YAN YEAN RESERVOIR - DARTERS DARTING

BEVERLEY

One of our first walks with BirdLife Melbourne...

One of the things we have really appreciated in recent years is the pleasure of connecting with Birdlife, and their beginners walks...One of our first was to the Yan Yean Reservoir.

Yan Yean Reservoir is the oldest water supply for Melbourne, and was once the largest artificial reservoir in the world. It is thirty  kilometres north of the city and built on the Plenty River, a tributary of the Yarra.

This was one of our highly enjoyable Birdlife Melbourne Beginners' Outings - we learn so much from the very generous and experienced birders who lead the walk and share their knowledge.

 We started at the Reservoir, and there we saw Australasian darters darting, with one (above) caught darting of the water tower in the middle of the Reservoir.

Some delightful chestnut teals were enjoying the nearby wetlands - in company with the usual selection of coots and moorhens.

But the heart stoppper of the day was this grey fantail (below) who landed very near and shared his splendour with the birders. It was a particular delight to anyone who had a camera in their hands.