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Myself and Bill Slight spent yesterday looking for
various waders around the Shoalhaven area (approx 180 km south of Sydney
CBD).
While we were down there we had a brief look around
Orient Pt for the resident Beach Stone-curlew but it did not show itself at
the time we were there. Historically, there was supposed to be a breeding pair
of this endangered bird in the Shoalhaven area. Has anybody seen more
than one bird here recently.
At Lake Wollumboola we did not see
the usual crowd of waders as the water level has been quite high but saw in
a shallow offshoot from the lake, 8 Double-banded Plovers
(juv./immature/non-breeding adult birds), 2 Red-necked Stints and a few
Red-capped Plovers. On the lake itself were 2 pairs of Australasian
Shovelers amongst a few hundred Grey and Chestnut Teal as well as a few
Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes. There were also a pair of Bar-tailed
Godwits by the edge of the lake. A pair of Whistling Kites also called and
circled overhead.
At Comerong Island (from the northern side of the
Island and opposite Shoalhaven Heads), we saw more waders as the tide was
falling out. We saw a good number of Double-banded Plovers (40), Red-necked
Stints (60) and Red-capped Plovers (20) all crounching down a bit away from the
water's edge and below the dunes, as they tried to camouflage themselves in the
sand. Some of these were half buried in the sand and they were a bit hard
to see at first. Several of the Stints were starting to obtain breeding dress
and some were juv. birds. On the waters edge there were 130 Bar-tailed
Godwits (a few just about in full breeding plumage) and 2 Great Knots amongst
them were starting to assume breeding plumage. A Caspian Tern (in non-breeding
plumage) was among them and there were also 2 Pied Oystercatchers on the
beach.
Further up the estuary and in the saltmarsh or
amongst the mangroves, more waders were seen which included 3 Pacific Golden
Plovers, 2 Red-kneed Dotterels, 7 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 2 Eastern
Curlews and a pale looking wader which we could not see well as it tucked behind
the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers but looked a bit taller. The bird was too out
of reach to get a better look but I suspected it to be something
common.
Back towards Shoalhaven Heads a Mangrove Heron was
feeding and another Pied Oystercatcher was seen.
A good day to be out and about with hot summer
weather still lingering about on the NSW coast.
Edwin Vella
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