cape barren goose and pelican

When I was in Melbourne, I think I spent 70% of the time indulging in food! But surely I had to do some birding :P…and where’s a better place to bird than the Western Water Treatment Plant! It was truly an eye-opening experience (well, for me it was) to bird in Western Water Treatment Plant, which was only an hour drive from the city! This place was filled with lagoons, grasslands and coastline that provided an ideal and varied habitat for all sorts of birds! To bird in the water treatment plant, you need a permit! Click here for more information about permit application. 😛 😛

Pink eared duck and banded lapwing

To beat the heavy traffic, I headed off at 0630, and arrived at the plant around 0740. There were gates to open to enter each zone area in the plant! So every time you opened the gate and drove your car in, you would have to lock the gate. Once in the plant, there were no shortages of birds- raptors, water birds, shore birds, bush birds, you just name it!! Having only spent 1/2 day in the area, I saw abt 50 birds, but I only took photos of  30 odd species (all new ticks!)… As I am writing this, I feel like going to Melbourne again, this time to do some serious birding! 😛

Royal spoonbill and Yellow Billed spoonbill

peregrine falcon and spotted harrier

straited field wren and straw necked ibis

hard head, Musk duck and Black fronted plover

zebra finch and white fronted chat

australian crake and white necked heron

fairy martin, bushlark, golden headed cisticola

red capped plover, banded stilt, red necked advocet