucophrys a dicrurid flycatcher, not a motacillid) and Yellow-rumped Thornbills (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) on the fences. After dodging some large dump-trucks, and several gates later, we came on the first water, and the first of tens of thousands of ducks.

Actually, it is closer to hundreds of thousands. Reliable estimates of the Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus) currently at Werribee are in the order of 50 000 individuals, and I reckon I saw at least 10 000 of these - they were everywhere! Flocks of 5, 10, 50, 200 would fly up from a pond, squeaking like a multitude of bath-time toys. Then they settle down, cinnamon bums, zebra-striped flanks and over-long beak prominent, with the eponymous ear almost impossible to see. They were the most common bird I saw today.

Other ducks that I saw (in approximate order of decreasing frequency) were Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides), Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea), Black Swan (Cygnus atratus, Black Duck (Anas superciliosa), Grey Teal (Anas gracilis), Hardhead (Aythya australis, Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) and two Cape Barren Geese (Cereopsis novaehollandiae.

The Farm is also home to thousands of Whiskered Terns (Chlidonias hybrida) which is common on waterways throughout Australia. However, mixed in with them are a few White-winged Black Terns (C. leucoptera which are far less common, and which I had never seen before. Suffice to say, I saw about 20 today, which brought up my 355th lifer.

But what Werribee is most famous for, is its waders. Up to 200 000 a year. I dunno where they were today though, as all I saw were a few thousand Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (C. acuminata), with the odd Curlew Sandpiper (C. ferruginea) and Greenshank (Tringa nebularia). Not a sign of godwits, rare sandpipers, ruffs, dowitchers, plovers, dotterels or phalaropes. Oh well, they must have been somewhere else along the bay.

In just over 4 hours, we saw 66 species on a windy, overcast day. Apart from those mentioned, other highlights were Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis), Little Grassbird (Megalurus gramineus), Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) and three Black Kite (Milvus migrans) which were well south of their usual range, possibly due to the drought. Apart from the smell, which rapidly faded into the background, and the wind, it was a highly enjoyable trip, which finished back in Melbourne, just ahead of the peak hour traffic.