Having shown you all the beautiful ducksย at Herdsman Lake in Perth, Western Australia, last week I thought I should show you some more of the birds that we saw on June 25th. Although we were only in Perth for a few days we were not going to miss an opportunity to see some birds that we never get here at home in Broome and others we do get, but in a totally different environment. The very first bird that we heard and then saw was a beautifully coloured male Splendid Fairy-wren. It wasn’t going to stay still for long as it hopped around the trees and it’s duller female friends hopped around behind him, but the “blue” is rather obvious!

Splendid Fairy-wren

As we wandered around the path that follows the edge of the lake we came across a family of Australian Magpies. They make an amazing warbling sound and are very protective of their nesting territories. You often hear of people having to take drastic action to prevent themselves being swooped on. Cyclists in Perth attach electrical cable ties to their helmets, so a piece of plastic sticks up to try and scare them off!

Australian Magpie-female

The reed beds cover a huge area of the lake and perfect habitat for so many species of birds. As we went along a short boardwalk we came across a Purple Swamphen. Now you are confused…..it is not purple….well it is usually more blue than anything, but I didn’t choose it’s name!

Purple Swamphen

The Western Australian bird emblem is the Black Swan and there were several pairs at Herdsman Lake. Tourists go to Lake Monger by the bus load to see the Black Swans there and they are plentiful. They are large birds and you wouldn’t want to get too close.

Black Swans

We have never seen as many Eurasian Coot as we did on the grass-they were everywhere! They waddled towards the water as I moved in to photograph the ducks. They must have had a good breeding season.

Eurasian Coot

We had hoped to see a Great Crested Grebe, as we heard there had been a pair there a week or so earlier. We didn’t have any luck with them, but we did see plenty of other grebes and this Australasian Grebe was cruising along the edge of the reed-beds.

Australasian Grebe

Our favourite honeyeater for the day was the White-cheeked Honeyeater. There are plenty of New-Holland Honeyeaters around and they are extremely similar, so you need to check them all. The main difference is the size of the white patch behind their eye as it is much bigger in the White-cheeked Honeyeater. The size and colouring is very similar on both species and no doubt they are often over-looked. It was not very co-operative as far as getting a photo goes, but you can clearly see the white cheeks.

White-cheeked Honeyeater

We strongly recommend a trip to Herdsman Lake in Perth if you ever get a chance.

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!