Bird Watching: More birds from Down Under, 1 by MargaretK

MargaretK wrote:
Thanks for your comments everyone. 

Wallaby, I actually believe the displaying swans were two males.  I've seen it before, where the male breaks away from the female and goes and puts on one of these choreographed performances which ends with him chasing the other away from the area.  Then the male will return to the female with both of them doing lots of honking and neck stretching.  As swans mate for life, there's no way an interloper would be able to impress the female so quickly. 

Yes, the water situation is permanently critical.  Our dams have been at about 25% capacity for many years and are supplemented by groundwater and now by a desalination plant just south of Fremantle.  More are proposed along the coast.  Most householders do their bit, but it's frustrating when you see Government departments and local councils pouring vast amounts of water onto parks and playing fields.  Additionally, builders are subject to the same restrictions and it's common to see hoses on building sites running 24 hours a day. 

I went to the swamp yesterday and wasn't expecting to get any decent shots as it was really overcast.  However, when the cloud cover thinned momentarily, I was able to get some shots of Straw Necked Ibis standing or walking around on the flattened bull rushes.