Yesterday (14th
February 2004), David Koffel, Graham Turner and I enjoyed some top birding in
the Hunter estuary in the Newcastle area, visiting Ash Island, Stockton and Fern
Bay (approx. 170 km north of Sydney CBD).
On Ash Island and driving along
Wagtail Way, we stopped briefly a few times to check a few waders (namely
Greenshanks, Marsh and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers) very close to the road, when a
BLACK FALCON caught us by surprise as it flew fast and very low attempting to
have a go at the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers a metre or so next to our car without
success. After going behind David?s car, it continued on and then landed on a
nearby telegraph pole. After remaining perched for a while it then flew high
over and slowly and then disappeared out of sight.
We later stopped and parked close
to Telegraph pole 24 at the northern end of Wagtail
Way and as soon as I got out of the car and with
scope ready I saw a buff looking Sandpiper quickly run to the nearest clump of
salt marsh. I said to the others that this bird looks like a candidate for the
one we are after. I saw Ann Lindsay nearby with her scope and focused on where
this bird was and she then said she had been watching the BUFF-BREASTED
SANDPIPER for 2 hours which we saw and had brilliant views of. The BBSP spend a
lot of time hiding in the cover of the salt marsh but we did get great views of
it feeding, preening, briefly standing in the water (while crossing between the
salt marsh bushes) and in short flight (seeing the diagnostic narrow dark bars
about the tips of the under primary coverts). A brilliant and easily identified
shorebird and one I have missed seeing at 3 different locations in the last 10
years (all 3 within 200km of Sydney)
until yesterday. Many thanks to Bob
Way for his timely report of this bird. Other
shorebirds seen on Ash Island included 40 or so Red-capped and a Double-banded
Plover (adult almost moulted out of its breeding plumage), Black-fronted
Dotterels, 20 plus Masked Lapwing, 40 plus Red-necked Stints (one showing early
signs of breeding plumage on breast), 150 plus Sharp-tailed Sandpipers (I think
Ann saw twice as much), a few Eastern Curlew, about 10 Marsh Sandpipers, 15
Greenshanks (one showing dark breeding spots on back) and a single Red-necked
Avocet. A few of the Red-capped Plovers seen (yesterday giving broken wing
displays as we were close) appear to be still nesting so be careful where to
tread and park the car (especially around the stony and vegetated high ground
spots where they usually nest). One poor Sharp-tailed Sandpiper also had a
broken wing and unfortunately will be an easier meal for that Black Falcon.
Other interesting birds on Ash
Island included Little Egret, Mangrove Heron, Swamp Harrier, White-bellied
Sea-eagle, Tawny Grassbirds, 40 plus White-fronted Chats, Mangrove Gerygone and
a YELLOW WAGTAIL along the mangrove fringed stream north of the northern end of
Wagtail Way (it appears that Ash Island is still the location in NSW where a few
of these regularly turn up each year).
We also visited the mudflats at
nearby Stockton and Fern Bay where we had good views of a Broad-billed Sandpiper
(both feeding beside the mangroves and in the high tide roost pond), 100 plus
Curlew and a few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 7 Red and 3 Great Knots (all 3 Great
Knots were coming into breeding plumage), 200 plus Bar-tailed Godwits (a few
showing much breeding plumage), 7 Whimbrel, 10 plus Eastern Curlew, a
Greenshank, a Red-necked Avocet (all but one have gone inland!), Pied Stilts, 10
Pied Oystercatchers (OZPO?s) and a Caspian Tern. Most of the shorebirds (not
seen) appeared not to have arrived to the high tide roost and may have been
still feeding elsewhere or on the other high tide roost at
Kooragang
Island.
Resting or perched on the oyster
racks at Fern
Bay were 50 Terek Sandpipers, 15
Grey-tailed Tattler and a Common Sandpiper.
One of the Pied Oystercatchers
seen above definitely had a thinner and longer bill (at least 20 % longer) than
any of the others OZPO?s along side it, white bases in the primaries (seen twice
in flight and when lifting them up when preening) but the legs did not appear
any shorter than your typical OZPO. Could this individual have been another
hybrid? The real McCoy sighted a week or so ago now appears to have long gone!
Unfortunately, we could not
relocate the previous weekend?s Stilt Sandpiper either, but it was still a super
day in the Hunter all round.
Edwin
Vella
