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My eldest daughter and I spent a day at the Western Treatment Plant – and what a fabulous day it was.

We watched as this beautiful swan preened itself in one of the ponds. This is one of my favourite photographs ever. I can still hardly believe how so many variables all appeared in one shot: the curve of its neck, the drops of water, the tiny ripples from the drops, the ruffled feathers of its wings and lower neck, and, of course, the amazing reflection. The cloud cover meant that the water looks almost white, giving the image a high key, ethereal look. I name some of my images and have called this one Poetry in Motion. I’m not sure whether it’s the perfect name and would welcome your thoughts or suggestions.

I like this shot too, the gentle way the swan is looking back. They are such graceful, elegant birds – until they upend themselves and leave just a comical triangle protruding from the water! Their calls are haunting and beautiful. I always feel a joyous calmness as I watch them.

This Little Pied Cormorant was patiently drying its wings on the Little River. The overcast day doesn’t do much for this image but I still think it’s cute.

With the smaller birds it’s much trickier to photograph them in poor light (I have shared heaps of beautifully lit shots of this species if you’d like to search in the box above). We saw heaps of these sweet little birds.

I usually stop at the Borrow Pits for lunch but the day brightened, a little, and we stopped near some rocks instead. Hopping about on the rocks were a few different species including a gorgeous Yellow-rumped Thornbill.

The Western Treatment Plant at Werribee is one of Victoria’s twelve Ramsar sites. Back in 1971 there was a convention at Ramsar, in Iran, that set up a system of protecting wetlands of international importance. The waders have headed to the northern hemisphere to breed, we only saw one Sharp-tailed Shearwater that is over-wintering here. The waders usually start returning in August.

I feel very lucky to be able to visit the WTP, and the visit with my eldest daughter was especially brilliant. I wouldn’t usually go on such an overcast day but it was perfect in every way.

Happy birding, Kim

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