Dr Richard Nowotny wrote:
>
> Has there been anything unusual about Pectoral Sandpipers this past couple
> of months? I've seen a group of 5 at Fivebough Swamp (Leeton) and another
> of 3 at a small wetland just north of Adelaide (near the saltworks office),
> on both occasions with no sign of any Sharp-tails (which had obviously all
> headed north). I've also heard of a group of some 15 being seen here in
> Victoria (? Werribee), also after the departure of the Sharpies.
> Are numbers higher than usual? Are Pectorals remaining later than usual?
> Is any of this related to the unusually hot, dry summer in south-eastern
> Australia? Or is this the norm?
> Any thoughts?
> Richard Nowotny
Hi Richard,
I was speaking to Peter Driscoll on the phone yesterday about the results of his
satellite telemetry work on Eastern Curlews. He put transmitters on 12 birds
just before
their departure from Brisbane a few weeks ago. You will have to get the precise
details
from him yourself, but I recall him saying that at least two of his birds
turned around
and headed back to Brisbane after encountering Cyclone Julian further up the
Queensland
coast. Another of his birds that had encountered the cyclone was found in PNG
in an
exhausted state. Peter has been able to follow the progress of some of the other
transmitter birds into northern mainland China so far. It appears that the
cyclone was
so intense and long-lasting that some Eastern Curlews couldn?t pass it and so
turned
back. So I?m wondering if the Pectoral Sandpipers that you are currently
observing in
south-eastern Australia had the same problem.
Dr Stephen Ambrose
Research and Conservation Manager.
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Birds Australia (formerly Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union),
Australian Bird Research Centre,
415 Riversdale Road,
Hawthorn East,
VIC 3123.
Tel: (03) 9882 2622.
Fax: (03) 9882 2677.
Email: S.Ambrose <> (at work)
(at home)
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