Peach Flat and Community Wetlands

647 Marathon Road, Briagolong, Victoria Australia 3860

25 September 2008

Exciting happenings at Peach Flat.

Stewart (the builder) and Rod are constructing a picnic shelter and interpretation site. It is located in the carpark on Marathon Rd, adjacent to the wetlands.

Yesterday we had a visit from Duncan and Peter, two birdos who are going to conduct seasonal bird surveys. Yesterday they logged 45 bird species. Water birds included: Australian Shellduck (photo below), Pacific Black Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Grey Teal, Clamorous Reed Warblers, several pairs of Australasian Grebes, Eurasian Coots, Dusky Moorhens, Purple Swamphens, and nesting Masked Lapwings. Today we sighted a second pair of shellducks. Shellducks have previously visited, stayed for a few days, then disappeared. This year, the wetland must be more to their liking.

Amongst Thursday’s observations were a nearly dead eel at the water’s edge and a swimming eel (obviously alive !), 2 speckled Masked Lapwing eggs in a grassy nest on the wetland wall (with parents circling and screaming at us) and some sittellas in eucalypts on the ridge (new species for Rod and I who are not very experienced birders).

There were lots of dragon flies about today, so the weather must be warming as they were not about yesterday.

Plants in flower include ground orchids Caladenia fuscata (photo below) and C. carnea on the ridge above the southern end of the wetlands.