Trailer park trash - not!

These Red-browed finch and friends were fellow tenants at the Breakaway Twin Rivers Caravan Park at Acheron this weekend:

Red-browed finch (Neochmia temporalis) 

I'm very familiar with this view (above) of these birds
but amongst the group were a few cooperative individuals
on this occasion.

Red-browed and red rumped
but not a firetail!

Superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus)Breakway Twin Rivers caravan park

This is an immature male developing its coloured plumage.
(Pizzey says this occurs during the bird's first breeding season)

Superb fairy-wren (female or immature) 

The same bird again 

Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)

Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
about to regurgitate a cast of indigestible material.

Emu-wren, Cisticola and Fieldwrens

We are at Deen Maar Indigenous Protected Area where I enjoyed another memorable morning last Saturday. Within minutes I had seen one of my "target" species - Southern emu-wren. Spent some time in the marshes with many Golden-headed cisticola and Striated fieldwren.

Although it never actually happened I had a feeling the whole morning that I was about to see something unique (I was thinking bittern etc). A great way to spend a morning!

Southern emu-wren (Stipiturus malachurus)

Striated fieldwren (Calamanthus fuliginosus) 

Golden-headed cisticola (Cisticola exilis)

I was enjoying a nice view of this cisticola when a
fieldwren came and joined in (below)

(You know you must be small when
you can make a fieldwren look big!)

Black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris)

Swamp harrier (Circus approximans)

Mob of emu in the distance (about 15 of them)

Black swan 

Great egret

Here is 30 seconds of low-res compact still-camera video showing Deen Maar. Beyond the rise is the surf beach of Bass Strait. During the video some black swan take off (barely visible). In the last 4-5 seconds the "white noise" you can hear is the constant noise of the turbines (if you have good ears & listen carefully!).

Teamwork at Lake Yambuk

This Great egret and Royal spoonbill seemed to be acting as a team feeding together at Lake Yambuk last weekend. I'm not sure what was in it for the egret but it seems very likely that the spoonbill was appreciating the stirred up mud the egret was generating.

Great egret (Arda alba) leading the way

Royal spoonbill almost at his feet at times

They waded together for at least 10 minutes covering about
30 metres of shore together

Royal spoonbill
(Platalea regia)

An enjoyable evening's birding included views of Musk duck amongst others on the lake. I thought at the time that this female was really "steaming" along - a really strong swimmer. I was not surprised to later find that this duck goes by the alternate name "Steamer" in some circles.

Female Musk duck (Biziura lobata)
Pizzey opens up with "A very strange duck"

Musk duck steaming along.
In the background we find the Royal spoonbill has
found a different companion.

At the point where the lake reaches the sea (generally blocked by a sand bar) there is an intertidal rock platform and often many tern, heron, cormorants and small waders.

On this occasion I was struck by the number of the threatened Hooded plover. There were at least 15 counted amongst a larger group of Red-necked stint in an area no greater than 20X20m.

7 Hooded plover (including 1 immature Thinornis rubicollis)
in this one shot among Red-necked stint

Red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis)

Comparative size to the Hoodies and the tail markings
helped confirm that this was a flock of
Red-necked stint (I was hoping for Sanderling!)

Yambuk Lake
Downstream & around the bend (to the left) finds the surf
Upstream  we find the Deen Maar wetlands &
Codrington Wind Farm