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Visited: summer
Recommendation: You know you have hit gold when you can't even leave the car park for seeing Purple-crowned Lorikeet and Emu. This is a wonderful, wonderful place to explore.
Serendip Sanctuary has a complex history. Once European settlers arrived it was used as farm land, a health resort and lately a breeding programme for endangered animals. Today, it is a sanctuary for the public to enjoy and experience native animals in their own habitat, although there are still some rescued animals in pens.
There is no denying it, I can't keep away from Serendip Sanctuary. It is such a wonderful park and has easy birding and photography. Having said that, the weather in Victoria can be very changeable, from scorching hot, which fills the hides with swarms of flies, to overcast and dull, which makes photography challenging. However, the sanctuary has not yet failed to surprise and delight me. On each occasion I visited, I recorded over 50 species of birds, as well as great views of mammals too. Here is a round up of some of the extraordinary animals I have seen there.
But before I even entered the park, I had found lorikeets feeding in the car park. Always looking to get good shots of the Musk and better shots of the Purple-crowned Lorikeets, I waiting patiently for them to come closer. For once, they did.
Purple-crowned Lorikeet (Parvipsitta porphyrocephala)
The Red-browed Finch are so funny. They hang around the avaries and sneak in through the gaps in the wire and steal the captive birds' food. Then they bathe in the drinking water and laze around in the sun. Fabulous to watch and the juveniles are fast learners too.
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
I have seen the Yellow-billed Spoonbill on most visits but usually from afar. Sitting in one of the hides, I was lucky enough to see a pair collecting nesting material.
This unique bird is endemic to Australia, with some stray birds found also in southern Papua New Guinea. In some Indigenous Australian cultures, the Yellow-billed Spoonbill is considered a totemic animal, symbolizing patience, wisdom, and the importance of wetlands. Seems very appropriate to me.
Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes)
Little Grassbird (Poodytes gramineus)
On my last couple of visits, I spent most of my time in one particular hide overlooking a pond with lots of reeds. There has always been plenty of activity here with swallows zooming in and out of the hide, ducks nesting and lots of other birds coming and going. A Little Grassbird was always calling and on a whim, I started whistling his call back. To my amazement, it flew to the reeds right in front of the hide.
On my penultimate visit, I was photographing the friendly grassbird when I saw another one skulking around next to it. But it wasn't moving the same way. As soon as I got a clear look, I knew it was a Baillon's Crake. I just about dropped my camera! I have only ever glimpsed one in New Zealand before. The grassbird obviously wanted me to itself and pecked at the crake to get rid of it. Grrr. I looked at eBird and could see the crake was unreported here so no-one would believe me without a photo. I managed to get a couple of shots and then I sat there, sweltering in the middle of all the flies for another hour. It did not come back.
Baillon's Crake (Porzana pusilla)
I returned the next day with some local birders who were sceptical and required confirmation for themselves. I sat in the hide on and off for 5 hours but thankfully it was cooler. I really didn't think we would see it again. But we did. A glimpse here and there at first but as the morning went on, we actually saw 3 birds and they moved in and out of the reeds more and more. Photography was tricky in the overcast light but you just get on with it. The birds were cryptic and shy but eventually, they became more and more visible. The highlight of the morning was one of them running along a partly submerged log right in front of the hide. And back again!
To give context about this sighting, the crake is probably pretty common but very rarely seen. There has only been one other report in the whole region for 2022 and that was at the Weribee wetlands. I was beyond delighted.
I visited Serendip Sanctuary at every opportunity when I was in the area. There is a set of exhibits where the remaining rescued animals are kept. To my surprise, kangaroo and emu were roaming around. When I looked twice I saw that they weren't captive. They had hopped the fence into the park looking for food. Never seen that before in a public park. As I followed the track, the big roos lying on it very graciously moved out of my way. I was fascinated by a female with a rather large tail and foot sticking out of her pouch. The joey must have been huge. Poor girl, she looked very uncomfortable.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
After the kangaroo permitted, the hides were next. The first overlooked a small pond and there were ducks and grebes right in front of the hide. I loved the grebe, in full breeding plumage. Very attractive side on but quite comical looking down the camera.
Australian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)
Part of the wildlife walk were some open pens where I found the incredibly cute Tasmanian Pademelon. Wandering around them were Cape Barren Geese, a rather attractive small goose.
Cape Barren Geese (Cereopsis novaehollandiae)
Tasmanian Pademelon (Thylogale billardierii)
Hanging around the lake, I found a White-faced Heron. They are much smaller than you think if you can get close. They are such pretty, elegant herons.
White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
White-plumed Honeyeater (Ptilotula penicillata)
Further around the lake and into the bush areas, honeyeaters darted through the canopy. The only one I could pin down were White-plumed, resting on a branch. I like these birds as they are gregarious, noisy and always active. You can find them in open forests and woodlands, often near water sources like wetlands, swamps, creeks, and dams. They're particularly fond of River Red Gum woodlands, but you can also find them in woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus, Melaleuca or Casuarina trees. They may also be spotted in nearby river flats or open forests and woodlands .
Their distribution covers most of southeastern Australia, excluding Tasmania, and stretches up towards central Australia. There are also patches in central and western Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia. They're absent from desert areas but can persist in arid regions if there are trees and especially standing water.
Interestingly, banding studies show that the White-plumed Honeyeater is primarily sedentary, meaning they don't migrate long distances. In fact, 99.8% of them are found within 10 kilometres of where they were banded. They may make small movements locally, possibly in response to changes in their environment.
All around the park, feeding on the ground, were Red-rumped Parrots and after flushing about a hundred of them, I finally managed to catch a couple who would tolerate me.
Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus)
On my way out, I stopped at the bird hides again and after retrieving a couple of lost swallows with my hat and releasing them out the hide slots, I watched some more sunbathing. They were so funny, leaning over in a stupor.
Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)
As I reached the car park, an Emu stood in my way. I skirted around it (they are really big) but still managed to get a shot of it. It is not often that an Emu is around, sees you and doesn't run. Emu are the fastest flightless birds on Earth, clocking speeds of up to 50 km/h. Their powerful legs, with three strong toes pointing forward, are perfectly built for sprinting across vast distances.
Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
It wasn't until we were on our return on the lake path that Graeme found a pardalote just sitting on a branch right in front of us. It was unconcerned as we watched it and tried to improve our position for taking photographies. There were more of them above us and we thought there must be a nest close by. The male and female sat in the same place for breif moments as they moved around the tree.
Spotted Pardalote (Paralotus punctatus)
Parts of the park were given over to a walk through the pens and avaries. I liked the part where there were lookouts over a couple of large ponds. We were guided through them in tunnel like walkways with high fences on either side. It was a shame to not be able to see more of the area. One of the ponds was full of activity with wagtail and spoonbill nesting and swallows zooming around catching bugs. Fairywren bounced around the reeds and grasses. In the middle was a snoozing teal, which I just liked the look of.
Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea)
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