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Visited: spring
Recommendation: There is so much to see here. Heron, pelican and cormorant fill the air over the water, while the bush is full of small birds flitting around. Parrots fill the canopy with their antics and all are watched by the marsupial neighbours. It is a magic place.
Belvidere Campsite is on the opposite side of the inlet from Point Douro. There is access to the ocean side beach too but I stayed at the campground and watched the water and shore from there. The site was quiet with lots of huge trees but a bit more space than the forests inland. The bird noise was loud with lots of parrots screeching from the canopy. I found a nesting kookaburra as soon as I arrived and it was lovely to hear the chirruping from inside the tree. As I walked down to the water, fairywrens, scrubwen and thornbills were buzzing around in the shorter scrub.
The tide was going out as I got to the shore and there were lots of heron feeding in the shallows. Great and Little Egret and White-faced Heron were working the mud. Pelican and sea eagle circled overhead and dozens of Little Cormorant sat on the remnants of the jetty posts. It was just beautiful.
Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)
In the bright sunlight, Australian White Ibis circled overhead and I tried to shoot them against the light. White birds that are backlit are often spectacular with the light showing up their bones. They get such a tough time in Australia, and are often known as the "bin chicken".
Unlike many other bird species, the ibis has thrived in urban environments. This has led to increased populations and a higher visibility, often in less desirable locations. Their diet primarily consists of scraps and leftovers, which has led them to become synonymous with rubbish bins. This behaviour can be unsightly and unhygienic.
While not particularly dangerous, ibises can be quite assertive when defending their territory or food sources, which can be intimidating to humans. All seems a little unfair to the poor ibis!
Australia White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca)
Behind my pitch in the mornings kangaroo roamed, feeding on the grass. They were watchful of me but not concerned enough to get up and move. I enjoy seeing Western Grey Kangaroo as they differ markedly from their eastern cousins. They typically have a darker coat, often with a brownish or even black tinge, while the Eastern Greys tend to be lighter in color with a more greyish appearance.
Western Greys also often have a darker face with a distinct white line below the nose. Eastern Greys have a paler face. Lastly, Western Greys are generally considered to be slightly stockier than Eastern Greys.
Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus)
The 28 Ringneck Parrot were abundant at the site and as common as they are here, I love them. Their cheery parrot ping reverberated around the trees and even their squabbling was entertaining.
28 Ringneck Parrot (Barnardius zonarius)
Back home in New Zealand, a Little Egret visited the estuary I lived at each year. A rare visitor to NZ, I spent a lot of time watching and photographing it. I spent and hour doing the same here and it brought back very happy birding memories. Unlike other, more sedate herons, it dashes about when hunting and is never boring. I also loved that its plumes stuck up in the wind.
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Early in the morning I watched a pair of White-bellied Sea Eagle soaring in the warm air. They moved slowly and with such grace that it was easy to forget that they are predators.
They are large birds with a wingspan that can reach up to 2.2 metres. Primarily, they are found along coastlines, estuaries, and inland waterways. As carnivores, they feed on fish, reptiles, waterfowl, and other birds, as well as carrion. They are skilled hunters using both aerial and ground-based techniques.
White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
Another graceful, but much smaller raptor, was the Nankeen Kestrel. It hovered close to me, unusually unconcerned. I left so it could hunt in peace.
The Nankeen Kestrel's name comes from the colour of its back feathers. This colour closely resembles the hue of nankeen cloth, a yellowish-brown cotton fabric that originated in the Chinese city of Nanking (now Nanjing).
Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides)
Back in the camp, Splendid Fairywren sang in the bushes. The colour of the males during the breeding season is incredible.
I only recently learned that blue feathers don't actually contain blue pigment. The blue colour we see is a result of a fascinating optical illusion created by the structure of the feather itself. Tiny structures within the feather scatter light in a way that reflects blue wavelengths while absorbing other colours. This unique structure is what gives the feather its blue appearance.
Splendid Fairywren - Malurus splendens
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