NEW YEAR'S DAY BIRDWATCH 1997

Traditionally New Year's Day has been a bird-watching 'big-day' and 1 January 1997 was not going to be an exception. As in recent years the search for birds would be limited to an area within 10 km of home but there the similarity ends. Having only recently arrived in the southern hemisphere, last new year's day was spent in the depths of darkest Hertfordshire (southern England) where the temperature only barely exceeded zero and visibility was rarely greater than 50 m. Despite the prevailing conditions, 60 species were recorded of which the highlights were a Dipper (unusual in lowland England) and a pair of Common (River) Kingfishers. Along with the change of hemisphere came the change of seasons and associated length of daylight; at least in the northern hemisphere the first dawn of the new year was not much before 08:00 allowing at least some recuperative sleep after the celebrations!

Home for our first year in Australia has been the small suburb of Seaholme, sandwiched between Williamstown and Altona, to the west of Melbourne, Victoria. Taking Seaholme Station, only 100 m from home as the centre of our home range, then Melbourne's western suburbs occupy the north-eastern quadrant while much of the south-eastern quadrant is covered by the waters of Altona Bay. The coast and Marybyrnong River form the southern and eastern boundaries with Point Cook R.A.A.F. base the southernmost point. The western border was formed by theDerrimut/Hopkins Road (north of Werribee) while to the north we did not cross the Western Highway. This area can offer a range of habitats including suburban gardens, grassland, wetlands and coast but little in the way of woodland.

It was still dark when the alarm sounded at 05:00 on the first morning of 1997, but the sky began to brighten while we sipped a refreshing cup of coffee. Like us some birds were active before it was fully light. First awake were Common Mynas closely followed by House Sparrows. The next few birds were all species we had seen regularly from our garden over the last 10-months; Red Wattlebirds breakfasted in a red-flowering eucalypt (we are still struggling to get to grips with the identification of Australian trees); a femaleBlackbird possibly one of the pair that nested under our porch, fed along the edge of a flower bed tossing wood chips to one side as she searched for grubs; Spotted Turtle Doves were also active feeding on the grass verge while flocks of Silver Gulls flew towards the coast and a male Greenfinch sang briefly from his perch on an overhead cable. Starlings were perched on the rooves of houses across the street and White-plumed Honeyeaters visited the tree frequented by the Wattlebirds earlier.

The plan was to walk round my local patch first, following the railway line east, crossing the Cherry Lake overflow before continuing along the shore to Kororoit Creek. Shortly after leaving home, two Common Terns,in winter plumage flying over the houses of Seaholme were a bit of a surprise. I had expected to see them later, but not over suburbia. Little Wattlebirds visited another flowering gum while two juvenile Goldfinches, lacking the red-faces of adults, twittered from a phoneline. As usual there were a couple of Australian Pelican incongruously perched on the lamp-posts by the boat ramp, surely not waiting for a free hand-out at this early hour. Little Raven, Australian Magpie and Magpie Lark foraged on the grassy expanses just behind the beach. Pacific Gulls landed on another lamp-post near the Pelicans. Welcome Swallows swooped low over the waters of Cherry Lake over-flow. They had nested under the railway and road bridge, but no longer seemed to be caring for young. A Song Thrush perched on a fence was the first I had seen in this area for several months and the twentieth species of the day. Of these 20 no fewer than eight species had been introduced to Australia. Once across the Cherry Lake overflow we made our way to the seashore. Two Royal Spoonbills headed east along the coast towards Kororoit Creek. As we crossed the rough ground masquerading as cricket pitch we disturbed a Willie Wagtail and seven Yellow-rumped Thornbills that had been feeding amongst the grasses. The high-pitched contact calls of Superb Fairy Wrens were heard from the nearby bushy perimeter of Altona workers club and two Masked Lapwings flew up from the middle of the cricket pitch where the outfield is continually dug up by the large population of rabbits. The calicivirus does not seem to have reached Altona yet. Skylark, another introduced species sang on high reminding us of summer (and not new year's day) back home. The tide was high and several Black Swans swam close in shore. No other birds were seen west of the rocky point but a single, pale Brown Falcon perched on top of a bush in the area of grassland and scrub known as Altona Coastal Wetland. Up to 300 Red-necked Stint were roosting on the exposed rocks and among them were a few Curlew Sandpipers. A careful check through the telescope revealed that none of the waders were wearing leg-flags. Six Australian Shelduck flew over, the first time I have seen them at this site. BlackSwan were more numerous in the bay between the rocky point and KororoitCreek with 149, all adults, being counted. Is this a flock of non-breeding birds or a moulting flock? A solitary Greenshank fed at the water's edge and two Little Pied Cormorants stood on a sandbank with their wings out to dry. Earlier in the season the song of Golden-headedCisticolas had been a common feature of the grassland, but now the breeding season is almost over only one male was seen performing his song-flight. As we continued along the shore an adult Crested Tern flew in the opposite direction while a flock of Feral Pigeons wheeled over the large storage tanks of the mobil refinery, which dominates the skyline to the north. A single White-faced Heron fed in the shallows accompanied by two Australian White Ibis. Six Chestnut Teal, four males and two females stood at the water's edge, waiting for the tide to recede so they could continue feeding. An adult White-headed Stilt disturbed from the head of a small creek, flew about making its yapping call. Similar agitated behaviour had been noted on a couple of recent visits and it was thought to be nesting nearby. This was confirmed on new year's day when a young stilt (about half adult-size) was seen running across a bare area ofg round. We left the area quickly, so the young stilt would not be left alone longer than necessary. A group of White-fronted Chats, one male and several female plumaged birds flew along the track in front of us. An obvious Grey Teal was feeding at the edge of a pool left behind after a high tide but the six Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were much more difficult to see. The drawn out whistle-call of a Little Grassbird was heard but the bird not seen. An adult Black-shouldered Kite hovered in a laboured fashion over the grassland, soon moving on when mobbed by several Little Ravens. At 07:40 we were bird-watching along the lower part of Kororoit Creek. Just down stream from the ford is a rocky area of the stream with a few small islands which normally attracts several ducks and other waterfowl. New birds here for 1997 included Little Black Cormorant, Pacific BlackDuck and Hoary-headed Grebe. Above the ford, which is only affected bythe highest of tides the only new species was a Dusky Moorhen. The small reed bed which up until Christmas had held a singing Australian Reed Warbler was ominously quiet.

