dms travelling: 05/08/20

May 8, 2020

Bibra Lake Nature Reserve - Old Bird Hide
Beeliar Regional Park

Bibra Lake Reserve is a popular spot for all ages. There is an Adventure World (Theme Park) and a Regional Playground (natureplaywa.org.au) that is accessible for everyone to enjoy on the west side the lake. On the east of the lake there is a skate park; jogging, walking, biking trails; and the old and new bird hide.

The path to the old bird hide is simply beautiful. This is the first area we have been to that has such an abundance of ferns.

The ferns on the sides of the path quickly give way to grasses found in marshy areas. There is a small pond in the marshy area on the right hand side of the walkway.

Dave found a safe spot to move in closer for some great photos of the Pacific black ducks.

Further along the path we had our first sightings of:

Grey Butcher Bird

Eucalyptus Red Flowering Yellow Gum

Red Wattlebird

We came to the fork in the road that leads to the Old Bird Hide.

The path became a boardwalk over tall reeds and marsh grass.

At the edge of the lake we found black swans and a new bird we had not seen before.

Black Swan

Purple Swamphen

The bird hide is an old wooden structure that has slats one can open to view the birds on the open water. It was interesting to see birds standing on higher ground in the middle of the lake.

There were a lot of black swans.

There was also one white bird in the middle of the lake that we had not seen before, a Yellow Billed Spoonbill.

From the blind we could see Australian Shelducks, Purple Swamp Hens and another new bird we had not seen before, the Australian White Ibis.

On the boardwalk, on our way back to the path we had more first sightings:

Fairy Wren

Skinks

Had we not stopped to check out the tiny skinks (the striped one is a Fence Skink) then we would not have noticed the creature that was sunning itself in the tall reeds, a fair distance away.

Fence Skink