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G'day all,
I ventured out yesterday (with 1/4 repaired broken
ribs & the 2nd lot in 2 months) to visit one of the western bays of Mount
Isa.
With me was enthusiastic new birdwatcher and
arrival from NZ Helen Morgan.
We entered via a normally closed open gate. But
when we left, 6 hours later it was both closed and locked
!
But we were lucky when I found a very old
disused track thru the spinifex to exit via another gate to the
north.
Birdwatching can be very stressful !!
Of the 60 species recorded the highlight was a
single Orange tagged Curlew Sandpiper.
This was my 1st sighting of a flagged bird in this
area ... but where had it been flagged ?
The bird was tagged in Victoria. So I presume the bird had returned to its breeding
grounds, and now on its way back to Victoria.
We saw -
- 5 actively feeding Black-tailed Godwits
- an uncommon bird in this area
- upwards of 100 Black Swans
with one pair shepherding 6 Cygnets through the 1000s
of Eurasion Coots.
- plenty of Sharp-tailed
Sandpipers,
- half a dozen Marsh
Sandpipers,
- one Red-necked Avocet. (I
usually see them in pairs)
Caspian, Gull-billed and
Whiskered Terns were resting together with some Silver
Gulls --giving us an ideal opportunity to note their size and plumage
differences. We noted the bill/beak of a Gull-billed Tern was unlike
that of a 30cm away Silver Gull.
Question 1 What type of Gull then is it
named after ?
Around the edges of the bay were about 10 dead
Pelicans. A few more than normal.
Question 2 Would this be a result of old age
? They have to die sometime.
On the land the most noteworthy was
- one (or maybe 2) Oriental Plover
- several Australian
Pratincole
- a dozen Red-capped
Plover
Regards
Bob Forsyth, Mount Isa, NW
Qld.
- Birding places around Mount Isa,
- Quick Indexes to the Field Guides
- a few ID Tables
- etc.
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