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Hi All.
A large group (>30) met the ranger at Pt. Cook
last Saturday and we went out to the Cheetham Wetlands to search for the Little
Stint, with no luck. Most of us moved onto the shore of the bay as the falling
tide was exposing the mudflats, and we spent some time scanning thousands of
waders.
Eventually, a few managed to find a suspect Stint,
not coloured as we were expecting, and enough features were seen to suggest
the bird was the Little Stint. It had lost vitrually all colour with only some
rufous on a few of the tertials. However, the bird can still be differentiated
from the Red-necked Stints by its darker, brownish back, which stands out when
it's amongst the RNSs. There is also a pale line along the right side of the
mantle which was clearly visible.
With no expert with the few of us who saw this bird
last Sat., we were reluctant to claim it, but it has since been confirmed as the
Little Stint. So, if you were one of the lucky few, you can tick
it.
Rob Quinan
Central Coast, NSW.
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