Kwinana Rockingham Mandurah Branch, 27 March 2022

Ten members attended our Lake Richmond walk on a grey, windy morning. We commenced the walk near Lake St and Safety Bay Road intersection, walking around the Anne Mueller walk track. Even before we left the lawn area to get on the walking track, we had our first sighting; a Motorbike Frog (Litoria moorei) was found in a small depression.

The lake had good numbers of water birds, and we soon spotted Musk Ducks, Eurasian Coots and Little Pied Cormorants. Around the lake margins, we noticed Grey Butcherbirds and Black-faced Cuckoo Shrikes, while overhead, a Nankeen Kestrel was spotted hovering in its search for prey. New member Gillian Beadell informed us that there had been a sighting of a Double-banded Plover (a rare visitor to WA during the cooler months) and that it had been seen on the lakeshore near the end of the raised walkway. We noticed that this had attracted some birdwatchers to the lake, no doubt keen to spot this bird. It was disappointing, however, to see that they jumped down from the walkway that is in place to facilitate a closer look at the birds on the lake and wandered out onto the shore of the lake, with no apparent concern for the Thrombolites (a Threatened Ecological Community), in their endeavour to get a close-up photo of the Double-banded Plover.

The vegetation near the walking track had been burned in a small fire in 2021, and it was noticeable that some weed species had grown in this area. Daniel Heald used the MyPestGuide App to report some not commonly found in this area. The results were passed on to the Environmental Department at the City of Rockingham to assist them in their weed control program.

We headed out onto the boardwalk for a closer look at the birds on the lake. A large group of Pelicans were present, taking advantage of the freshwater to clean their feathers. On the western shore, we spotted two raptors on the ground; these were a Whistling Kite and a slightly larger Swamp Harrier. We added Eastern Osprey, Pacific Black Ducks, Australian Shelducks, Purple Swamphen, Australasian Darter, Australasian Grebes and Great Crested Grebes to our bird list from this vantage point. Daniel found some insects and two small spiders on the walking trail, a tiny Orb-weaver Spider and a tiny Jumping Spider, which provided an opportunity to do some macro photography (the light was not conducive to bird photography).

Our guest speaker at our meeting the previous Monday, Paul Irvine, would later identify the spiders as Speckled Orb-weaver (Araneus circulissparsus) and a female Servaea sp. Jumping Spider. The other insects included two Spiny Red-legged Weevils (Catasarcus spinipennis) and a Robber Fly.

We continued our walk toward the elevated lookout tower. On our way, we added some woodland birds to our list, including a male Rufous Whistler, Grey Fantail and Willie Wagtail. From the lookout tower, Gillian put her spotting scope to good use and found the Double-banded Plover amongst some Red-capped Plovers on the shore of the lake, and we took it in turns to see it for ourselves.

With the clouds getting darker and threatening rain, it was time to head back to our cars and have some morning tea. While enjoying morning tea, a White-bellied Sea Eagle was being harassed by the Ravens was a nice addition to our Birdata list for the morning, bringing the total number of species to 39. It had been a great morning despite the unfavourable weather conditions. It was great to have new members Gillian and Ric Beadell attend. Gillian’s spotting scope is very useful for confirming identifications and pointing out the Double-banded Plover (the first sighting of this species for me).

Colin Prickett

All Images by C Prickett ©