Geelong Foreshore

I was aiming to go to the Botanical Gardens this morning but to my surprise, they weren't open at 6.30am! As the gardens are adjacent to the foreshore, I turned and headed there. It was beautifully sunny and warm. I was immediately greeted by a pair of gannets. I have only seen them once on this trip, far out to sea so it was wonderful to see them so close. I walked along towards the boat ramp. It was pretty close to perfect.

The reason Sulidae, the family of birds that includes gannets and boobies, are called boobies is likely due to their tameness and ease of capture by early sailors. 

Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator)

I was interrupted from my serious gannet watching by a loud raven, sitting in the bushes. I have been looking to get a decent photo of a Little Raven and here it was. Can't ask for more than that.

Little Ravens are hard to tell from Australian Ravens. One of the best distinguishing features is their call but if they aren't singing, then it is tricky. Australian Ravens have prominent hackles under the throat and this bird also seems to have them. One of the best ways to tell is their location. Little Ravens are largely restricted to the Melbourne and Adelaide areas. 

Little Raven (Corvus mellori)

Cormorants were also coming and going, flying low to the water rather than high up like the gannets. I am looking for the Black-faced Cormorant so I snapped away. No luck today but I did rather like this photo of the Little Pied Cormorant.

Of the 5 species of cormorant in Australia, this is the smallest and most common (in my opinion anyway). They are easily identified by the short, stubby and very yellow bill.

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)