Cool! How far away was the Brolga/s? Can you describe seeing them (what they were doing, habitat, time of day, etc)? I'm very keen to see this species.
Oh thanks for asking. I always hoped that posters would write more about memorable sightings. The story behind the sighting, to me, is so much more exciting than a list.
On Saturday 27th July 2013, my wife and I made a pilgrimage to the Western Treatment Plant (WTP). We chose this day because there was a good run of dry days in the run-up to Saturday, and because Saturday itself promised to be sunny and dry.
After making a preemptive toilet stop at the service station just before the Avalon Airport exit (there are no toilets at the WTP), we finally arrived at
Gate 3 at approximately 12:30pm. I spent 10 minutes trying to get the gate open with my key, but was unsuccessful. Defeated by a lock!
We had our route planned beforehand, so I was quite disappointed. I was also getting a bit worried, because I thought the locks were changed, and a frightening thought ran through my head: what if I got in, but couldn't get back out?
Anyway, we decided to try at Gate 2 before heading home. So we pulled up to Gate 2, at which point I realised I forgot to call WTP and leave a voicemail about my visit (re: health and safety). I called them and was in the middle of leaving a voicemail when I saw a pair of very large grey birds flying up ahead. I ended the call and told my wife to take pics and she managed to get a few good ones.
So it was a pair of brolgas, about 100 metres away, flying in perfect synchronicity (will post pics later) from east to west. I initially thought they were herons until I saw the red on their faces.
We were extremely pleased with seeing them because: it was the first time we saw them in the wild, they were the first species of the day, and checking the
bird lists for WTP they aren't seen very regularly there.
You really should get your permit and keys soon. We saw a couple cars doing the rounds (Nissan Micra, Toyota Corolla) so clearly it's not too difficult to drive there in dry weather. We set our selves the goal of seeing blue-winged parrots, orange-bellied parrots, and the northern shoveler. We didn't see any, but there's always next time!
