#196 to #200 at the Western Treatment Plant and then Woodlands Historic Park, June 30

I planned to wake up early-ish this morning and head to the Western Treatment Plant. The weather forecast predicted rain all day, and at the treatment plant you can stay dry by birding from the car, so it looked like the best option. But when the alarm went off, I looked at the rain radar and decided that another few hours sleep would be better than birding in the heavy rain. So after a relaxing morning, I eventually headed off around 10:00am.

The drive to WTP was completely dry, and when I arrived I found that there were even periods that were quite sunny! I headed through gate 4, but there was very little around. I then headed towards the Western Lagoons, hoping to find a few nice birds of prey, but instead found a pair of Little Egret and managed a new photo for the year. Then, a few seconds later, I saw a 'piplark' (a term I use to describe the very similar looking Australasian Pipit and Eurasian Skylark). I took a few photos before it flew away. It looked like a Eurasian Skylark to me, but to be sure I posted the photo in the bird ID facebook page and got the confirmation I needed - another photo for the year list.

Next, I checked the rain radar and saw A LOT of rain coming. I didn't want to hang around in the rain, so I looked at the rain patterns to find a drier location. I noticed that the area around Woodlands Historic Park (which is close to home) was fairly rain-free, so that's where I decied to go. But I only made it a few metres down the road before I saw a pair of Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike. They're fairly common, but for some reason I struggle to get a photo of this species. I put in a solid attempt but only got a well below average photo, but I’m still quite happy to use it here as species #198.

I stopped off at home for a very quick lunch and a much needed toilet break before heading to Woodlands. The rain radar gave me hope that I would stay dry, and I did! There was only a very brief period of drizzle, but it was dark and gloomy the whole time I was there. At first, I struggled to find any birds. Then, a bit off the track, I stumbled upon a 'mixed species feeding flock' and got some photos of a Varied Sittella. The flock was quite extensive and contained about 8 sittella, a pair of Golden Whistlers, many Yellow-rumped Thornbills, a few Yellow-thornbills, Weebill, Grey Fantail, a single female Scarlet Robin, and a lone Brown-headed Honeyeater. I followed the flock for a while and then came across a milestone - I managed to photograph species #200 for the year - a Striated Pardalote. Both Striated and Spotted Pardalotes are reasonably common birds, but for some reason I have a lot of trouble photographing them! Luckily, today, I managed the ever so common Striated Pardalote as bird number 200 for 2016! Yay!!!!

#196 Little Egret

#197 Eurasian Skylark

#198 Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

#199 Varied Sittella

#200 Striated Pardalote

WTP eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30465022
Woodlands eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30465030

After today's outings...
2016 year list: 255 species
2016 photos: 200 species