Bellbird Dell is a linear bushland reserve in Melbourne's outer east. It is conveniently located within 100m of the home ground my son's soccer club (Whitehorse United). As the pre-match warm-ups are becoming longer I took the opportunity to spend half an hour checking out the locals!
Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) I do like it when they show their "green bits"!
Rock wall reflections on still water make for an icy appearance
No need for chiropractic work here
Duck's reflecting everywhere
The above photo as seen on Instagram (upside down to explore the reflection & cropped for the 1:1 format!)
Budding birders! This is the same pond in August 2003. My kids have grown. I wonder how long a duck lives?
I must say Anas superciliosa sounds a little Harry Potter to me! I did enjoy finding a little magic and charm in this common and readily observed species!
Australian wood-duck (Chenonetta jubata) often graze on land. Hence their other common name Maned Goose. This pair were having a swim in one of the Dell's man made wetlands. Here the male has tired of pond weed and seeks something a little more terrestrial.
"And what kind of beast are you!?" Male Eastern Spinebill.
Eastern spinebill, Red wattlebird and Noisy miner were the predominant honeyeaters. The spinebills were interested in the flowering correa. Correa reflexa is a shrub indigenous to the area. The distribution of these particular plants suggested to me that they were part of a revegetation exercise.
Correa reflexa - sometimes referred to locally as Native fuscia
Common Bronzewing Phaps chalcoptera Bellbird Dell, 16 June 2013
Not an uncommon pose for Common bronzewing (as they walk away, contemplating flight)
Female Common bronzewing ruffling feathers up in the canopy.
Laughing kookaburra are often seen or heard
The name Bellbird Dell refers to the Bell Miner bird Manorina melanophrys. Once common in eastern Melbourne the sound of bellbirds in the canopy is now not often heard. I have only visited the Dell on 4-5 occasions and have not heard them. They do not appear on the Eremaea bird list for Bellbird Dell. They can still be heard not far away at Koomba Park.
Morning drizzle clearing, Bellbird Dell, Vermont South
A glowing review of Bellbird Dell can be found in this Youtube video by Steven1256 ...
Cutting across the middle of Bellbird Dell is another government-owned linear reserve which had been earmarked for freeway construction (now aborted). It is feared that this land will be opened for residential development without giving due concern to environmental factors.
Looking at this aerial shot, it does not take much imagination to recognise the potential benefit for suburban fauna if those light green areas could be made dark green!
Google Maps screen grab showing the revegetated Bellbird Dell running North-South and the abandoned freeway reserved land running east west. Bell miners still reside in pockets of Koomba Park which can be seen at the right.
For those interested, follow the links above to find out what action can be taken including lending support to a petition.
We have just enjoyed a long weekend of winter sunshine in Victoria.
I didn't do any birding at the weekend but these three birds did some "peopling" by visiting the backyard at Silverleaves, Phillip Island.
Superb fairy-wren (male). I was interested to see such a brightly coloured male at this time of year (our winter). Do click on the images to follow the larger versions of these thumbnails.
The female Superb fairy-wren is often referred to as a Jenny-wren
Eastern spinebill (Adult male)
The Eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)is a handsome honeyeater of eastern Australia. This one was demonstrating its ability to hover briefly while feeding (not captured unfortunately!). The last image of the spinebill was taken through a flywire screen. The only reason it has been included is that where the sunlight reflects off the bird's eye, the flywire has created a cross-shaped flare!
The spectacle I enjoyed most was watching this Red-browed finch Neochmia temporalis.
Red-browed finch, Silverleaves, Phillip Island, Vic
One became two ....
Two became three, which soon became four ...
Here is a photo showing 10 of the 15 birds I counted.
Red-browed finch
The other red object in the shot above serves to remind that the photo was taken in the Australian Rules Football-mad state of Victoria. This reminds me of the excellent start to the weekend as Friday night was spent at the footy. My son and I travelled with interstate rellos Banjo and Richard (of Richard Waring's Birds of Australia fame) to the MCG witnessing a great game between Essendon and Carlton.
The teams warm up at the "G". Thanks Rich for a great night and a fun result!
The footy experience continued with a half time kick at the local country game on Saturday (Phillip Island)
