On Sunday morning I joined a newly formed bird club in Stawell "Grampians bird Observers" on a walk around a wetland adjacent to the Grampions Gate Caravan park ,I arrived around 9am and was greated by Charles the main organiser of the walk, he even orgaised the first sunny morning in weeks well done, as we were milling around the owners of the park came over and formaly greated us and informed us that the resident Swans had started sitting on a nest on a island in the middle of the lake and the cygnets were due soon and said all their facilities were open to us and made us feel very welcome.
Even before we headed off there were birds everywhere Musk Lorikeets filled the trees and small birds flitering around and on the small lakes ducks coots swans even pelicans ,we formed into small groups and headed off along the many tracks through the wetlands ,now I live in Stawell and already think it one of the best birding spots in Victoria but I must admit even I diden't know about this birders paradise ,I have driven past it many times on the way to the Grampions ,I lost count at more than 20 different species in as many minutes the highlight being a pair of Australian Hobby's that just sat there and let me take as many photos as I wanted ,which was a lot ,they were on the other side of a small lake but I didn't care my first photos of a Hobby, all in all a great morning good company lots and lots of birds easy to walk tracks and all less than 1k from the Western HWY ,so next time your driving through on the way to one of the better known birding destinations stop in and have a look you might not want to leave.
Cheers
Mark
Sounds like a great day Mark. I go through Stawell now and again so will keep it in mind.
Was the lake you visited Fyan's Lake, Mark?
No its a private lake on the grounds of the Grampians Gate Caravan Park in Stawell which leeds into the wetlands on Pomonal rd, the new owners of the park have done a lot of work to make the the park more bird friendly and birder friendly the tracks through the wet lands and adjacent bush are realy good I have bung leg leg at the moment from a old injury and I found them easy to walk so I will be back as soon as the sun comes out again.
I had an overhead look at that place on Maps. Interesting. I hope the caravan park owner is rewarded for his efforts with extra trade. Many park owners only seem intent on covering their parks with as many concrete slabs as they can. Seems a long time since I camped at Lake Fyans as mentioned by Woko. I also used to like a quiet walk around MacDonald Park on the Stawell Road outside Ararat. I wonder if its still there.
Well congratulations to the new owners of the Grampians Gate Caravan Park. There would be a few takers if they promoted the bird watching side of their business. Perhaps they're already doing this.
I've had a few discussions with caravan park owners about attracting birds but there wasn't a lot of interest, in spite of the savings they'd make in water & maintenance. Ah, well, nice to learn that the Grampians Gate Caravan Park owners are ahead of the pack.
Yes Night Parrot the section of MacDonald park between Picnic rd and One tree hill rd is still there ,a lot of houses going up around it so its not as peaseful as it once was .
And Lake Fyans is where I would go to do some fishing , its ok if you don't mind noisy ski boats in summer , I do go birding there sometimes mainly on the swamp opposite the lake Fynes caravan park plenty of waders at the right time of year and I think most of the local White fronted Chats live there, and because the swamp is on private land they can tell the duck shooters to sod off.
There is so many great birding and bush walking spots in this area that most of the time I have trouble desideing where to go, and now that the gold mine is closing local goverment is looking at tourisam to try and bring money into the area , being in the media I get to talk to some of the local politicians about pushing bird watching and bushwalking but I don't think many of them realise just how big the market is so its been lumped on small business to do all the work ,as usual !
Thank you for that information sparrow. Sounds like MacDonald Park is being housed out.
Ah yes, ski boats. I put them in the same category as dirt bikes and I am not a great fan. I remember that Green Hill Lake in Ararat was once being looked at as a bird sanctuary but if I remember correctly the speed boat fraternity won out over the wildlife in the end. If that's true (no surprise) the decision was shortsighted and it seems a shame that the locals couldn't have been made to travel a small extra distance to Lake Fyans. I suspect Green Hill Lake as a wildlife sanctuary would have brought in more tourists in the long run. As an example I think of Tower Hill in SW Victoria and how that place was transformed from its denuded beginnings to a treed tourist drawcard.
Yes the ski boat owners have more clout because the clubs have money behind them and money talks !
There is a bit of a fight brewing over the lakes in SW/Vic ,"Greed" water is like liquid gold and the body controling most of the lakes keeps selling off the water to the point that at Lake Lonsdale one of the major tourist lakes in SW/Vic the water was so shallow that standing on the wall you could see the path of the old river weaving through the mud and because the water was so shallow it warmed up and there was a blue green algae bloome then it was usless to anyone you couldn't eat the fish (and still can't) you coudn't swim go boating or sailing and they wouldn't take any responsiability saying it was a natural occurrence Yeah right !
They say its due to evaporation and again Yeah Righhhht !!!!
The old boat ramp is now 2-3 k from the waters edge ,and the flats that where once 4-5m under water have sheep grazzing on them.
Thanks Woko and Sparrow, We would appreciate any tips on attracting birdlife to the park and on how to help protect our cygnets once hatched and on the water.
Bird watchers are more than welcome to visit us just for a walk and a picnic or BBQ lunch, "Stawell awhile even" and stay a few days.
Thanks for the great feedback from the newly formed Stawell Bird Observers Club, look forward to your next visit.
Marianne & Peter
Resident Owners
Stawell Grampians Gate Caravan Park
2 Burgh Street, Stawell, Vic 3380
www.sggcp.com.au
Hi Marianne & Peter. Well done indeed on your approach!
In my opinion the best thing you can do to attract birds is plant what grows naturally in your area. I.e., indigenous vegetation. This is because the local bird species have evolved with this vegetation over millions of years. The birds depend on the vegetation & vice versa.
No doubt the requirements of your caravan park will determine which plant species are most suitable to grow in which locations. I guess you don't want limbs falling on caravans, for example! But there are some general principles which you might like to think about:
Plant a diverse range of species. Different bird species inhabit different vegetation levels so the more height diversity in your range of plants species - trees, large shrubs, small shrubs, native grasses - the greater the diversity of bird species you will attract.
Observe the natural vegetation which exists closest to your park. This will more than likely tell you which species will grow best & what structure to develop. E.g., which species grow in clumps, which are more isolated from other species, what open areas exist.
Some bird species, e.g., Superb Fairy Wrens, require open areas in which to forage for insects. So ensure there are these areas available.
Provide plenty of dense plantings to provide safe nesting & roosting places for small birds.
You might even want to put up some nesting boxes after your vegetation matures. However, these can be high maintenance if you want to keep feral birds like Starlings, Indian Mynas & House Sparrows out of your park.
I can think of three main requirements for protecting your Swans & their cygnets: open water to which they can escape if threatened by foxes, cats or irresponsible humans; plenty of native rushes; & control of the local fox & cat population. The last would require some sort of community education programme so that an anti-fox & cat culture can be established.
My congratulations again on your responsible approach to the environment of the Stawell Grampians Gate Caravan Park. Long may you prosper!