By now Jenny and the boys had had enough bird-watching and headed home while I continued up Kororoit Creek to complete a circuit of Cherry Lake. Two Purple-crowned Lorikeets (a pair?) and several New Holland Honeyeaters (my fiftieth species at 08:10) were feeding in a floweringt ree beside Millers Road. Eurasian Coots were as numerous as ever on Cherry Lake; it seems strange that I so rarely record them on Kororoit Creek. From Millers Road I followed the embankment between Cherry Lake and the extensive reed beds that line Kororoit Creek. Red-browed Firetails flew from the track to nearby bushes where some of their old, bulky, grass nests were seen. The pool formed where the creek widens out amongst the reeds was a haven for birdlife with 14 species seen there including eight Red-necked Avocets and three Black-fronted Plovers. Other waders, apparently using this pool as a high-tide roost as none were actively feeding were eight White-headed Stilt, 13 Greenshank, six Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and five Curlew Sandpipers. A short burst of Australian Reed Warbler song greeted me as I reached the shore of Cherry Lake, thankfully they had not all given up singing. Purple Swamphens frequented the reed beds and a Great Cormorant stood amongst the birds on the point opposite the bird hide. A flock of 67 Australian Shelduck were spread around the western end of the lake. Several Tree Sparrows were in the bushes on the south shore from where a Pied Cormorant was seen to have replaced the Great Cormorant that was there earlier. By 09:45 I had returned home having seen 59 species and looking forward to a cooked breakfast.

After breakfast it was time to explore further afield. Matthew decided he had had enough bird-watching for one day, so Jenny stayed at home with him, while Andrew came with me. Skeleton Creek, was disappointingly devoid of waterbirds, as it had been for the twitchathons back in October and no new birds were seen here. We fared better at Point Cook disturbing a Richard's Pipit form the access road and seeing four Australasian Grebes, two adults plus two full-grown juveniles, on the small pond near the homestead. A single Pacific Golden Plover flew along the coast where Silvereyes and Singing Honeyeaters called from the bushes and a Whistling Kite flew over the car park before dropping into the grasses. The water level in Spectacle Lake was low so there were few waterfowl, but Black-tailed Native Hens fed on the lake's grassy banks and an adult Red-capped Plover stood at the water's edge. An Echidna, ambling across an open space between two bushes during the heat of the day, was our most surprising sighting. It was now 15:00 and difficult to think where new birds might be found. The resident Crested Pigeons could not be found near Point Cook R.A.A.F. base but a male Australian Kestrel was seen perched on a fence post. We headed out to the grasslands around Truganina, north-west of Laverton and explored the many tracks. Singing Bushlarks were reasonably common, frequently perching on fences and a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo seen in a patch of scrub took the species total to 70 but bird activity was at a minimum in the 30^oC temperature and blustery, dry wind. Most unexpected bird of the day was Banded Lapwing, a flock of 13 was seen sharing afield with several horses from a nearby stables. And with that sighting we headed for home and tea.

I ventured out alone in the evening. Now that the temperature and wind had dropped somewhat, the birds were again active. The Point Cook Crested Pigeons had returned to their usual haunt. From a vantage point near Skeleton Creek a vixen and two cubs were watched trotting across the dried salt pans startling a hare, the fourth animal recorded. The final birds of the day were two Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrikes flying over the creek and a flock of 41 Marsh Sandpipers roosting in the shallows.

So ended my first New Year's Day birdwatch down-under. Few regularly recorded species were missed (e.g. Great Egret, Straw-necked Ibis and Striated Fieldwren) but given the available habitats within 10 km of Seaholme, the total of 74 species was not a bad haul, although I am suremore experienced Australian bird-watchers could have bettered it.