Waterbirds survey of Port Stephens NSW

["Stuart, Alan AD" <>]

On Sunday a group from Hunter Bird Observers Club did a count of waterbirds in Port Stephens, NSW.  The survey was done at high tide, using boats organised and skippered by National Parks & Wildlife Service.  It is the third year that we have done the survey.

 

We recorded more than 3,000 waterbirds including 1403 migratory waders and 124 other waders (including 77 Pied Oystercatcher).   There were 424 Whimbrel which is a new maximum count for Port Stephens and this number is ~4% of the Australian migrating population of this species – hence it is a very significant record.  We also saw a Beach Stone-curlew (as far as we can establish, this appears to be the first record of it for Port Stephens) and a Grey Plover (seems to be only the 3^rd record for the Port).

 

Waterbird species recorded:

 

Black Swan (200)

Aust. Wood Duck (30)

Pacific Black Duck (8)

Chestnut Teal (10)

Darter (1)

Little Pied Cormorant (112)

Pied Cormorant (402)

Great Cormorant (38)

Aust. Pelican (175)

White-faced Heron (27)

Great Egret (9)

Intermediate Egret (2)

Striated Heron (1)

Aust. White Ibis (64)

Bar-tailed Godwit (515)

Whimbrel (424)

Eastern Curlew (303)

Common Greenshank (15)

Terek Sandpiper (4)

Common Sandpiper (1)

Grey-tailed Tattler (32)

Ruddy Turnstone (9)

Red-necked Stint (6)

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (40)

Beach Stone-curlew (1)

Pied Oystercatcher (77)

Sooty Oystercatcher (9)

Pacific Golden Plover (38)

Grey Plover (1)

Red-capped Plover (26)

Lesser Sand Plover (15)

Masked Lapwing (11)

Silver Gull (287)

Crested Tern (146)

Common Tern (9)

 

 

 

Alan Stuart

 

 

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