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| Royal Spoonbill and Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Wyreema Wastewater Treatment Plant, Wyreema, Queensland, Australia
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In the last few years I have enjoyed some visits to the Wyreema Wastewater Treatment Plant with members of the Toowoomba Bird Observers.
Wyreema is a small town on the south-western outskirts of Toowoomba.
It is a wonderful place to see some extraordinary Australian wildlife. Some highlights include, Royal Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Australian Pelican, Pink-eared Duck, Plumed Whistling-Duck, Black Falcon, and the list goes on. Apart from such large birds there are also tiny masters of beauty such as Zebra Finch and Superb Fairy-wren. During the drought, we even encountered Black Honeyeaters, Black-tailed Native-hens and Freckled Duck. Yellow-throated Miners are on the eastern edge of their range here, and nested nearby. Eastern Grey Kangaroos bound around the facility.
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| Pink-eared Ducks and Plumed Whistling-Ducks |
Sadly, I have heard the plant is soon closing down and the ponds or lakes could be filled in. I feel this will be a loss to the community as there are no other places such birds would gather in this area.
It could be a nice opportunity to turn the place into a natural wetlands parkland, don’t you think? Plant a few eucalypts for koalas, make a nice circuit path with wheelchair access, and a couple of seats and where else better for international visitors arriving at the Wellcamp Airport to seek a close encounter with some of Australia’s natural treasures…
If you like the idea, please send a “Like”, to the Toowoomba Bird Observer’s Facebook page.
