Swamp photopoint

Swamp in September 2017

I have been photographing this ephemeral swamp at Homerton for over ten years. My intention is to monitor changes after the paddock, that was previously grazed by cattle, was planted with bluegums.

At the moment is is full of water because it's been a wet winter and spring in western Victoria. This photo was taken in the summer of 2006 when it was a lot drier . I have previously blogged about changes in this swamp here.

Swamp in January 2006

The plantation is probably about due for its first harvest and then the bluegum trees will be allowed to regrow from the stumps for the next harvest in another ten years. I'm hoping that the reeds and rushes, as well as possibly trees like Blackwoods, Black Wattles and Swamp Gums, will grow around the swamp because they grow in another swamp less than 100 metres away but that's not happening yet.

Photopoint

I have photographed this ephemeral swamp regularly in the last decade. It used to be a cleared paddock, used for grazing cattle, but is now a bluegum plantation. The location is Homerton in Western Victoria.

I was interested to see whether the reeds and rushes would regenerate after the stock were removed. We have had several wet years after the decade-long drought and there appears to have been quite a bit of regrowth. And it's interesting to see that the eucalypt has recuperated as well.

January 2006

January 2007

November 2007

January 2009

October 2011

January 2014

Foxed

Mother shelduck spotted me as I approached the swamp and started to lead her ducklings out of the water onto the bank. This plan was thwarted by the sudden appearance of a fox on the bank! She quickly and noisily turned them around and drew the ducklings to deeper water. The fox moved away into the trees.

I managed to get several bad photos whilst simultaneously moving to hide behind a tree. This image has been cropped because I didn't have the zoom on.

Forbes swamp

We passed this swamp on the way north but didn't have the time to do the u-turn thing (it's a pain when you're towing a van). But today we had looped back on to the same road on our way south so we called in. It's a swamp just south of Forbes that is easily accessible, has a good gravel road in and a bird hide.

The photo doesn't show it but there were lots of birds on the lake and in the surrounding bush. A Pink-eared Duck with a family of little ducklings was near the hide, Clamourous Reed-warblers in the reeds singing their beautiful songs, rosellas and parrots in the trees and many other birds out across the water. It was a great spot for a cuppa.