Parrot Tracks Blog — ERIKA ROPER

Herdsman Lake (Njookenbooro/Ngoorgenboro/Ngoogenbiro), Perth, Noongar Country, WA

*A view of the Paperbark swamp from one of the boardwalks.*

Herdsman Lake is a large urban lake in Perth, known for its fancy ducks and resident Tawny Frogmouths. Despite living in Perth for five years I have only visited Herdsman Lake twice, once last winter, and once this winter. Being busy with fieldwork and my PhD research, combined with the untimely demise of my car (RIP) meant that I just haven’t been able to explore Perth as much as I would have liked. Fortunately, I’m getting better at making time for things I enjoy, so when my friend Penny asked if I wanted to join them for an afternoon of bird watching I jumped at the chance.

We went to the southern end of the Lake, starting at the (currently closed) Wildlife Centre and immediately ran into some rather unimpressed Nankeen Night-herons. Night-herons tend to sleep all day and take umbrage at being photographed by annoying humans.

Side note: The word “Nankeen” describes a yellowy buff colour, and there are two Australian bird species that bear the name, the Nankeen Night-heron and the Nankeen Kestrel. However I wouldn’t really call the colours of these birds yellow or buff, but more of a rich cinnamon brown. Maybe the Nankeen refers to their underparts instead?

*An adult Nankeen Night-heron, roosting in the Paperbarks (Melaleucas)*

There were also some bush birds around the wildlife centre, including Yellow-rumped Thornbills, Grey Fantails, the usual assortment of honey eaters, and an obliging female Rufous Whistler.

As I said earlier, Herdsman Lake is known for its fancy ducks, and fancy ducks were what I wanted to see. Specifically Blue-billed Ducks. While I have seen Blue-bills in captivity at various zoos and parks, I’m yet to see one in the wild. Alas, that is still the case. The only ducks we saw were Wood Ducks, Mountain Ducks, Grey Teal, and Pacific Black Ducks, as well as some Black Swans (which are in the same family as ducks: Anatidae). Male Wood Ducks have a rather impressive bogan mullet, which explains their alternate name, Maned Duck, while the females lack the mullet and have more spots.

*Male Wood Duck, complete with mullet and background Eurasian Coot*

In the broader waterbird category there were the usual Dusky Moorhens, Eurasian Coots, Purple Swamphens, and Australasian Grebes. In the right light Purple Swamphens glow with an irredenence that is spectacular to see and difficult to photograph.

*Male Mountain Duck aka Australian Shelduck*

Moving on to the pointier waterbirds, there was a sleepy Yellow-billed Spoonbill, a Little Egret, and all three species of Ibis (Australian White, Straw-necked, and Glossy). I always forget just how small and delicate Little Egrets are. This one was walking around in the shallows, using its feet to stir up the mud and disturb tasty critters.

*Little Egret fishing at the edge of the lake*

*Yellow-billed Spoonbill having a snooze*

We finished our walk at the Frogmouth Tree™, though it did take me a while to remember which tree it was. Tawny Frogmouths take camouflage to level 5000. Their plumage is reminiscent of the bark of a Eucalypt tree and they often stretch themselves into branch shapes while sleeping. You can find yourself spending a long time searching for a Frogmouth, even if you know it’s there and someone has pointed it out to you. While they seem to spend most of their time frozen in place they do occasionally move to reposition themselves.

We saw three Frogmouths total, but there may have been more. Who knows?! Take a look at these photos and see if you can find them! (click to enlarge)

Maybe these closeup photos will help you out!

Did you find them?

Farewell from the spooky Paperbark swamp! Until next time!