Just received this from Graham Palmer of Jimboomba, SE Qld who has just
returned from a short-break to Fraser Island, Qld.
He has travelled extensively, particularly in North & South America
where he would be familiar with this species.
If anyone is planning to be in the area, please watch out for this bird.
Please reply to Graham (or the list )
Tom Tarrant
Hi Tom
This is a brief description of what I saw. Unfortunately the bird
did not hang about for long.
We were driving south on Fraser Island ocean beach at approx 10:15 AM
on Monday the 22nd of Sep. We logged the position at approx. 1.8k's
north of Happy Valley. Later GPS sightings were taken as 25 degrees 19
minutes 55 seconds South. 153 degrees 12 minutes 56 seconds East.
Checking out birds as we drove south at approx. 30 to 40 kph a pair of
waders were seen close together by the wave edge. The larger bird of
the two was definitely different to anything seen previously on the
beach. This persuaded me to stop and back up, noticing with my naked
eye (I was driving) that the smaller bird was a Red capped Plover and
the larger a Tringa species. On reflection the larger of the two was
approx. one and a half times the size of the Red-capped Plover. My
initial thought before using bins was Redshank. This idea was quickly
dispelled by both my friend, over on holiday from UK, and myself after
looking through binoculars.
The most obvious feature of the bird was it's brilliant yellow
legs. Other ID marks observed in the short time available were:
The slim shape of the bird typical of Tringa sandpipers.
The reasonably long straight bill.
The overall dark almost black plumage on mantle, scapulars,
head, neck, breast with white spotting.
The call made by the bird, identical to how it is described
in Morcombe.
The bird was first observed for about 20 seconds before it flew and
landed again within 20 metres. The bird was observed again from a
distance of about 10 metres for about one minute before unfortunately
the bird flew directly west over the dunes without any indication it was
going to return.
The above information was sufficient to enable me to identify a
Lesser Yellowlegs in breeding plumage.
Subsequent visits to the beach on the following two consecutive days
proved fruitless, leading me to think the bird had not long arrived from
the Americas, only resting long enough to replenish its strength before
continuing its journey for more suitable habitat.
This is purely information supplied based on what I saw. At this
point in time no attempt has been made to justify why other species were
not considered. This info is purely to enable other birders to be aware
and on the look out for this bird which could turn up on the west coast
of Fraser or any suitable habitat on the corresponding Queensland coast.
Regards
Graham
--
********************************************************
Tom & Marie Tarrant
Samsonvale, Queensland 4520
Australia
Email:
URL: http://www.aviceda.org/
http://www.hotkey.net.au/~aviceda
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