Target: 300 Birds: #40 to #54 at Serendip Sanctuary and Western Treatment Plant, Victoria, January 6 2016

It was nice to be home in Melbourne and get the chance to get out and do some local birding. Where better than the Western Treatment Plant?!?!?

I got a much later start than I was planning but eventually got on the road around 9:30am and headed towards the treatment plant. Along the way I decided to make a short detour and visit Serendip Sanctuary as well. It’s reasonably close to the treatment plant and there are usually some nice birds there as well.

Serendip did not disappoint. As soon as I parked the car I heard the call of a restless flycatcher. It took some effort but I ended up with some ok photos. Then I headed off towards the big lake which was, as it often is, jam-packed with Magpie Geese! A bit further along I heard Purple-crowned Lorikeets calling from a flowering gum. I managed a few photos, but nothing worth publishing here. I also took a poor-angle photo of a Purple-crowned Lorikeet and when I had quick look on the back of the camera I thought it was a Little Lorikeet. Oops! I did think I heard some Little Lorikeets around but I have confused their call with Purple-crowned in the past…

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26725254

#40 Restless Flycatcher

#41 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

#42 Cape Barren Goose

#43 Magpie Goose

I headed back to the car and drove towards the Western Treatment Plant. The first bird I saw was a Brown Falcon, but it was too fast for a photo. Then I checked out the paddocks along Beach Road where there’s usually a Banded Lapwing or two but I couldn’t find any at all! Not a good start. While I was sitting in the car at Beach Road another car stopped and said hello. It was Phil and Bill, two birders that I know, and they said that there were Baillon’s Crake showing well in the T-section pond, so that’s where I went. They were right! I saw three Billon’s including two young fuzzy ones, as well as at least four Australian Spotted Crake.

#44 Australian Spotted Crake

#45 Baillon's Crake

After the T-section I headed to the Western Lagoons where Phil and Bill had said that they saw a Grey Plover on the spit. After a few quick scans of the area I managed to pick out a larger roosting wader and after a small wait it lifted its head and wings and revealed its identity – it was indeed a Grey Plover. A lucky find, but at that distance the photos are just a fuzzy blob! I also saw quite a few Marsh Sandpipers in the lagoons, but no Common Greenshank – possibly the first time I haven’t seen one at the Western Lagoons ever!

Next I went through gate 4 and did a few laps around Lake Borrie with a few trips to the bird hide. The shore was jam packed with waders, but I could not find anything particularly unusual other than a solitary Pacific Golden Plover. Before I knew it, time had run out and it was time to head home. I got quite a few more photos than I've added, but it was a grey gloomy overcast day, and I decided to wait for better photos of those species. Hopefully I can get them!

eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26729293