JELLS PARK, MELBOURNE

BEVERLEY

A new discovery for us

Jells Park is in Wheelers Hill, south-east Melbourne. It's been a favourite with Melburnians since 1976, named for Joseph Jell, a cattle grazier who worked in the area in the mid-late 1800s. But is was all new as a bird haven to us...

Jell's Park is quite close to the centre of Melbourne.

It was an overcast day when we visited, and not the best for great photos, but that was of course only one part of the adventure. Getting out into some bushland, and seeing families enjoying themselves, is great for the mental health. So was this fairy wren (above) who posed early in the piece.

​There many large waterbirds at Jells Park, notably Australasian darters (one in flight, below).

One aim of the day was to get some shots of birds in flight - always challenging. This cormorant (below) made a timely splash landing.

But by far the most populous and noisy locals were the ibises who colonised the islands within the wetlands.