Little Egret, Nankeen Night Heron and more

A short trip to the viewing platform proved worthwhile when a Little Egret dropped in for a snack, the trip was even more worthwhile when a Nankeen Night Heron appeared amongst the reeds. Throw in a Yellow Billed Spoonbill and a Black Fronted Dotterel and the trip was an unexpected experience.

Satin Flycatchers Nesting

Difficult to distinguish from the Leaden Flycatcher, apparently the dark underside of the tail feathers makes this budding family a Satin Flycatcher. I was able to observe them from a distance as they took turns sitting on the nest. Located on the Possum Gully track at Cranbourne Botanical gardens.

Toora Bird Hide

Built by a work gang from Won Wron prison, the Toora Bird hide and board walk is located at the end of Toora Jetty Road, on the edge of Corner Inlet Marine National Park. Migratory waders are summer visitors including Eastern Curlews which were quite visible today.


The surrounding area is made up of mud flats and mangroves, with many varieties of grasses and sedges. Outstanding views of Wilson's Promontory, Barry Beach, Yanakie and the Toora windfarm can be seen from the car park.

My Tracks for Android

View 2011-12-08 09:56 in a larger map


I purchased a cheap Android smartphone to use the GPS for tracking my location and recording sites. In this map the route that I took is highlighted in blue. There are a lot of possibilities for this type of recording device.

Storm over Frankston

Some awesome stormclouds blew in from the northeast this afternoon and I couldn't resist a trip to the beach for some quick photos before the rain, hail and lightning started.

Wannarkladdin Wetlands

Located between the Patterson river and Edithvale wetlands is a little known area called Wannarkladdin wetlands. Access is easiest from the Patterson river and a short stroll takes you to an area of ponds created by Melbourne Water and masses of natural wetlands. Sea shells left behind by the retreat of Port Phillip Bay some 7000 years ago can still be found there.

It is a good place to find the elusive Latham's Snipe which is very well camouflaged so you have to look carefully, it is also home to many warblers, cisticolas, herons, egrets, stints and the usual ducks and teals. I was even surprised to flush out a quail on my most recent visit.

Tawny Frogmouth

A family of Tawny Frogmouths pictured near the entrance to Coolart.

Nankeen Night Heron

I was standing on the viewing platform at Edithvale wetlands when all of the coots, teals and duck suddenly scattered in all directions. My eyes looked to the sky expecting to see a swamp harrier but all that I could see was a heron cruising towards a tree branch. Wait a minute, that's a Nankeen Night Heron! The freaked out water birds had thought it was a bird of prey because like me, they are not used to seeing night herons in this location at this time of day. 

There are a lot of these immature herons appearing all over the place at the moment but opportunities for close photos don't come along too often.