Little Bittern

This week I was sitting quietly in the birdhide with visitors, Roland and Anne-Marie, after our walk around the property when we caught a glimpse of a bird flying across the wetland to a little island covered in sedges. We were able to see only its bill at first and then it disappeared down into the sedge only to reappear a few minutes later on the muddy edge. For at least 10 minutes we were delighted to observe this beautiful female Little Bittern feeding undisturbed on the edge of the water. I even had time to dash off and call Allen so we all shared the excitement -
A special day indeed!

October Notes

We are now starting to see mudflats appearing on the wetlands after a 7-week period with virtually no rainfall.
Notes from the bird hide –
* a small flock of Little Friarbirds hunting for insects over the swamp
* early morning views of a white-browed Crake darting around clumps of sedge
* Clamorous Reed-Warbler in the morning sun on the edge of the wetland
* Brown-backed honeyeaters nest building then enjoying a bath at the end of the day
* Buff-banded Rail making use of the exposed mud
* Latham’s or Swinhoe’s Snipe made a brief stopover
* Large-tailed Nightjar at dusk flying low over the water
Observations from around the property
* a family of Pied Monarchs not far from Barratt Creek
* nesting Wompoo Fruit Dove on the edge of a pathway
* many families of Lovely Wrens
* busy Fig-parrots inspecting potential nesting sites
* Macleays, Dusky, Yellow-spotted and Graceful Honeyeaters feeding on the brilliantly flowered Callistemons
* large numbers of fruit-eating and nectar feeding birds enjoying
our plentiful native food sources