Just back from a visit to Melbourne and Geelong. One of the most spectacular irruptions of the present eastern-Australia series was the hundreds of Banded Stilts on ‘Air Force Lake’ at Point Cook on the outskirts of Melbourne. (Shown is part of the helpful sign provided for the aircraft-spotter.) This extensive salt-water lake is not particularly convenient for birdwatching, as access is not permitted near the shores, and the plentiful bird life is some distance away. Later I came across 20 or so Bandeds nearer at hand at the salt pans down the end of the Avalon road - feeding with a few black-winged. Why should these inland breeders have travelled to the coast when conditions are still wet in the interior? Perhaps breeding has been so successful that some stay while others push out to haunts only visited every few years. No reason why they shouldn’t visit the local area, although perhaps Lake George/Lake Bathurst would be more likely.
