General News
8 May, 2026
Water birds
BARRY'S CORNER: There have been some observations about the lack of water birds around our waterways lately and surprise they have mostly gone off to find more suitable work areas.
As we have seen there has been enormous dumps of rain in Queensland with massive floods all over the place.
It seems that anywhere north of Sydney copped enough downfall to cover whole farms and many towns and villages.
Too bad for our region we could have made use of only 25mm or so and they would not
have missed it in the slightest.
The waterbirds have headed north and left only a few stragglers.
Somehow the birds have found there is more water happening in Queensland.
Waterways such as Lake Albacutya in the Victorian Mallee has been dry for decades and getting water into this great area is going to be a challenge.
The area of West Wimmera is renown as prolific wetlands and it takes a bit of effort from rainfall patterns to give the lakes a kick along.
The mystery of bird migrations is how do they know where to go and what should the timing be like.
Sometimes they will move off even before it rains in another part of the country and it will have rained by the time they arrive.
It's remarkable for a species without the use of a GPS or maps.
If your district is suddenly missing native hens, stilts and sea gulls you might find them in the Channel Country of western Queensland.
It is a terrific area to look for birds but it can be frustrating because the low shrubby bushes
surrounded by water means you might need a canoe.
Lake Eyre is a broad open water with limited scope for getting close to any flocks.
This is a similar migration movement the shorebirds complete every year that will fly into the
northern hemisphere.
The other species generally found further inland but are reliant on some kind of water such as creeks, lakes or ponds confine themselves to mainland Australia. They do follow the rain.
Magpies, ravens, wrens and parrots stick around for the year. Gang gangs, yellow tail black
cockatoos simply move short hops higher up the hills.
It makes winter in Western Victoria a much quieter district.
Keeping a watch on the water holding sites in the region needs a regular count of any bird.