The Hunter estuary used to hold 10 000+ shorebirds. This has been reduced
to about 8000 birds with as few as 3000 in a poor year. The big variation
is usually in Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew Sandpiper (not surprising as
these are the most numerous species). An average count for godwits might be
4000 and for Curlew Sandpipers 2000. Of the more common waders average
counts might be Eastern Curlew 500 (as many as 1000 in good years),
Black-tailed Godwit 400, Whimbrel 300, Greenshank 300, Marsh Sandpiper 300,
Terek Sandpiper 150, Lesser Golden Plover 150, Red-necked Stint 150, Red
Knot 100 (several thousand on migration). At times there can be 2000+
Red-necked Avocet in the estuary but at other times (perhaps now with the
big wet out west) none.
The big losers over the past few decades, as far as I can work out, have
been Lesser Golden Plover, Lesser Sand Plover (now only 30 or so birds),
Broad-billed Sandpiper (several each year), Terek Sandpiper.
Please don't put to much store in my figures. I have done this from memory.
I haven't counted shorebirds in this estuary for over two years. Prior to
that I was doing monthly counts for several years.
David Geering
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