Hi All,
In our weekly tern survey yesterday, apart from at least 38,000 terns, we
had a couple of birds that produced a gasp of surprise. A Common Noddy and a
Sanderling.
Now, before all you southerners go ho-hum, I want you to know what a
Sanderling means in SEQ. How long have I been wader-watching? And how many
Sanderlings have I seen here? The answer to the first question is years, and
to the second, the answer is never.
I have seen Sanderling in Tasmania, so I know the bird, and over the years
there have been occasional reports of Sanderling in SEQ, even in Caloundra,
and I have varied in my response from envious to sceptical. I have even
wondered at times if I could possibly be missing them, and if so, wondering
how that could happen. But yesterday when I saw the bird I knew I had not
missed it before, and the moment was all that much sweeter for the waiting.
I was indescribably delighted.
There is some serious moulting under way on the sandbanks at present, of
most of the terns. A strip of feathers about 30cm wide marked the tide line
for hundreds of metres along the edges of the extensive sandbanks. Little
Terns are mostly from the northern breeding population and are going into
breeding plumage. I noticed yesterday that even those individuals still to
show the yellow beak and black head feathering are already sporting new
outer primaries, as is also the case with some of the Common Terns. The
White-winged Blacks are looking very spotty, and will soon be showing very
black in flight, standing out clearly against the other species in a flock.
Oh yes, forgot the Common Noddy. Well, they are rare on the Caloundra
sandbanks, but not unknown. They come from further north. Squillions of them
breed on Lady Elliott Island, which is only about 300km or so north of here.
Cheers,
Jill
--
Jill Dening
Sunshine Coast, Qld
26º 51' 152º 56'
Ph (07) 5494 0994
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