Autumn Love, 10, and her dad, Djaran Whyman, from Barmah, try bird spotting on a walk through Gemmill Swamp.
On the fringe of the Mooroopna township, the bush is alive with a huge range of birds.
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Gemmill Swamp Wildlife Reserve is home to birds as diverse as kookaburras, kingfishers, eagles, darters and falcons.
How do we know?
Moorooopna resident Don Roberts is president of the Goulburn Murray branch of Birdlife Australia and he regularly walks the paths around the wetlands and records the names of what he finds on a database.
On the evening of Monday, October 7, Mr Roberts led a group of 30 interested people around the swamp, for an event organised by Environment Victoria.
Even Mr Roberts was pleasantly surprised at the count recorded in his notebook. He noted 56 different birds.
Hard-head ducks were paddling on the lake not far from the pelicans, an azure kingfisher darted through the saplings and white breasted wood swallows, which somehow like to be near wetlands, were spotted in the failing light.
Gemmill Swamp occupies about 78 hectares.
In the distance, on top of a nearby water tower, a peregrine falcon takes advantage of the makeshift roost to scan the forest for prey.
Birdlife Australia Goulburn Murray branch president Don Roberts identified more than 50 birds on the hour-long walk through Gemmill Swamp.
The swamp occupies about 78 hectares and is fed by a creek and storm water drains from Mooroopna subdivisions.
The wetlands can get a top-up when the Goulburn River is at minor flood level.
Environment Victoria would like to see more wetlands along the Goulburn get a regular ‘drink’.
Rivers campaigner Greg Foyster was visiting the Goulburn Valley for a week, talking to local government, members of parliament, First Nations people, catchment management authorities and environment groups about river issues.
He was interested in hearing comments about the Victorian Government’s constraints report, which outlines how water could be delivered to river wetlands.
Environment Victoria would like to see the natural cycle of high and low rivers returned.
“We want to return the rivers natural ‘heart-beat’,” Mr Foyster told Country News.
“We are not expecting to return to pre-colonial regimes, but we would like to see the river managed for more natural flows.”
Monday’s event was organised by Environment Victoria with the support of Birdlife Australia, the Goulburn Valley Environment Group and the Shepparton-Mooroopna Urban Landcare Group.
A free, ‘breakfast with the birds’ event will be held on Saturday, October 26 between 8am and 10am at Gemmill Swamp, organised by River Connect.
For more details, contact Emily Lange on 0488 313 152.
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