Lake Claremont is a birder’s paradise. There is a bird look out and lovely path around the lake which makes bird viewing easy. Bring a pair of binoculars and enjoy birding all year round.
Over 80 species of local and migratory birds have been recorded including honeyeaters, parrots, rails, ducks, pardalotes, waders and herons. Even the endangered Carnaby’s Black-cockatoos can be found foraging in the area.
Recently, birds not seen for years have been returning to the area: the Australian Spotted Crake, the Spotless Crake and the Baillon’s Crake. This is an encouraging sign that the revegetation projects are increasing the health and the carrying capacity of the bird habitat.
In the winter and spring, many birds nest on the lake like the Black Swans, Pink-eared ducks, Eurasian Coots, Australian Shelducks and Grey Teals. Please be considerate and keep dogs on lead to prevent them from chasing and killing birds or separating chicks from their parents.
The Friends of Lake Claremont wish to acknowledge Mr David Free for his generosity and allowing us to use his amazing photographic contributions. David and his wife returned to Claremont on retirement in 1996, having spent the previous 25 years working in Asia. They immediately joined the Royal Australian Ornithologists Union (predecessor of Birdlife Australia) and set about becoming more familiar with Western Australia’s varied birdlife. David says “I’m more of a bird observer than a photographer but I find the photography an interesting challenge.”
Since 2001 David, together with Norah Brockman, has conducted the quarterly census of Lake Claremont birds. FOLC hope to add the census information to our website in the near future.
