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Dear Birders
Paid a quick visit to Old Bar beach this afternoon
from 4.25 to 6.15 pm. Rain kept off, a gentle wind blew from the west and the
surf was mild. Few migratory birds around and far too many fishermen and 4WDs on
the beach - tyre marks on all parts of the beach from the top along the Little
Tern fence right down to the shoreline. The only thing they miss driving
on is the larger piles of stones.
Despite this a small group of waders was roosting
on one pile of stones - Red-neck Stints, Little Sand--plovers, Red-capped
Dotterels and Golden Plovers. Out at sea were a few Crested and small numbers of
Common and Little Terns, and one juvenile Gannet. However at the far end beyond
the tern enclosure, where there is a vast expanse of muddy sandbar between the
sea and the lagoon (which gets covered with water at very high
tides) were the following
14 Curlew
10 plus Golden Plovers
130 plus Bar-tailed Godwits
3 Red-capped Plovers
2 Great Cormorants
14 Pied Cormorants
8 Torresian Crows
several Pelicans and 2 Black Swans
One very dead Pelican on the mud - perfect
condition externally but a bit whiffy
and quite a few other small waders too far to
identify on the central sand bar in the lagoon, could have included Red-necked
Stints
However the treat of the day was still to come. On
the walk back I heard small "peeps" from the Tern enclosure - thought maybe a
late tern hatching but no, 2 beautiful Beach Stone-curlews taking advantage of
the safety of the fence and quietly peeping to each other as they walked through
the dune plants. Then they stopped and preened while I watched for about 10
minutes.
Back at the car park were lots of Scaly-breasted
Lorikeets, Little Wattlebirds, Silvereyes, Bar-shouldered Doves, New Holland
Honeyeaters and Red-browed Finches.
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