G'day Chris,
Yes, there are quite a few WW terns out at Lk Atkinson at the moment.
I think that at least 10% of the marsh terns there are WWs. I also
dipped on the little curlews both times I went out there, even though I
circumnavigated the main water body. The only wading birds of note
were a dozen glossy ibis, a species I don't see in great numbers around
SEQ.
What I find interesting about Lk Atkinson is the almost complete
absence of the waders you find in abundance at nearby Bill Gunn Dam -
no marsh sandpipers, no sharpies, no black fronted or red kneed
dotterels, no snipe etc, and very few BW stilts. Just a flock of
avocets and a couple of godwits. I guess it must have something to do
with the large number of cattle about.
Regards, Laurie.
On Sunday, January 4, 2004, at 09:53 AM, Christopher wrote:
I checked out the Lake a few days ago after a few kind posters had -
over a
period of weeks - mentioned spotting Little Curlews & Pratincoles (or
was it
Phalaropes?).
No luck w/- the aforementioned, but good fun anyway. More to the
point, I
noticed some birds among a small group of Whiskered Terns which didn't
look
much like the juveniles or out-of-season adults I had seen before at
places
like Wivenhoe.
My binocs are nothing flash and, lacking something to brace them on,
weren't
up to the task of delivering a clear view at the higher mag. levels.
Stoopid me left my ratty old copy of Slater Slater Slater in the car,
so I
couldn't check for diagnostic differences while actually lookin' at the
birdies in question.
When I got home, I checked in Simpson& Day, Pizzey&Doyle, National
Photographic Index "Shorebirds" and Readers Digest "Complete Book".
All
seemed to confirm what I had gleaned from Slater: the birds appeared
to be
White Winged Terns.
Could anyone who has been to the Lake recently confirm the presence of
White
Winged Terns? I'm moderately certain these are what I spotted, but I'm
unfamiliar with the critters and - as I said - my optics are a bit
sub-par
for longer-distance work.
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