06/09/2023
With over 170 known fauna species recorded in the Park, you may be surprised to know how often we add a new species to the list - and how sometimes they are a species that has been in plain sight often enough that it should have been on the list all along.
Whether it was because we were chasing our cattle (it happens), watching eagles soar overhead, counting swans or just otherwise engaged, some species get missed from the official count!
Such is the case with the delightfully named pink-eared duck - also known as the zebra duck - which has been sighted a number of times at Horse Swamp this year. These small, stripey ducks have definitely been seen in the Park’s waterways before, but they have never been recorded in our species list - until now!
Thanks to one of the Park’s many local wildlife enthusiasts, who happened to snap and tag us in their photo of a pink-eared duck at Horse Swamp, this species is now documented as the 119th bird species on the Whiteman Park Fauna Species List! A win for citizen science and for local twitchers alike, and great way to kick off our posts this . 🐦
