Hi Russell,
There weren’t many waders at the rocky point itself, being 4 Little Tern which
I clearly identified with the scope, and about 10 Crested Tern. However the
tide was low at the time (about 1pm), so there were about 150 Red Necked Stints
feeding along the adjacent shoreline. We looked closely at all the RNS’s with
both binoculars and scope but couldn’t find the Broad Billed Sandpiper.
It was later on (about 4.30pm) as the tide was coming in, when we saw the BBS
with the scope at the T lagoons. At the time it was resting and preening itself
in a sheltered part of the pond, before it moved off to feed casually near some
Sharp Tailed Sandpipers, so your theory about some shoreline feeders resting in
the nearby lagoons could be correct.
From previous reports and the birders I spoke to on Sunday, the BBS’s have been
located at different sites over the past weeks but all within a narrow band
between the bird hide and the T section lagoons.
Regards Martin
From: Russell Woodford
Sent: Monday, 24 March 2014 10:14 PM
To: Martin Woodward
Cc:
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Broad Billed Sandpiper - WTP, VIC
Hi Martin
Were there many waders at the rocky point where you saw the Little Tern? This
is where 3 Broad-billed Sandpipers have been seen at different times in the
last couple of weeks. Perhaps the waders feed here when the tide is right, and
then return to other lagoons? The last time I was at T-Section, about a week
ago, there were few waders, but they started coming in steadily over the next
half hour.
And a confession / retraction: I reported 21 Little Tern at that rocky point
near he Beach Rd gate, but after seeing some comments and photos on the
Victorian Birders Facebook page, I had a proper look at my own photos. I'm now
going with c. 2 Little Tern, and some White-winged Black Tern and Whiskered
Tern, although my photos are nowhere near clear enough to identify all birds,
some of which may be Little Tern (and Fairy Tern? None that I could see). A
good lesson in paying attention to detail and not generalising!
Russell Woodford
Geelong
On 24 March 2014 17:37, Martin Woodward <> wrote:
Hi All,
For those that are still looking, my son and I clearly identified a Broad
Billed Sandpiper at the Western Treatment Plant, T Section Lagoons
yesterday. It was in the NE corner of pond 3 and viewed with Marsh
Sandpipers and a few Sharp Tailed Sandpipers. We also saw Little Tern at the
second rocky point north of the Beach Rd Boatramp and a single Pectoral
Sandpiper at the pond immediately north of the Boatramp, as previously
reported. Happy birding.
Regards
Martin and John Woodward
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