We all have boring weeks sometimes, and mine had been full of housework, paperwork, and finances. The forecast was for days of rain and I ‘Needed to get out’. So on Saturday morning we headed to an area nearby where we often see signs to lakes but never actually see any water. It was time to investigate Wangara Lakes. Before the storm arrived.
Wangara Lakes isn’t an official place, but the area around Wangara seems to have a series of small lakes as part of the Gnangara Mound. Many of them only hold water for part of the year as the water table is so low now, and one of them appeared to be a boggy area rather than a recognizable lake. The first Lake we visited was Lake Jandabup. Very quiet, very pretty.
Almost straight away I saw a Crested Pigeon. My husband was annoyingly underwhelmed and said he’d seen them several times before. But I hadn’t and I was very pleased to see it, and pleased that it was so happy to pose. We also saw a great egret in the water and a pair of swamp harriers overhead.
Next was Badgerup Lake this was the one where we couldn’t actually find any water. A lovely wood, but no lake. I’ll have to go again sometime in the car and have a look for another entrance just in case we missed it. Before long we saw a little bird. Birdlife Australia for identifying it as a red-capped robin. Then the elusive red-capped parrot. I think I’ve glimpsed them before, but never for long enough to be sure. And never long enough to get a photo. We saw a pair for a couple of minutes before they disappeared into the wood.
Then we headed to Gnangara Lake, but the clouds were already rolling in. It seemed silent after Badgerup and we didn’t stay for long. I saw 3 red-capped plovers down by the water’s edge and then a bird of prey. Most Australian Birders would have thought ‘There’s a little eagle’, but I had never heard of one never mind seen one. I didn’t even realize it was something that I hadn’t seen before, to be honest.
All I could think was ‘I must get a decent photo’. All my efforts went into trying to get a clear picture and keep it in focus. It was only when I got home that I realized that it was different from what I had thought I’d seen and I had to look it up. At least I had several pictures to identify it from. It’s the ‘Little Eagle’ in the picture at the top of the page.
So it turned out to be a fantastic walk to clear my head and I saw several birds that I’d never heard of, and I arrived home before the storm hit.
