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Carnarvon WA Sightings

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Subject: Carnarvon WA Sightings
From: "Frank O'Connor" <>
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 23:50:56 +0800

Yesterday (Wednesday 18th February), I birded around Carnarvon.

I started by looking for the Franklin's Gull seen a few times by Les George (a local birder) over the last 6 weeks.  Few gulls around to start with as it was a low tide, but as the tide came in there were gulls around the main jetty, and the prawning jetty but no Franklin's.  I then tried along the Gascoyne River as I had seen some gulls flying up the river.  Near the mouth there were some gulls floating in the middle of the river, and there it was!!!!  Quite a distance away, but easy enough to get good details on the bird.  This has been a bogey bird for me in WA over many years.  I always seem to be in the wrong place when it is reported, or get there just too late.

I rang Les George, and he was about to conduct a wader count at high tide, so we met up.  When we went to the Small Boat Harbour, there were very good numbers of waders, and we proceeded to count them (500 Bar-tailed Godwit, 400 Grey-tailed Tattler, 230 Lesser Sand Plover, 81 Whimbrel, 40 Red-necked Stint, 10 Curlew Sandpiper, 9 Red Knot, 8 Great Knot, 7 Terek Sandpiper, 2 Grey Plover, 1 Eastern Curlew, 1 Sanderling, 1 Red-capped Plover).  Two Broad-billed Sandpipers were a very good find.

We then moved closer as most of the smaller waders were sitting down.  We got to about 40 metres before they stood up.  I scanned the flock again with my scope to check the numbers of the less common species, and to look for leg flags when I saw a pair of very red legs.  I stayed on the bird as it preened and finally it turned to show red at the base of a bill about the same length as the tattlers but finer.  A redshank!  But which one.  I moved a little closer and half the birds flew about 50 metres to the left, and one bird very clearly showed the diagnostic wing pattern of a Common Redshank.  These are always present in small numbers in Broome, but I am not certain if it has been recorded further south in WA.

We then went to the sewage ponds to look for a Ruff that Les had recently seen there.  Some good birds with Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, Terek Sandpiper, female Musk Duck and the Ruff.  This is the first Ruff that I have seen in Australia with orange / yellow legs.  All the others have had greenish legs.

_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor           Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
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