Mill Park Lakes

I had noticed on the Eremaea Birds website that there had been recent sightings of Freckled Ducks at the Mill Park Lakes wetlands so I thought it would be worth a drive out there. I was not expecting to see the sheer number of birds and different species that I ended up finding because of the wetlands position within a housing estate. Hence a long post with lots of photos!
The wetlands were designed to catch storm water runoff to produce a healthy wetland ecosystem and it's apparently Melbourne's largest artificial wetlands project, costing around $7m.

Straight out of the car I found my first new spotting, a Latham's Snipe. I've been trying to find these down at Banyule for a while now - I know they're there because people have recorded recent spottings.
The Latham's Snipe breed in Japan and then migrate to Australia for warmer weather.

Latham's Snipe, Gallinago hardwickii

I thought the next duck was a female Musk Duck with 2 fluffy brown chicks until I found the male had a blue bill. Turns out it is a female Blue-billed Duck - a bit lighter in colour than the Musk Duck with a slightly different shaped bill.

Blue-billed Duck (female with chicks), Oxyura australis

The male Blue-billed duck, as the name implies, has a light blue bill. These ducks lay low in the water and their stiff tail feathers are usually held flat against the waters surface. Like Musk Ducks, the B-B duck is a diving duck and is hardly ever found on land.

Blue-billed Duck (male), Oxyura australis

This Yellow-billed Spoonbill was mostly napping on the rock but he did turn around to look at me before yawning and going back to sleep. 

Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Platalea flavipes

I found one solitary Pelican that was feeding in between preening itself.

Australian Pelican, Pelecanus conspicillatus

There were over 20 beautiful chestnut Hardheads (also known as the White-eyed Duck).

Hardhead, Aythya australis

A lone seagull had made a nest on a floating pontoon. 

Silver Gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae

I found 2 Australian crakes feeding on the mudflats and got a quick glimpse of a Black-tailed Native Hen as it ran for cover in the shady reeds. This time I made sure to photograph it's face!

Australian Spotted Crake, Porzana fluminea

Black-tailed Native Hen, Gallinula ventralis

I found another Native Hen further into my walk but once again it stayed hidden in the shadows so the photo quality isn't great.

Black-tailed Native Hen, Gallinula ventralis

I saw 3 of the 5 Cormorants - Little Pied, Great and Little Black.

Little Pied Cormorant, Microcarbo melanoleucos

Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo

Little Black Cormorant, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

Then I found the Freckled Ducks! Their brown plumage is evenly freckled white and the bill is slightly upturned. I found a few websites that state that the Freckled Duck is rare and vulnerable, with around 20,000 left in the wild. They are protected by law in all states. I'm so glad I got to see them after finding this information.

Freckled Duck, Stictonetta naevosa

The Freckled Duck below is probably a male because the base of his beak is slightly crimson. It turns bright crimson in the breeding season.

Freckled Duck (male), Stictonetta naevosa

Another exciting find was this Australasian Shoveler. Its large bill made it stand out from the surrounding ducks. It also sits quite low in the water. The yellow eye and grey head suggests it's a male. 

Australasian Shoveler (male), Anas rhyncotis

I saw 7 Black-winged Stilts and could get a lot closer to photograph them than when I saw them at Philip Island. I went a little nuts with the photography... 

Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus

There were over 50 Coots and lots of Purple Swamphens and Dusky Moorhens. 

This Dusky Moorhen was making a lovely nest on top of an old bike in the water. She had 2 chicks lying nearby watching her work. 

Dusky Moorhen, Gallinula tenebrosa

Dusky Moorhen (chick), Gallinula tenebrosa

Superb Fairy Wren (female), Malurus cyaneus 

Hoary-headed Grebe, Poliocephalus poliocephalus

Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio

Reed Warblers flitted between the reeds and were difficult to capture until one finally posed at the top of a dead reed for me.

Clamorous Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus stentoreus

And I found a pair of House Sparrows hiding out in this dead log.

House Sparrow (male) Passer domesticus

House Sparrow (female) Passer domesticus

It had been a worthwhile trip, seeing over 31 species and recording 4 new spottings. It's definitely a place I will return to.