Check my birding map for specific location.
No denying it, I can't keep away from Serendip Sanctuary. It is such a wonderful park and has easy birding and photography. Having said that, the weather has been so changeable over the last week. From scorching hot, which filled the hides with swarms of flies, to overcast and dull, which made photography challenging. However, the sanctuary has not failed to surprise and delight me. Here is a round up of some of the extraordinary birds I have seen there. Stick around (or just scroll down) to the end for the best!
The Red-browed Finch are so funny. They hang around the avaries and sneak in through the gaps in the wire and steal the captive birds' food. Then they bathe in the drinking water and laze around in the sun. Fabulous to watch and the juveniles are fast learners too.
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes)
On my last couple of visits, I spent most of my time in one particular hide overlooking a pond with lots of reeds. There has always been plenty of activity here with swallows zooming in and out of the hide, ducks nesting and lots of other birds coming and going. A Little Grassbird was always calling and on a whim, I started whistling his call back. To my amazement, it flew to the reeds right infront of the hide.
Little Grassbird (Poodytes gramineus)
On my penultimate visit, I was photographing the friendly grassbird when I saw another one skulking around next to it. But it wasn't moving the same way. As soon as I got a clear look, I knew it was a Baillon's Crake. I just about dropped my camera! I have only ever glimpsed one in New Zealand before. The grassbird obviously wanted me to itself and pecked at the crake to get rid of it. Grrr. I looked at eBird and could see the crake was unreported here so no-one would believe me without a photo. I managed to get a couple of shots and then I sat there, sweltering in the middle of all the flies for another hour. It did not come back.
Baillon's Crake (Zapornia pusilla)
I returned the next day with some local birders who were sceptical and required confirmation for themselves. I sat in the hide on and off for 5 hours but thankfully it was cooler. I really didn't think we would see it again. But we did. A glimpse here and there at first but as the morning went on, we actually saw 3 birds and they moved in and out of the reeds more and more. Photography was tricky in the overcast light but you just get on with it. The birds were cryptic and shy but eventually, they became more and more visible. The highlight of the morning was one of them running along a partly submerged log right in front of the hide. And back again!
To give context about this sighting, the crake is probably pretty common but very rarely seen. There has only been one other report in the whole region for 2022 and that was at the Weribee wetlands. I was beyond delighted.
eBird Lists
No comments:
Post a Comment