The Western Treatment Plant
Come with me this week for a different sort of adventure... We're going birding at Melbourne's Western Treatment Plant, the premier birding destination in the state of Victoria.
First of all, they don't let just anyone in here. You'll need to apply for an access key and go through a safety induction checklist before they'll let you on the site. For some special access areas, you'll also need to attend a safety briefing. We'll stick to the general access areas today. Just remember to watch out for snakes, stay on the road, don't touch any sick or dead animals, and, of course, always shut the gate...
The accessible area consists of a vast series of ponds and lakes that lead to the sea. Any one of these water bodies would attract birds on their own, but joined end on end, they're like a giant bird motel...
None of these photos really capture the sheer numbers of birds. When we first drove in, there were enormous flocks of waterbirds launching from the nearby ponds.
Everywhere you look, there are new surprises...
Sometimes the ponds can be quite beautiful.
Other times, they look like an environment only a bird could love.
You can see more species here in a few minutes then you might see in an hour elsewhere.
You can use your car as a mobile hide...
Or use one of the pre-built ones...
Besides the waterbirds, there are the predators.
And when we're done, we can drop in at the nearby range zoo...
Where the four new lion cubs are having a nap.
But wait, what's that in that tree behind the lions?
First of all, they don't let just anyone in here. You'll need to apply for an access key and go through a safety induction checklist before they'll let you on the site. For some special access areas, you'll also need to attend a safety briefing. We'll stick to the general access areas today. Just remember to watch out for snakes, stay on the road, don't touch any sick or dead animals, and, of course, always shut the gate...
The accessible area consists of a vast series of ponds and lakes that lead to the sea. Any one of these water bodies would attract birds on their own, but joined end on end, they're like a giant bird motel...
None of these photos really capture the sheer numbers of birds. When we first drove in, there were enormous flocks of waterbirds launching from the nearby ponds.
Everywhere you look, there are new surprises...
Sometimes the ponds can be quite beautiful.
Other times, they look like an environment only a bird could love.
You can see more species here in a few minutes then you might see in an hour elsewhere.
You can use your car as a mobile hide...
Or use one of the pre-built ones...
Besides the waterbirds, there are the predators.
And when we're done, we can drop in at the nearby range zoo...
Where the four new lion cubs are having a nap.
But wait, what's that in that tree behind the lions?