Gorokan

This morning we ambled along the shores of Tuggerah Lake just on sunrise. It was a beautiful clear day with the promise of heat. Flocks of birds flew over headed out to their foraging spots: Channel-billed Cuckoos, Galahs, Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Little and Long-billed Corellas, Koel, Little Wattlebirds, Crested Tern and Silver Gulls.

A group of around eighty Australian Pelican formed an island off-shore, with more coming to join them every minute.

A Little Pied Cormorant emerged from an early fishing expedition and sunned himself on the end of the fence.

Welcome Swallows buzzed over the surface of the water and perched on the jetty.

Soldiers Point

#1 Pacific Golden Plover
 
#2 Curlew Sandpipers

#3 Ruddy Turnstones

#4 Grey-tailed Tattler
#5 Bar-tailed Godwit 
#6 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
#7 Red-necked Stint

Budgewoi

This little ‘lagoon’ of abandoned roadway is a great spot for walking the dogs, out of the mud that is most of the parks and reserves around here at the moment, with dense bush on both sides, and a swim in the surf at the turnaround point.

With the rain, the move and the end of semester marking and admin, there has not been a lot of time for bird photography, but the rain had been replaced by high cloud, so I took the camera out with us this afternoon.

The mistletoe was in bloom, attracting newholland honeyeaters, and the brown thornbills were in every bush. Whipbirds called from deep in the undergrowth and red-whiskered bulbuls were feeding on the lantana. Variegated fairywren females flew in to investigate my phishing, but the brightly coloured males kept their distance.