Tag Archives: bird watching

Fooled

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 I saw a creature in long shaded grass
 Apparently brown and moving fast
 It turned and twisted while trying to pass
 Through slender grain of yellow cast
  
 I looked some time at its bobbing head
 At its swinging tail strange pointed red
 The smooth curved back came round again
 Fluidly rodent it looked up at me then
  
 To my surprise it turned out to be
 Not a snake or rodent looking at me
 But of avian descent with full head to see
 A juvenile rosella stared knowingly
  
 Who’d have thought such bright disguise
 Could cloud the vision of observer eyes
 On the ground coloured plumage denied
 Flashy brilliance so vivid in the sky

Australian Pipit

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A common Australian terrestrial bird that spends most of its time on the ground for foraging and breeding. Prefers semi to open habitats. I often see them on rural tracks running the wheel ruts.

Falling birds

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 All those birds
 falling from the sky
 Some birds live 
 More birds die
 So consider
 Why oh why?
 We poison
 food chains
 and nature deny
 We pave 
 We divert
 We scrape the sky
 We take 
 too much
 don’t comply
 heat the planet
 watch it dry
 Then only
 crocodile tears
 do we cry
 As our legacy
 becomes
 the worlds biggest
 lie
 That we care
 action says
 we deny

The Reed Warbler

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Reed Warbler at Polly McQuinns
 
 That clamorous reed warbler
 With the protracted breeding song
 Passages of enamouring power
 Designed to bring along
 A partner for the season
 With whom to court and spark
 To share nesting in long reeds
 At the edges of the lake 
 
 I do not know the words
 Of this loud and spirited song
 Launched from this small bird’s throat
 Into the gathered avian throng
 In the early morning, 
 at the end of each long day
 Persistent and single minded
 Seeking a mate to hold in sway
 But the message is clear and proud
 I am the one for you
 Come to me my darling 
 Let’s see what two can do

Reedy Lake

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Trail Checklist

Name:

Reedy Lake Wildlife Reserve, Kirwan’s Bridge

  • At present Reedy Lake is empty of water.

ReedyLake

Responsible Authority:

  • Parks Vic

Community

  • None known

Acceptable modes of transit:

  • Walk, cycle, horse, mountain bike, dirt bike, 4WD

Distance & duration

  • 4km wide Reedy Lake Rd has four approx. 1-2km access tracks into the lake

GPS coordinates & map

36°43’31.4″S 145°07’13.8″E

-36.725397, 145.120493

ReedyLake

Grading (using the Parks Vic Track and Trail Grading Manual):

No common walking trails were found. The tracks to and around the lake are 4WD and dirt bike, heavily rutted and boggy when wet. Many peripheral tracks are being created. Controlled access along engineered dirt roads would improve this situation.

Amenities:

  • Camping
  • 4WD
  • Dirt bikes
  • Horses
  • Water activities when water is present
  • Highly significant Aboriginal cultural place
  • Significant birdwatching site
  • Diverse ecological vegetation classes within Reserve (flora)

Hazards

Snakes, tree and limb falls, slippery surfaces, getting bogged, dumped rubbish, uncontrolled camping, uncontrolled tracks and trails

Restrictions

  • Take your rubbish with you
  • No potable water
  • No toilets

Trailhead sign & Informational Signs

  • Only a one board naming sign seen

Directional signs / bollards or trail markers

  • None

Brochure 

  • None

Conclusion

At the present time, this location appears to be dominated by 4WD and dirt bikes. Tracks were impassable by other means. Dry weather would change this. No established trails for non-mechanised use were evident. Litter and dumping of rubbish was evident. Reports mention an uncontrolled camping site. This was not seen. One concrete grated wood bbq was found near one entry point. However, it did not appear to have been used and evidence of other open fires nearby suggested camping occurs in this location at random. Reedy Lake can be enjoyed by a diverse range of recreational users, particularly when water is present in the lake. However, it is also subject to abuse. Ideally, this would be corrected by planning for improvements in multi-purpose access and oversight by Parks Vic.

Winter forager

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female white-naped honeyeater

Photographed at the edge of the Tableland in a stand of flowering manna gums, this acrobatic female white-naped honeyeater was one of dozens foraging for nectar. Nowhere near as colouful as her male counterpart, she was just as noisy with her husky throated sqwawk and musical whistle. When her beak wasn’t deeply inserted into one of the thousands of bright yellow sprays of bloom it was furtively seeking insects.