Hi Frank
If you get time it's also worth checking out the Triangular ponds on the
other side of Bennelong Rd from the Waterbird Refuge. It usually has a good
collection close up of waterbirds. We had good views there two weeks ago at
midday of a pair of Spotless Crakes (far end where the papyrus meets the
waterline), nesting Reed-Warblers and Royal Spoonbill.
Cheers
Chris Gregory
2009/12/16 Stephen Ambrose <>
> Hi Frank,
>
> I too have not seen the Ruff there since Thursday, 3 December, despite
> hourly waterbird and shorebird counts throughout the day and at night from
> 3-7 December, inclusive. I have not been there since 12.30 a.m. on Tuesday,
> 8 December.
>
> As Jono says, there are good numbers of Bar-tailed Godwits (between 180 &
> 226, 3-8 Dec) and Black-winged Stilts (up to 120) at the Waterbird Refuge
> at
> the moment. I counted between 3 and 11 Red-necked Avocets (most commonly 7
> individuals) during the hourly counts. In January/February 2009 there were
> as many as 30 Red-necked Avocets there. The Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Curlew
> Sandpipers and Bar-tailed Godwits arrive at the Waterbird Refuge at night
> about one hour before Parramatta River's high tide to roost. Nearly all the
> sandpipers left the Waterbird Refuge shortly after dawn during the December
> surveys, whereas the godwits slowly dwindled in numbers throughout the
> morning/early afternoon.
>
> Good numbers of Chestnut Teals and Grey Teals also roost there at night (up
> to 392 Chestnut/Grey Teals during Dec sureys). They begin to build up in
> numbers 3-4 hours before dusk, stay throughout the night, and slowly
> dwindle
> in abundance the following morning/early afternoon.
>
> It's also worth looking out for juvenile/immature White-bellied Sea-eagles
> while at the Waterbird Refuge, as pointed out yesterday on Birding-aus by
> Geoff Hutchinson. In the 5 days I was out there, an adult White-bellied
> Sea-eagle soared over the wetland late afternoon on 3 December, but a
> youngster soared over at 12.30 p.m. on 5 December. Other raptors observed
> included Peregrine Falcon and Black-shouldered Kite.
>
> Have a great time there over the weekend. It's a great place for
> bird-watching.
>
> Stephen Ambrose
> Ryde, NSW
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of Jon Irvine
> Sent: Tuesday, 15 December 2009 10:43 PM
> To: 'Frank Antram'
> Cc: 'BirdingAus'
> Subject: RE: [Birding-Aus] Ruff at Sydney Olympic Park
>
> Hi Frank,
>
> I have been keeping an eye on the Waterbird Refuge at SOP and there has
> been
> no sign of the Ruff since Stephen reported them. I've also looked at Mason
> Park a few times but have not seen them there either.
>
> The Waterbird Refuge is the rectangular area of impounded water that is
> bounded by Bennelong Road on the western side, Powells Creek on the eastern
> side and Homebush Bay on the Northern side. It is at the northern end of
> Bicentennial Park accessed by car by parking along Bennelong Road next to
> the Waterfront apartments and walking back over Haslams Creek to the
> northern entrance on the eastern side of the road or by walking along the
> Badu Mangroves path from the south. By train it is accessible by walking
> from Concord West station along Victoria Avenue and turning north (right)
> once you have walked over the creek footbridge. You then follow the path
> north for 1km through the mangroves until you reach the Waterbird Refuge on
> the left hand side and Homebush Bay straight ahead.
>
> Bar-tailed godwits, Avocets and Stilts should be at the refuge. If you look
> out into Homebush Bay from the northern end of the refuge there are usually
> Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers feeding at Rhodes (in front of the
> shopping centre) to the east at low tide. Mason Park (south of Bicentennial
> Park) has Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers as well as Golden Plovers at
> high tide.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Jono
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of
> Sent: 15 December 2009 21:59
> To: 'BirdingAus'
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ruff at Sydney Olympic Park
>
> I will be in Sydney this weekend. Has there been any further sightings of
> these Ruff? Also, would somebody please advise precisely where the
> Waterbird Refuge is? I have been to Olympic Park once, via train, and had
> a
> bit of a wander around, but didn't find a Waterbird Refuge - at least,
> nothing that I recognised as such! Is it an area where there is no public
> access?
>
> Regards
> Frank Antram
> Canberra
>
> -----Original message-----
> From: "Stephen Ambrose"
> Date: Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:18:41 +1100
> To: "'BirdingAus'"
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Ruff at Sydney Olympic Park
>
> > I and two English birders (sorry, didn't catch their names) observed two
> > Ruff on the eastern bank of the Waterbird Refuge at Sydney Olympic Park
> > around 9 a.m. on Thursday, 3 December. I've not seen them since then,
> > despite being at the wetland every day. Will have another look for them
> > again today.
> >
> >
> >
> > My apologies for not reporting this sooner, but I've literally spent long
> > hours over the last 4 days/nights at Sydney Olympic Park investigating if
> > there were any significant disturbances to waterbirds from the V8 Telstra
> > 500 Car Race.
> >
> >
> >
> > Stephen Ambrose
> >
> > Ryde, NSW
> >
> > ===============================
> > www.birding-aus.org
> > birding-aus.blogspot.com
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
> > send the message:
> > unsubscribe
> > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
> > to:
> > ===============================
> >
> ===============================
> www.birding-aus.org
> birding-aus.blogspot.com
>
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
> send the message:
> unsubscribe
> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
> to:
> ===============================
>
>
> ==========www.birding-aus.org
> birding-aus.blogspot.com
>
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
> send the message:
> unsubscribe
> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
> to:
> ===========
>
> ===============================
> www.birding-aus.org
> birding-aus.blogspot.com
>
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
> send the message:
> unsubscribe
> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
> to:
> ===============================
>
===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
===============================
|
