Kay Parkin Birding: Northern Shoveler twitch in Victoria

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Northern Shoveler twitch in Victoria

A social weekend was in store when I decided to twitch the Northern Shoveler at Werribee. I flew to Melbourne on Friday night and my friend Vik collected me from the airport. He was generous enough to also offer to collect my friend Frank at 4.45am on Saturday morning!

Bleary eyed we had breakfast at Werribee while waiting for sunrise so we could find the Shoveler.

During the day we met up with some of my other friends, Jen, Ruth and Paul and we all enjoyed great views of this stunning bird before enjoying a day of general birding around this fantastic site.

Sunday we spent exploring areas around Mt Alexander, birding and drinking coffee!

Here are a few photos taken during the weekend.

Northern Shoveler

Pink-eared Duck

Whistling Kite

White-bellied Sea-eagle

White-throated Treecreeper

Kookaburra

Scarlet Robin - female

Brown Quail

Do you want to start bird watching?

Birding is a great hobby and can be done easily and without much expense. You can simply go for a walk and take note of the birds you see! If you are new to birding you may not know what the birds are called so I'd suggest carrying a note book so you can make some notes on their colour, size and markings so you can then identify them when you get home.

To identify them you can use an Australian Bird Field Guide - I'd suggest Pizzey, otherwise you can use a website which has photos of Australian birds such as www.bushpea.com

You can start listing every species of bird that you see. You will be surprised at how quickly your total increases. It is so much fun and you could encourage your family and friends to join you.

You will need a pair of binoculars - 10 x 40 is a good size. I use Nikon Monarch but try them out in the shop to get a light pair that suits you.

BIRDER

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Northern Shoveler twitch in Victoria