I did the survey last Friday, during what turned out to be a break in the weather - the rain started just as I was finishing up on Griffin Rd Bridge. The lagoon was part empty, having opened after the heavy rain the previous day. I was not expecting to see much, after failing to see a single waterbird when I walked across Griffin Rd Bridge the previous Monday. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tallied the count at 78 birds over 12 species. Chestnut Teals were back in force but the big surprise was the group of 4 Hardheads. When we started the surveys in 2017, Hardheads were the second most common birds after Eurasian Coots, but we have not seen a single Hardhead since the big waterbird exodus at the breaking of the drought in early 2020. I ran into local bird guide, Mike Barrow, on Griffin Rd Bridge and he told me he had just seen around 100 Hardheads on Dee Why Lagoon. It would seem that they are back!
The count
Little Black Cormorant 1
Little Pied Cormorant 1
Chestnut Teal 31 (Jason, a pair roosting on the floating wetland)
Grey Teal 1
Hardhead 4
Pacific Black Duck 6
White-faced Heron 3
Great Egret 1
Australian White Ibis 4
Australasian Swamphen 1
Eurasian Coot 15
Dusky Moorhen 10
Total 78The next Survey will be on Friday 25 October.
Russell Beardmore
Hardhead (male)
The white eye makes this bird a male. Females have less distinctive markings and a brown eye.
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