Fauna of Lake Alexandra - Mittagong, NSW, Australia - Flora and Fauna Information Signs on Waymarking.com

This 'very busy' sign beside the circuit track around Lake Alexandra has the following information on local birds (and turtle), with drawings to represent them:

Little Black Cormorant
Small slender with a lead grey bill. Body is black except for a glossy green on back.
Size: 60 cm.
Voice: male makes a ticking sound.

Mallard
Male has a green head and a white ring around the neck. Underside is usually white. Legs and feet orange like. Bill is a dull yellow-green. Female's body is a mottled dusky brown. Female body is lighter than Pacific Black duck and no stripes on face. They were originally introduced. Some are hybrids produced having cross bred with Black ducks.
Size: up to 68 cm.
Inhabits mainly town lakes and dams.

Maned Wood Duck
A 'goose' like duck in appearance. Male has a dark brown head and neck. Chest is freckled with a black lower belly. Plumage is white with a pale grey upper wing. The female's head is lighter brown with a white line around the eye. The plumage is mainly a freckled brown with a white underbelly.
Size: up to 50 cm.
Voice: a rising drawn out 'waaa' sound.

Australian Grebe
Bill dark but for the tip which is cream. Eye yellow. Head, neck and back plumage is dark grey brown to black with a silver grey underside. Breeding plumage includes a chestnut facial stripe and a glossy black head. Juveniles are striped black and white.
Size: 25 cm.
Voice: chitter like shrill noise.
Inhabits mainly freshwater environs. Dives frequently.

Eastern Snake-Necked Turtle also known as Long Neck Turtle
This turtle feeds on aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles and small fish and can live to be 50 years old. Its shell is a brown colour with black edges. The underside of the shell is lighter in colour with black lines. This turtle is named for its extremely long neck, which can be the full length of the shell.
Size: up to 30 cm long.

Pacific Black Duck
Head top is blackish. Face is white to buff with 2 black stripes. Body a dark brown. Upper wing has a purple like green underneath. Feet are a yellow-green.
Size: up to 60 cm.
Inhabits deep swamps, open water, lakes.

Dusky Moorhen
A small swamp hen. Bill is red with a yellow tip. Body is slate grey with browner wings and scarlet yellow legs. Juveniles have a grey bill which becomes redder upon adulthood.
Size: up to 38 cm.
Voice: many shrill like, high pitched calls.
Inhabits fresh water lake areas and are infrequent flyers. Nests are platforms of sticks and vegetation built near the waters edge.

Azure Kingfisher
Upper parts violet-blue, pale throat, white mark on side of neck, long black bill, legs bright orange.
Voice: high pitched whistle.
Inhabits rivers, creeks, mangroves.

Hard Head-White-eyed Duck
Male has a large dark brown head. Bill is black with a blue bar on tip. Eye is white. Body is a richer brown with a white bar over the flight feathers. The under wing is white. Female is paler and eye is brown.
Size: up to 49 cm.
Voice: a nasaly 'mow'.
Inhabits deep swamps and lakes and is a frequent diver.

Eurasian Coot
Slightly smaller than moorhen. Bill and frontal shield white.
Size: 32-39 cm.
Voice: various shrill notes.
Inhabits swamps, open deep lakes, often in large flocks on water.

Little Pied Cormorant
Has a short yellow bill with black borders. Face is blackish with white on the underside. Feathers black topside and on thighs.
Size: 55 cm.
Voice: short croak.
Inhabits most aquatic areas and is a frequent diver.

Domestic Duck
Can be a wide range of colours, all domestic ducks are descended from Mallards. The mostly cannot fly.
Voice: can "quack" like female mallards.

Australian White Ibis
Has a long black curved beak which is longer in males than females, with a bare head and upper neck. Chest has areas of bare red skin towards the sides. Feathers on body and wings are white with black inner plumes on wings and tail. Legs are reddish brown.
Size: up to 75 cm tall
Voice: calls with a long drawn out croaking sound.

White Faced Heron
Slender bird with a dark brown bill and a white face. Plumage on upper side and wings is mainly grey with a paler shade of grey on the chest. Lower neck is chestnut with yellow legs.
Size: up to 70 cm.
Voice: calls with a harsh croak.
Perches on posts and trees and is slow in flight.

Yellow-Billed Spoonbill
Facial skin is grey with black edges and the bill is a stark yellow. body is a creamy white with lace like black streaks on the inner wings.
Size: up to 90 cm.
Voice: has a muted call and clatters with its bill.
Inhabits freshwater areas and likes to perch in trees.

Visited: 1840, Saturday, 20 January, 2018
[From memory, there is an identical sign on the 'opposite' side of the lake.]

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