Carnarvon WA Sightings

["Frank O'Connor" <>]

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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