MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Conference Birding: Crakefest in Canberra
Jerrabomberra Wetlands - 10 November 2023
Having been in Canberra for work the day before I was up at 5am to make the best use of the time before my midday flight to Sydney at the wonderful Jerrabomberra Wetlands. The morning mist was slowly lifting as the sun came up, revealing a river, flood plain, pasture and mature woodland. the first birds were a roost of 50-odd Little Black Cormorants in a dead tree across the river, with a couple each of Australasian Darter, Little Pied Cormorant and Great Cormorant. A Pied Cormorant fishing underneath the tree completed the set - which turned out to be a local rarity - completed the set. Other birds on the water included a couple of dozen Coot and Dusky Moorhens, and a sleeping Australian Pelican. Small flights of Galahs, Eurasian Starlings, and a couple of Red-rumped Parrots flew over, while Magpie-Larks occupied overhead wires, and Willie Wagtails competed with cheerfully shouting Australian Reed Warblers in the waterside trees and reeds.
A female Grey Kangaroo and her well-grown joey stopped to look at me as I came out of the first hide, the low sunshine giving some colour to their fur as it filtered through the gumtrees. The joey eventually became nervous and scrambled back into the pouch diving in headfirst and making a swimmer's tumble turn until its head and the tip of its tail were poking out.
Several more watched me from the grass around what turned out to be a superb little constructed wetland. A series of shallow pools filled with a mix of reeds, open water and floating vegetation held no less than three tiny Baillon's Crakes, and the first Australian Spotted Crake I've seen at less than 500 metres distance. I also enjoyed watching an Australian Swamphen ripping up a reed rhizome and holding it in one foot too much away like a stick of sugar cane. Two Royal Spoonbills and a Great Egret were on the adding pool and a pair of Buff-banded Rails were chasing each other along the cut strips in the adjoining grass where a Bright-capped Cisticola was singing.
Encouraged by my start I headed over to Kelly's Swamp in pursuit of the Freckled Ducks which were my top target of the morning. This took me through a woodland and past a flowering eucalypt that held New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, and Silvereyes. Cattle Egrets and Australian and Straw-necked Ibises were foraging in the water meadows as Welcome Swallows flew overhead. The first hide overlooking the swamp held an amazing five more Baillon's Crakes, two more Australian Spotted Crakes and a single Spotless Crake - which is more crakes than the rest of my 30 years of birding combined! As I headed round I was confronted by a Pied Currawong hunched over a freshly-killed Crested Pigeon, and cleared displeased by the intrusion. It wasn't in the least concerned about me and carried on feeding, only moving onto a nearby branch as I edged my way past.
I did eventually find the Freckled Ducks as I walked down towards the open water at the southern end. The one I did see was frankly a little disappointing, huddled up on another fallen tree with a bunch of other ducks, but a tick nonetheless. It's the pointy-headed duck asleep just below and to the right of the most obvious male Hardhead.
The same area held a pair of Black-shouldered Kites, three House Sparrows, a couple of Eurasian Goldfinches and the biggest male Grey Kangaroo I've ever seen, safely photographed at a good distance!
A nearby bush held a Rufous Whistler, and the last hurrah as I headed out went to a nice run of passerines that included several Crimson-browed Finches, a male White-winged Triller, a very showy male Superb Fairy Wren, a Weebill that came right in to my pushing and a fine family of Tawny Frogmouths in a bottlebrush tree.
For those with an interest the eBird list is here, and for plane buffs a short video out of the window of the dash 8 in which I flew back to Sydney
Cheers
Mike
Jerrabomberra Wetlands - 10 November 2023
Having been in Canberra for work the day before I was up at 5am to make the best use of the time before my midday flight to Sydney at the wonderful Jerrabomberra Wetlands. The morning mist was slowly lifting as the sun came up, revealing a river, flood plain, pasture and mature woodland. the first birds were a roost of 50-odd Little Black Cormorants in a dead tree across the river, with a couple each of Australasian Darter, Little Pied Cormorant and Great Cormorant. A Pied Cormorant fishing underneath the tree completed the set - which turned out to be a local rarity - completed the set. Other birds on the water included a couple of dozen Coot and Dusky Moorhens, and a sleeping Australian Pelican. Small flights of Galahs, Eurasian Starlings, and a couple of Red-rumped Parrots flew over, while Magpie-Larks occupied overhead wires, and Willie Wagtails competed with cheerfully shouting Australian Reed Warblers in the waterside trees and reeds.
A female Grey Kangaroo and her well-grown joey stopped to look at me as I came out of the first hide, the low sunshine giving some colour to their fur as it filtered through the gumtrees. The joey eventually became nervous and scrambled back into the pouch diving in headfirst and making a swimmer's tumble turn until its head and the tip of its tail were poking out.
Several more watched me from the grass around what turned out to be a superb little constructed wetland. A series of shallow pools filled with a mix of reeds, open water and floating vegetation held no less than three tiny Baillon's Crakes, and the first Australian Spotted Crake I've seen at less than 500 metres distance. I also enjoyed watching an Australian Swamphen ripping up a reed rhizome and holding it in one foot too much away like a stick of sugar cane. Two Royal Spoonbills and a Great Egret were on the adding pool and a pair of Buff-banded Rails were chasing each other along the cut strips in the adjoining grass where a Bright-capped Cisticola was singing.
Encouraged by my start I headed over to Kelly's Swamp in pursuit of the Freckled Ducks which were my top target of the morning. This took me through a woodland and past a flowering eucalypt that held New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, and Silvereyes. Cattle Egrets and Australian and Straw-necked Ibises were foraging in the water meadows as Welcome Swallows flew overhead. The first hide overlooking the swamp held an amazing five more Baillon's Crakes, two more Australian Spotted Crakes and a single Spotless Crake - which is more crakes than the rest of my 30 years of birding combined! As I headed round I was confronted by a Pied Currawong hunched over a freshly-killed Crested Pigeon, and cleared displeased by the intrusion. It wasn't in the least concerned about me and carried on feeding, only moving onto a nearby branch as I edged my way past.
I did eventually find the Freckled Ducks as I walked down towards the open water at the southern end. The one I did see was frankly a little disappointing, huddled up on another fallen tree with a bunch of other ducks, but a tick nonetheless. It's the pointy-headed duck asleep just below and to the right of the most obvious male Hardhead.
The same area held a pair of Black-shouldered Kites, three House Sparrows, a couple of Eurasian Goldfinches and the biggest male Grey Kangaroo I've ever seen, safely photographed at a good distance!
A nearby bush held a Rufous Whistler, and the last hurrah as I headed out went to a nice run of passerines that included several Crimson-browed Finches, a male White-winged Triller, a very showy male Superb Fairy Wren, a Weebill that came right in to my pushing and a fine family of Tawny Frogmouths in a bottlebrush tree.
For those with an interest the eBird list is here, and for plane buffs a short video out of the window of the dash 8 in which I flew back to Sydney
Cheers
Mike
