A visit to Gum Swamp Forbes NSW
2007 New South Wales trip report #16
One of the places I wanted to visit on this trip was Gum Swamp several kilometres south of the town of Forbes. I had previously visited this popular birding spot three years ago. It has a bird hide a few steps from the car park. Not that one actually needs a hide; the birds seem to ignore you anyway.
On the way there I commented to my wife that I hadn’t taken the recent dry conditions into account when planning to stop here. I shouldn’t have worried. The swamp was at near full capacity and the birdlife just as prolific as I had remembered it from three years ago.
Gum Swamp, Forbes, New South Wales
Over a twenty minute period I added the following species to my rapidly growing Trip List:
- Fairy Martin (gathering mud for nesting, as were the Welcome Swallows)
- Grey Teal
- Chestnut Teal
- Pacific Black Duck
- Pink-eared Duck
- Hardhead (White-eyed Duck)
- Australian Wood Duck
- Dusky Moorhen
- Eurasian Coot
- Australasian Grebe
- Black Swan
Probably the best sighting of all was quite unexpected; a single White-bellied Sea-eagle. I tried to get a photo but even with 12x zoom he is but a small white dot in the distance. A better photo will have to wait. Meanwhile you could have a look at a close up photo I took of one in the Taronga Park Zoo last year – click here.
White-Bellied Sea-Eagle