Serendip Sanctuary Serendip Sanctuary

[Hix]

I’d like to say it was serendipity – a fortunate mistake – that led me to this sanctuary, but although I consider it fortuitous that I picked up the brochure and then impulsively decided to go there, it was certainly no mistake to visit.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/entry-sign-298095/

Serendip Sanctuary is located just north of the township of Lara, about a half hour drive south of Werribee, and surrounded by farmland. The sanctuary is centred round a large lake – Lake Serendip – and the area has been re-vegetated over the last 50 or so years (prior to this it was farmland). Now it is managed as a 227 hectare (561 acre) wetland research station and educational facility incorporating walks, bird hides, and some pens and aviaries. And there is no admission fee.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/map-298096/

Needless to say, this area attracts a lot of birds, and for birdos this place is great! The carpark has some very tall stands of eucalypt in which I saw Wattlebirds, Red-rump Parrots, Willie Wagtails, Superb Blue Wrens, White-winged Choughs, New Holland Honeyeaters and Purple-crowned Lorikeets. Next to the carpark is a large field where I saw well over a dozen emus. Paths lead you down and around the lake through bird hides where you can watch the birds in relative comfort. One swallow even built its nest inside one of the hides! A large number of waterfowl species can be sighted here, but all I saw in my brief visit was Cape Barren Geese, Chestnut Teal, Masked Plovers, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Black Swan, Coot, Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/emus-298077/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/view-within-hide-298104/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/view-hide-298103/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/view-teatree-hide-298113/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/lake-serendip-298105/

The lake is L-shaped (see map), one part known as the Northern Arm. During periods of low water the Northern Arm is separated from the main lake by a narrow ridge which can be walked across to the other side. The Northern Arm is not as large as the main lake body, but has been augmented with duck nesting boxes.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/north-arm-left-lake-serendip-right-298129/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/lake-serendip-north-arm-298111/

There is also a small waterfowl pond right near the entrance with a few ducks and geese. After that is a large pen with some kangaroos and emus, and a cage with some lizards – bearded dragon, shingleback and bluetongue. Also in this pen were some wild Cape Barren Geese and two goslings. The next pen had a pair of brolga (and another pair of wild Cape Barren Geese with 4 goslings). The path then took you to a few hides by the lake.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/signage-298097/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/walkthrough-enclosure-kangaroos-emus-298099/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/cape-barren-goose-goslings-298090/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/lizard-cage-298098/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/brolga-enclosure-298100/

Exiting the hides you walk past a large aviary complex. The aviary is angled partway along, so what you see in the photo is only half the length. The first panel on the right forms one aviary, for Masked Owls, but the other panels are all part of one large aviary. There was a variety of species housed in here, but all I remember seeing was a male Freckled Duck, an Australian Wood Duck, and a pair of Bush Stone-curlews and their young chick.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/aviaries-298107/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/freckled-duck-male-298088/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/bush-stone-curlew-hatchling-burhinus-grallarius-298130/

Following on was a Walkthrough Aviary with rails, Tawny Frogmouth and White-faced Heron. I also saw some wild Red-browed Finches in here. Not far away were the pens for breeding Brolgas and Australian Bustards. There were also a number of Magpie Geese - apparently some captive birds bred here and the progeny have remained as wild birds and continue to breed on the lake.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/walkthrough-aviary-298109/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/bustard-enclosure-298110/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/australian-bustard-pair-298074/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/australian-bustard-female-298071/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/brolga-298070/

The Ponding Site is a covered area with benches, magnifying glasses and microscopes beside a small pond. Children collect samples of the water and then look for the small and microscopic creatures that live in the water, identifying them from charts on the wall. Lots of fun for all the kids as long as you don’t fall in. Two other things I found around the Ponding Site – a bee nest in a eucalypt (not native bees, but honeybees) and a wild Whistling Kite nesting in the top of one of the eucalypts and frequently going for a fly.

http://www.zoochat.com/1834/ponding-298116/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/ponding-benches-298117/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/signage-ponding-298114/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/signage-ponding-298115/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/whistling-kite-haliastur-sphenurus-nest-298119/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/whistling-kite-haliastur-sphenurus-298125/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/whistling-kite-haliastur-sphenurus-298124/
http://www.zoochat.com/1834/bee-hive-298069/

Despite being mostly native vegetation, there was a lot of Tibouchina shrubs on the property which I found a little concerning – after 50 years I would have thought they would have all been removed. But they were the only exotic I could see, lots of paperbarks and other natives throughout the Sanctuary!

I spent a little over two hours at Serendip and really enjoyed it; even on a sunny Sunday afternoon there was relatively few people and I found it peaceful , tranquil and relaxing. I can thoroughly recommend a visit for anyone in the Melbourne area, especially for those with an ornithological bent.



