Our Walk at Fivebough Wetlands on Sunday 12th March 2017

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Birds at Fivebough By Phil Williams

A group of dedicated MFN members gathered at the Fivebough Wetlands Carpark on Sunday afternoon.  Hanging on to our hats against the strong wind and watching the clouds for rain, we headed off along the walking track towards Brolga Shelter to the Brolga Junction.  The weather contrasted with the day before which was fine and warm with clear skies, when a couple of us had come to Fivebough on a reconnaissance visit. 

We stopped and looked at the birds in the water through breaks in the cumbungi as we wandered along the paths.  The scope was put to good use to help identify the distant birds.  As we continued to the Australasian Bittern Shelter and to the Freckled Duck Shelter, we noticed a number of dead birds along the path.  These included cormorants, purple swamp hens and a duck.  A couple of dead turtles and a live turtle were also seen.  A lot of juvenile birds were spotted and a comment was made that this made identification difficult, for example the Grebes.  There were several groups of Magpie Geese flying over (estimate at least 50).  Juvenile Nankeen Night Herons were seen around the track junction.  A large group of Pelicans and many Great Cormorants were also observed.  Royal and Yellow-billed Spoonbills were also present.  A large number (about 100) Freckled Ducks were also seen. The attached bird list is a record of birds identified by MFN members during the walk.

In general the paths were good to walk on and there was evidence of weed control work.  However the walking track deteriorated after leaving the Freckled Duck Shelter along the loop return to the carpark but this improved and we has an easy walk back along the track to the carpark.  On this part of the track we caught sight of a group of kangaroos and a Whistling Kite.

The few spots of rain didn’t really impact on our walk and the wind died down by the end of the walk.  We ended the evening with a chat and eats at the Information Centre before heading home before the rain came.

Penny Williams

Bird List