A Melbourne Sewage Farm Has Become A Haven For 300 Species Of Birds

A Melbourne Sewage Farm Has Become A Haven For 300 Species Of Birds

A Melbourne Sewage Farm Has Become A Haven For 300 Species Of Birds A Baillon’s crake – credit, I Am Birds as Poetry, via Flickr Every time a toilet in Melbourne flushes, the contents start a long trip from the metro area to a sewage treatment plant that has garnered a mythical reputation among birdwatchers. Following the treatment process, the government allows it to retain certain excess nutrients that cause microbes and insects to flourish—anchoring the food web in an area of marsh and mudflats that birds just love. 300 different species of birds, including endangered species like the orange bellied parrot have been recorded in the Western Treatment Plant, on the shores of Phillips Bay, in Victoria state. In the paddies, visiting birdwatchers can see the brolga, a crane common in the neighboring Queensland, but endangered in Victoria. Above, squadrons of seabirds and raptors ply the skies looking for food or nesting grounds, and shorebirds eagerly wade, hope, an skitter along man-made m…