Some birds in Westgate Park like the Sacred Kingfisher and the Southern Boobook (owl) prefer to nest in tree hollows but these hollows take many years to form so we have erected special nest boxes where it will be safe to lay eggs and raise chicks. Come with u...
Category: Citizen science
Hollows for Habitat
As part of our project – Hollows for Habitat – we are running a series of tours, field trips and monitoring events. This is to see if the 50 nest boxes erected in the park are supporting microbats and birds that would normally use tree hollows. Not...
4 April Bird survey
Highlights of the April survey were the high number of Grey Fantails – possibly four separate groups. And a sighting of an early visitor in the shape of a female Flame Robin, along the Yarra in the planted shoreline belts. This area is frequently used by fis...
7 Mar Bird survey
Forty-six bird species were sighted along the Westgate Park survey route on a humid but clear March day. When added to opportunistic sightings between surveys, a total of 64 species were sighted in February and early March. On the day itself, lake levels were ...
Bird survey 6 December
Hot, blustery, and humid weather suppressed a great deal of bird activity, but with good habitat conditions the superb fairy-wrens continue to breed. Overall, however the park looks good with larger trees well recovered from the near-drought conditions that pr...
Bird survey 1 November
This survey recorded the first eastern rosella seen in the park 2016. Clamorous reed warblers are back in number, and the high number of white-browed scrub-wrens. The water in both major lakes is at very high levels, with almost all the smaller islands in the ...
Bird Survey 2 Aug
The park has had good rain, and water levels have risen in the lakes and wetlands. The day of the survey was windy, which partly explains the modest tally of 40 species. Moreover raptors are rare these days, and water levels generally too high for the lar...