What to do in Parks – Birding/Twitching

Western Australia Parks are a great place to see birds.

Another way to enjoy our parks is through the activity of “birding” or “twitching” (bird watching). The main goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one’s lists. Some birders engage in competition to accumulate the longest species list. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a twitch or a chase. A rare bird that stays put long enough for people to see it is twitchable or chaseable. Perth has a surprising number of good birding sites within the metropolitan area or within a two hour drive.

There are a large number of wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain including Lake Monger, Herdsman Lake, Bayswater Bird Sanctuary, Bibra Lake and Alfred Cove.  Most of the south west endemics can be found at Wungong Gorge and Bungendore State Forest in the Darling Range.  Rottnest Island is worth a day trip especially in summer, and Penguin Island is also worth a visit if you are in the Rockingham area. The Birds Australia WA office located at Perry Lakes sells a $3 booklet and a $20 book that cover most of the sites in the vicinity of Perth (http://www.birdlife.org.au/locations/birdlife-western-australia).