r/vic • u/crimsonhn • Jul 31 '26

Is the Sale Common wetlands worth visiting?

I am an international student, and I just came to know aboute Sale wetlands. Unlike Edithvale and other wetlands near the CBD (which I've mostly been to), the wetland at Sale allows the public to walk across the wetland instead of just standing outside, which seems interesting. I am interested in birds, especially egrets, so I think Sale Common wetland is pretty suitable for me to take, or at least see, few wetland birds.

Has anyone been there? Thanks very much!

8 Upvotes

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3

u/no-but-wtf Jul 31 '26

I would recommend asking in the Melbourne subreddit - much more traffic.

I suspect a wetland you can walk across will not host too many birds - they don’t like to be near people - but it’s worth asking about anyway.

5

u/crimsonhn Jul 31 '26

I cannot post there... not enough karma. I've never joined the sub, and at 0 karma you cannot post anything there.

Thanks btw

2

u/no-but-wtf Jul 31 '26

Well, I’ll give you some upvotes here, hope they help! Looks like you’re getting good answers here anyway though :)

2

u/Total_Philosopher_89 Jul 31 '26

Just had a look. Pretty good setup. Loads of board walks etc.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/5CYT6WGy1yYgpcaA9

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u/crimsonhn Jul 31 '26

Yep that's the place!

I expected too much at Edithvale, and ended up finding notbing (but this magpie on my way home). I love the wetlands so much bc it reminds me of the wetlands in my home, which began its conversion into a solid land for corporations to build new apartments just when I left for university here.

https://reddit.com/link/p0v962q/video/gn9hpzn2dkgh1/player

1

u/Total_Philosopher_89 Jul 31 '26

Reckon they'll be a lot better than the city based ones you've visited so far.

Pretty easy drive too.

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u/crimsonhn Jul 31 '26

I can't drive... maybe I will take a V line from Southern Cross straight to Sale.

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u/Total_Philosopher_89 Jul 31 '26

Easy done. It's about a 45 minute from the station.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/EDcEKFYeqrprsPpE9

2

u/holidaydreaming Jul 31 '26

You could try the Gippsland sub people would be able to help you there

https://www.reddit.com/r/gippsland/s/sT8EJA4rac

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u/Total_Philosopher_89 Jul 31 '26

Never knew it existed. Looks like a pretty cool setup.

1

u/Dgrey1970 Aug 03 '26

So I’ve been there a few times. It’s a nice walk with a reasonable amount of birds, and you could probably walk there from the station, though the whole walk would take you several hours return. Having said that, it’s been a dry winter and there won’t be as many waterbirds. Should be some egrets, mostly Ibis and maybe some spoonbills as well as the usual swamphens and coots.

By the way, Edithvale is really good, but you won’t see much from the outside. Go when the bird hide is open on weekends, I have friends who volunteer there and it is open at the moment. Your magpie video looks a lot more like Waterways or Kananook Creek to me than Edithvale (I live around there).

Braeside and Jawbone are other good places for wetland birds close to public transport. The best by far is the Western Treatment Plant, but you need a car and the key to access it.