A WILDLIFE rescuer waited at the water's edge on Saturday afternoon for the wind to blow another dead bird close enough to net.
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Sam* says he and a handful of other volunteers have removed roughly 100 carcasses since Tuesday from Bells Swamp, half an hour's drive from Bendigo.
There have been bright spots, too.
Eleven birds have still been alive when they've drifted close enough to net and be sent to specialists for rehabilitation.
Most have rebounded quickly.
Sam pulls out his phone to show a video of one duck waddling happily towards a pool. It was one of the first he rescued on Tuesday.
"He is now walking around and that's a good sign," Sam said.
The death toll is not so high to be obvious to those driving down Bridgewater-Maldon Road, which bisects the swamp.
The bodies are dotted across a broad section of water, some of which are pooling beneath the trunks of partially submerged river gums, Sam says.
He tends to wait for the carcasses to drift to him because he does not want any birds to fly off - if they still can - to spread whatever is killing them to another area or even an unblighted section of wetland.
Sam suspects an outbreak of avian botulism but is not a vet. Experts are still running tests.
If it is botulism, Sam would like to know whether it was caused by a natural blackwater event, illegally shot birds not being retrieved from the water, illegal chemical dumping or some other trigger.
"I'm not a water scientist or anything like that. I just read a lot and love animals," he said.
Sam wishes authorities were taking on a much greater share of bird removals - a task he personally finds distressing but necessary to stop conditions worsening.
They have put up signs warning people that sick animals have been found.
Parks Victoria has so far officially confirmed at least 20 birds are dead.
Sam points to one dead bird floating in the water and then walks to a sealed plastic bin containing more.
"This will be a bit unpleasant," he says.
Sam takes a deep breath and opens the bin's lid.
A putrid smell of rotting flesh mushrooms out.
Sam gags and walks five metres away for fresh air.
Ducks in varying states of decomposition are lying in plastic bags. A fly casually buzzes in and lands on one bird's eyelid.
These ducks are the latest Sam is adding to the unofficial death toll.
* Sam asked for his last name to be withheld after being targeted by some members of the public for past rescue work.
Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
