Hi to All,
A cannon net conducted by the Broome Bird Observatory last
Sunday 3rd May resulted in one hundred and eighty birds of nine different
species of wader being banded, weighed, measured and released with their new
yellow plastic leg flag glued securely in place. The purpose of the yellow
leg band is to enable that bird to be readily identified in the field as
having been banded in Western Australia.
The nine species represented included two Lesser Sandplover, twenty four
Greater Sandplover, two Broad-billed Sandpiper, four Red Knot - three of
which were in full on breeding plumage, forty one Great Knot, three Ruddy
Turnstone, four Grey-tailed Tattler, fourteen Terek Sandpiper and eighty six
Curlew Sandpiper.
Two of the Curlew Sandpiper were re-traps. Both of these birds were females
in 100% breeding plumage and had previously been trapped and banded on the
beaches of Roebuck Bay.
One of the birds had been banded on the 25th Oct 1992 when it was estimated
to be a 3+. Thus making it eight or older now. The other re-trap was first
processed on 16th March 1994 when it was a two plus, which would make it a
six plus now.
These birds weighed 77gms and 54gms respectively. In very early May the BBO
wardens Chris and Jan noticed what appeared to be a sudden influx of Curlew
Sandpiper with the normal population of fifty to sixty jumping to some five
or six hundred, some of these birds were noted to have Victoria's Orange leg
flags.
Perhaps the two retraps above were also from Victoria and were stopping over
to top up their fat reserves before continuing on to their breeding grounds
in the high Arctic tundra of Northern Siberia.
Cheers,
Phil Joy
P O Box 21
Broome
W A 6725
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