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Hi Birders,
Last Sunday 7 April 2002, two Sydney
birdos, Ray Stokes and Jim Valentine travelled up to Old Bar to look for the
Kentish Plover. They found the bird towards the southern end of the Little Tern
fenced area nearest to Old Bar. This bird was with other waders on the high tide
line but eventually the waders were flushed and they flew further northwards
along the beach to about where the pink bucket used to be (?). Eventually they
re-found the bird, there were also Double-banded and one Mongolian Sand Plover
in this group. As they were watching the Kentish Plover, another Kentish Plover
flew in and landed within a few metres from the first bird! While they were
close together, it was not actually possible to get both birds in their
telescope at the one time. The birds superficially resembeld each other. They
rang David Siems from Old Bar to tell him what they saw that afternoon, and
decided to stay over-night to see if they could find both birds again the
following morning. However they could not find even one Kentish Plover the next
day and so they returned to Sydney.
On arrival home they rang to report
their sighting to me but I was busy at meetings etc.intially so I finally caught
up with them last night. They described to me the usual description of the
Kentish Plover observed at Old Bar with the exception that the bird closest to
them definately had greenish yellow legs and there was a narrow band of brown
feathers dividing the collar on the back of the neck into two. I also saw this
on the bird that I saw some time ago but at the time considered that a nape
formed when the bird stood in a certain position. In "Shorebirds of the World"
(Hayman et al 1986), some of the sub-species are illustrated having a narrow
connection between the brown of the crown and the top of the neck, thus dividing
the pale collar into two.. Neither Jim or Mal are on the net so I have have had
no written information as yet. There have been previous claims of two Kentish
Plovers at Old Bar but this is the first time that two have been seen
together.
Alan Morris
Records Officer. Birding
NSW
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