OUT AND ABOUT near MELBOURNE

 With Omicron in full swing, we're staying close to home for a wee bit. Here's a round up on a few places we've been, and some of our best shots from Melbourne Botanic Gardens, Dandenong wetlands, Serendip Sanctuary and the Western Treatment Plant.

ROYAL MELBOURNE BOTANIC GARDENS

Always a gift, and certainly one of our places of refuge over the last two years...there's always plenty of flora and fauna of interest ... we liked this pic of a white-faced heron taking off over the lily pads.

dandenong wetlands

A morning tea outing on Christmas Eve - flying foxes and a lovely pair of eastern rosellas. We'll be going back there for a better look! What a lovely park.

serendip sanctuary

This one's been on our list forever, and we finally made it. It's a free and very accessible point of access to some caged and many free birds, though it was pretty hot and dry the day we visited. Still, a great place for a family outing and a picnic.

western treatment plant

I never thought a trip to the sewerage farm could be so much fun...the WTP is a birding nirvana, and about an hour's drive south of Melbourne (and an easy one if the Westgate Bridge is having a good day!). Entry is only by permit and special key, and it's not a place to go walking. Most of the time, it's slow driving around a myriad of treatment ponds...but the birds, wow! Here a just a few snaps of birds we've seen there recently.