With such a prolonged series of heavy downpours over the last several weeks, the water bodies in the park are all very full. Indeed, as waterbirds in south-east Australia have a wide variety of current habitat choices, our numbers are fairly low.
It was pleasing to see a Great Crested Grebe on the Yarra just downstream from Westgate Bridge. As a group of 10-30 of this appealing species has been offshore in Hobsons Bay since late November, this observation was not unexpected. This is a new species for the park as none have been recorded since these monthly surveys commenced in March 2007. I (Andrew) do remember seeing a single Great Crested Grebe on the large freshwater lake in late 2006, before we kept any records of birds in the park.
Another equally welcome observation: five Little Grass Birds around the freshwater lake.
And an amazing photo by Ursula Dutkiewicz of the Long or Snake-necked Turtle with a Red and Blue Damselfly resting on its head.