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Visited: late dry season
Recommendation: This is one of the best wildlife places, I have ever been to. It is worth a diversion to Derby for.
Derby Wetlands has to be one of the best birding places I've been to in Australia. It was just the most incredible place - very, very unusual, and it just shows what could be done with local enthusiasm and commitment to nature. The wetlands are connected to the sewage treatment plant, which is always somewhere that I look for when I go to a new place. The neighbouring area has been developed into a wetland using reclaimed water from the sewage plant. As you drive in, you actually drive past the sewage plant and you can look through the fences into the ponds themselves. There were plenty of ducks, corellas, sandpipers and terns when I visited.
Then as you turn away from the ponds, there is a small car park. The wetlands open up in front of you. They are fenced to stop the kangaroos and wallabies getting in but there are gates and also a track all the way round. Behind the wetlands is open pasture land, with great views. Visiting late in the day was quite good because the sun is behind the viewing points and the hide, which is up a banked area.
Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis)
The first thing I saw was this beautiful Pied Heron just sitting out, seemingly enjoying the sun. I knew then it was going to be good. At the end of my time here over two visits, one late afternoon and one early morning, I got over 50 species just standing in one space.
Pied Heron (Ardea picata)
On both visits, the Pheasant Coucal was there in good numbers. There were several males sitting up in different parts of the wetland calling and calling, which was just wonderful to see and to photograph. Just for once, they were sitting out in the sunshine.
Pheasant Coucal (Centropus phasianinus)
A pair of White-bellied Sea Eagle were sitting in the nearby tree in between the pasture land and the wetlands. They didn't come any closer, I wasn't sure why - maybe it was my presence.
White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
Along the shoreline of the two main ponds at the wetlands were some Black-fronted Dotterel. There was a number of them having some kind of territorial dispute, they were all puffed up and charging at each other and squabbling.
Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Diamond, Peaceful and Bar-shouldered Doves were all coming down to drink. It was so pleasant listening to them calling from the surrounding trees.
Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata)
Peaceful Dove (Geopelia striata)
And waders was great. You can see here that there's a Common Greenshank and a Marsh Sandpiper, which are often very difficult to tell apart when they're separate. When they're in the same frame, you can see the size difference and tell them apart easily. I also saw several Wood Sandpipers. Once I was settled in the hide, the flighty waders would come out into the open.
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) and Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
In one of the more secluded areas of the wetlands a Buff-banded Rail and even a Yellow Wagtail were looking for food amongst the drier areas.
Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis)
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
A flock of cockatoo flew in for a while. As usual, they made a lot of noise, tore up some foliage and then took off again. They are always so entertaining.
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii)
There were lots of dragons here but they were very skittish and hard to pin down. This Horner's Dragon looks similar to the Lashtail Dragon but they are separate species.
Horner's Dragon (Lophognathus horneri)
In the trees were the usual Yellow-tinted and Rufous-throated Honeyeaters calling and chattering. From the reeds in front of the hide I could hear the Reed Warbler calling and there were lots of Golden-headed Cisticola who were quite insistent, including this one with no tail. I'm not sure what happened to that.
Yellow-tinted Honeyeater (Ptilotula flavescens)
Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis)
Rufous-throated Honeyeater (Conopophila rufogularis)
On one occasion, the Mistletoebird, which I had heard frequently, appeared. It was a female and she sat in front of me eating a berry that was about the size of her head. This was an absolutely wonderful place to visit for wildlife watching. I could have spent days here.
Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum)
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