Tuesday, 25 April 2017

Creatures of the swamp

The Dandenong Valley wetlands off Melbourne's Eastlink near Ferntree Gully Rd (Google map) are easily accessible (from the North-bound BP service station) wetlands with good walking access and tracks. We sometimes stop off there for a wander when we go to Melbourne. A recent foray produced some interesting shots.

This Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) having a yawn shows its beak appearing to be top-hinged.
This Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus mebranaceus) posed nicely for me, just enough to see its scarcely visible pink ear marking.
This White-faced Heron (Egretta novahollandiae) shows off its feet as it scratched furiously to dislodge something that was annoying it.

The wetlands here are bisected by the massive power-lines from the Latrobe Valley. Here are some shots that appealed to me; "creatures" of a different sort!