Check my birding map for specific location.
At my second house sit in Ballarat, the Yuilles Wetlands is only 2 minutes away. The car park is next to the ruins of the homestead which dates back to the 1830s. How different the landscape must have been then. It is lovely though, that Ballarat has so many wetland areas and this was no exception. There is a track down a slope towards the water and it is surrounded by trees and lots of low shrubs. Lots of small bush birds, including a large group of chatty European Goldfinch, were shooting about.
A pair of pardalote were busy collecting food and returning to a hidden nest. I watched them for a while and the female landed close to me.
Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus)
A boardwalk tracked across the water and into surrounding bush. Reed warbler and grassbird sang from the reeds around the edge and it was lovely. The track weaved through the bush and back and forward to the water. I walked along one side and there was a dense patch of shrubs, a bit like an English hedge. Underneath it ran a small creek and the birds were coming out and bathing in the water and the hot sun.
A pair of goldfinch sat up and then jumped down into the water.
European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
Higher up was a Brown Thornbill resting in the sun. I always find it interesting when birds go into a sort of stupor in the sun. This bird was in and out of a daze.
Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla)
A White-browed Scrubwren peeked out to see what was going on.
White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis)
Altogether, I have liked these little pockets of nature around Ballarat but have found the variety of species a bit lacking and the photography opportunities not so good. I took some shots of a New Holland Honeyeater with rather fine moustaches and decided it might be time to move on to a new place.
New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)
eBird List
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