Hix

Note: there are more pictures in the gallery

 

[Chlidonias]

that sounds like a good birding site, 150 species. Is there any public transport to get out there do you know, or can one only reach it by car?

 

[DavidBrown]

Great review Hix. Your review and photos are getting me excited about Australian birding. Time to get a field guide. Any suggestions for a good Australian bird book for tourists?

 

[Chlidonias]

Great review Hix. Your review and photos are getting me excited about Australian birding. Time to get a field guide. Any suggestions for a good Australian bird book for tourists?

the birding in Australia is great. Have a look at this thread http://www.zoochat.com/24/birdwatchers-twitchers-etc-298133/ which talks about the field guides.

And this better thread (from Birdforum): http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=188300

You've got a choice of four main ones: Slater, Pizzey and Knight, Morecombe, and Simpson and Day. They all have their good and poor points.

 

[Hix]

Chlidonias: I doubt there is public transport, it's a fair way out. Best bet would be by car. You might have to become friends with Nanoboy and try and get a lift!

And while 150 species have been found there, I think I mentioned all the species I sighted in the review (with the exception of Magpie, Magpie-lark, Raven and Starling).

David Brown: As Chlidonias said, four main field guides. I prefer Pizzey and Knight myself, but Slater's is better for slipping into a pocket.



Hix

 

[Chlidonias]

Chlidonias: I doubt there is public transport, it's a fair way out. Best bet would be by car. You might have to become friends with Nanoboy and try and get a lift!

And while 150 species have been found there, I think I mentioned all the species I sighted in the review (with the exception of Magpie, Magpie-lark, Raven and Starling).

David Brown: As Chlidonias said, four main field guides. I prefer Pizzey and Knight myself, but Slater's is better for slipping into a pocket.



Hix

emu would be good enough for me (my wild ratites are still just on kiwis), but would being friends with nanoboy be worth it? He'd be talking about iron pillars and lost Atlantian civilisations the whole ride out there, and keep stopping to check out every black kitty-cat he saw in case it was a black panther!

 

[dean]

When I was there in 2001 our host gave me acopy of The Graham Pizzy, frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia for Christmas I love it, but it's very heavy over 1kg and 3cm thick, and 15 by 23 cm. Not much good for slipping into a pocket.
I used it every day after that and marked off the birds I found in the Sydney area in it.

 

[nanoboy]

emu would be good enough for me (my wild ratites are still just on kiwis), but would being friends with nanoboy be worth it? He'd be talking about iron pillars and lost Atlantian civilisations the whole ride out there, and keep stopping to check out every black kitty-cat he saw in case it was a black panther!

I look forward to a road trip with you and DavidBrown. Yikes! Or maybe you can do a road trip with Hix the next time he comes to Melbourne.

PS* Do you have a drivers license? It's a serious question. I notice that you often ask about public transport, when renting a cheap car would maximise your time and offers maximum convenience.

 

[Chlidonias]

I look forward to a road trip with you and DavidBrown. Yikes! Or maybe you can do a road trip with Hix the next time he comes to Melbourne.

PS* Do you have a drivers license? It's a serious question. I notice that you often ask about public transport, when renting a cheap car would maximise your time and offers maximum convenience.

I should come to Melbourne when David is there and we can go birding. We could be like the Three Amigos. Except funny.*

No I don't drive.



*Four Amigos if CGSwans wants to join in.

 

[nanoboy]

I should come to Melbourne when David is there and we can go birding. We could be like the Three Amigos. Except funny.*

No I don't drive.



*Four Amigos if CGSwans wants to join in.

And PAT. We should rent a bus.

Why don't you drive? Health? My brother can't drive because his 3D vision is off (to put it simply) and he will be a hazard to himself And other roAd users. He lives in London so public transport is actually better than driving.

 

[Astrobird]

I visited Serendip Sanctuary for the 1st time on Saturday and also really enjoyed it. Not much has changed by the sounds since @Hix review in 2021, except maybe less captive animals on display. I only saw 1 brolga, but 30 + magpie geese and a few cape baron geese were also in its enclosure. 1 Masked owl was seen in an aviary, but the next big aviary had signs saying it was currently empty, but since the doors were open, there were several cape baron geese inside or on the roof, and a few other ducks. the next few aviaries also had the same mix of birds as described by Hix, but the highlight for me was actually the flock of Red rumped parrots (as i keep them at home) and particularly 1 individual which i think must be a hybrid with (most likely) an Eastern Rosella. The black/swamp wallabies were off display whilst they renovated their paddock. The lakes were both very dry, but there still seemed to be alot of birds around - i didn't have the time or company to really twich much this time but would like to go back specially to do so. I will add some photos to the file to update it. Serendip Sanctuary - ZooChat