The March birdwalk was our final search this season for migratory waders before they start off on their amazing trip to Siberia.

There were none at these locations on this day, but there were hundreds of other water birds for us to feast our eyes on, with 42 birds identified.

I have never seen so many Swamp Hens…there were too many to count, and a range of ducks etc. We felt very sad to think that from next week they will have to endure three months of hunting in these areas.

Some favourite birds we saw were many of the elegant and handsome Black-winged Stilts, and Royal Spoonbills, with their broad bills vigorously sweeping from side to side though the muddy shallow water in search of ‘delicacies’.

Morning tea at Tait Point was very pleasant, and a special delight was the sight of two Great Crested Grebes. Grebes are notoriously hard to watch as they often continuously dive and disappear from sight. However these two stayed in one spot and allowed us all to have a close look through the telescope and admire these, the largest and most handsome of the grebe species, with their distinctive black double crests, and chestnut and black neck-frill.

A few raptors were seen, but as we were leaving those of us in the last car had a special treat in a good sighting of a Wedge-tailed Eagle sitting on a post.

Elllinor Campbell

Below are all the birds identified on this walk:

1.  Black Swan

2. Grey Teal

3. Chestnut teal

4.  Pacific Black Duck

5.  Australasian Grebe

6.  Great Crested Grebe

7.  Crested Pigeon

8.  Little Pied Cormorant

8.  Great Cormorant

10. Little Black Cormorant

11. Australian Pelican

12. Eastern Great Egret

13. White-faced Heron

14. Australian White Ibis

15. Straw-necked Ibis

16. Royal Spoonbill

17. Yellow-billed Spoonbill

18. Black-shouldered Kite

19. Whistling Kite

20. Wedge-tailed Eagle

21. Brown Falcon

22. Purple Swamphen

23. Eurasian Coot

24. Black-winged Stilt

25. Black-fronted Dotterel

26. Masked Lapwing

27. Crested Tern

28. Silver Gull

29. Rainbow Lorikeet

30. Musk Lorikeet

31. Eastern Rosella

32. Superb Fairy-wren

33. White-plumed Honeyeater

34. Red Wattlebird

35. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

36. Grey Shrike-thrush

37. Australian Magpie

38. Willy Wagtail

39. Little Raven

40. Magpie-lark

41. Welcome Swallow

42. Tree Martin