I thought they would have to put on extra ferries to French Island to
accommodate the hordes of Melbourne twitchers looking for the second
Redshank ever to have been recognised in Victoria. Sunday 8 February was
the first weekend after the reported sighting and had a better high tide
time than Saturday 7 February (the bird had been seen on 1 February at high
tide). I am pretty sure I was the only bird watcher on French Island today
although someone claimed a party of four had been there on Saturday.
There was a south-westerly gale blowing with occasional rain showers, which
had even the Black Swans looking for cover. Mike Carter had supplied
explicit directions (a rocky reef on the west coast about 3 km north of the
ferry landing, at high tide). The swans were there with a few Pied
Oystercatchers, but no Redshank.
I walked about 20 km on this very large island, thinking I would take the
opportunity to look for King Quail which have been seen there. Most of the
birds were sheltering from the wind and besides a good long walk, the best
I got was a flock of about 6 Needletails, birds I do not see often enough.
Many Swamp Harriers were also there battling the gale. I flushed one quail
which was probably a Stubble Quail, and think I saw a Blue-winged Parrot.
If there are any twitchers left out there, please contact me if you want
any more local information.
Regards,
Gil Langfield
Melbourne, Australia
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