A visit to Kellys Swamp

There have been a lot of 'good' birds at Kellys Swamp recently so I decided that I would go there on Sunday to see what I could see in the way of the rarities (Australian Figbird; Little Egret; and Black-backed Bittern).  The short answer is "none of the above".

However there were a few interesting birds to be seen. 

A Pacific Balck Duck with 8 very small ducklings was amusing to watch.

 Pink-eared Ducks: these 2 were visible from Ardea hide but 20 more were visible from Cygnus.

There were at least three families of Australasian Grebes in various parts of the Swamp.  It was quite interesting that the chicks (grebelings?) were able to track the adult when it dived.  They were always close to bill (with their own beak opened) when the adults emerged!

 An Australian Spotted Crake made a brief appearance in the middle distance but my photos were not worth reproducing,

Moving to Cygnus hide I was briefly optimistic with the sight of a white bird with black legs,  Much too big for a Little Egret and clearly a second Royal Spoonbill.  The pink arrow indicates a Freckled Duck while the yellow marks a Lathams Snipe

 A second snipe was checking out the sole Pelican at the site.

I ended up writing down 4 snipe, and a flock of 8 Australasian Shovelers dropped in.  The final less common birds were 2 Red-kneed Dotterels.