I joined the long list of visitors to Burren Junction to see the
GHL. Success with prolonged sightings in the late afternoon of Monday
24th, and the following morning just east of the silos, on a long small
pool in the grass about 30 metres from the road between the road and the
railway embankment. A few comments.
1. A beautiful bird and well worth the trip. I could try and claim that I
have come the furthest (from WA), but actually I was visiting Krambach near
Forster on the mid north NSW coast, so it was only a 640km trip across.
2. The growth on the foot is amazing. Noone has mentioned the growth on
the breast just in front of the right leg. Is this a growth, or is it a
spur? It is pink, like a long pointed nipple, so I assume it is another
growth.
3. While the bird was mainly hopping because of the foot, it was quite
active and looked otherwise healthy. I twice saw it use its right foot
(with the growth) to stir the water, perhaps to stir up food.
4. It called a few times when I flushed it a very short distance to observe
its wing pattern. It was definitely identifiable as a 'lapwing' call,
distinctly different from a Masked Lapwing, and different enough from a
Banded Lapwing.
5. It had been very wet, with probably 25mm of rain making everything very
muddy with water lying around in many places, but the bird seems to have
settled in for the medium to long term. So good luck for all those that
follow me in the quest.
_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
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