Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae
No self-respecting guide to Sydney water birds could go without these guys. This is the seagull you're most likely to see, especially if you're trying to peacefully eat some chips. It hangs around beaches, parks and rubbish dumps. This in one very adaptable critter - did you know there are more of them in Australia now than before Europeans arrived? Strange but true.

Black Swan Cygnus atratus
An impressive, very large bird. These guys are ready to breed when they're only 18 months old. Old birds tend to form permanent pairs, while the youngs will form temporary bonds. (Typical youth!) The babies (called cygnets) are seriously cute: fluffy, downy, light grey. They develop light brown feathers after about 3 weeks. Both parents look after the eggs and both care for the young. More information here

Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
A really common duck. When I watch a bunch of them I often find there's at least one that could use a course in anger management - chasing the others with its head down. Their natural diet is aquatic seeds and small aquatic creatures. Their unnatural diet is bread, which they'll eagerly take but which is no good for them. Their love of aquatic seeds makes these birds unpopular around rice fields. More here

Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
A really big bird seen in most parts of Australia. The biggest flocks of these guys I've seen were in inland Australia, where they congregrate in flooded areas to breed, but when things are dry inland they hang around the coastal areas, near fresh or salt water. Fossil evidence shows that they've been here, mostly unchanged, for 30-40 million years. They appear as beautiful and graceful in the air; then go and wreck everything by appearing awkward and clumsy on land. They eat fish and are really good at catching them. More info here

Australian White Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis
Common around parks and rubbish tips, these are large birds that have become a bit of a pest. These birds eat mussels, crustaceans, water insects, fish, snails, frogs and pretty much anything you want to eat too. They also love to pick around rubbish. Sometimes they can be aggressive, grabbing food from children or jabbing people with their long beaks. Feeding these birds encourages that kind of thing.

White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae
This is the most commonly seen heron in Australia. You can find them all over the continent. You'll often spot one or two walking around looking for food in grasslands and especially near water. They'll eat crustaceans, fish, frogs, insects and even mice. They have a really cool way of flying, with their neck folded, head close to the body and legs extended and trailing. They can breed any time of the year.

Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio
The bright plumage and big feet on these birds make a big impression the first time you see them. They eat frogs, molluscs and reed stems and with those giant long toes can sometimes be seen walking on the leaves of water lilies. Surprisingly, for birds with such long toes, they run really well.

Dusky Moorhen
Gullinula tenebrosa
I used to mistake these for Purple Swamphens. But these birds are smaller and their beaks are different too. The really young ones look like long-haired black tennis balls - crazy-cute. I hear the young ones before I see them, and then often spot them walking among the water lilies.