Hi all
I went on a boat tour that visited a number of shorebird sites on Botany
Bay, organised by NSW NPWS and Dept of Conservation today. The tour focused
on the shorebirds that inhabit Towra Point and Woolooware Bay .
On my way to Botany for a 9am start, I dropped in at Eastlakes GC from
6:30-7:50, going in at Cowper St. Best bird there was a Whiskered Tern in
breeding plumage, which was seen over the pond near Cowper St and the larger
lake near Wentworth Ave. There was a pair of White Winged Trillers in trees
near Wentworth Ave, trilling away. I saw (flushed) 6 Lathams Snipe, got
good views of several Greenfinches and watched a very aggressive Willie
Wagtail chasing the golfers. There was also a family of Black Faced Cuckoo
Shrikes, with the two younger birds showing the narrow mask that made me
look twice to make sure that they weren't Little Cuckoo Shrikes. There was
a Little Grassbird calling, the Reed Warblers and Golden Headed Cisticolas
were very active and loud and there were several Australasian Grebe dust-ups
happening out on the water. There were 2 Black Fronted Dotterel on the dam
wall that separates the big main lake from the Cowper St wetland.
The Botany Bay shorebird tour organised by the NSW NPWS left from Sans Souci
wharf. First we cruised into Woolooware Bay and checked out some old
wharves and barges that the shorebirds use as high tide roosts. On one set
of old barges there were 1 or possibly 2 Terek Sandpipers mixed in with a
load of Grey Tailed Tattlers (about 25). The birds stood as we approached,
but only a few of us got a sight of the orange legs and upturned bills and
then all the birds settled down again and tucked their heads under their
wings and that was it. The barge also held some Turnstones and 1 Red Necked
Stint.
We looked at a couple of sites that held many Eastern Curlew (standing on
old pilings for oyster leases with the water lapping at their toes) and then
cruised to Towra Spit Island. The boat did not get that close, partly to
avoid disturbing the birds but I think we also had depth issues, as we were
on quite a large whale watching vessel. On the island we could see the
Little Terns, plus many fishing out over the bay. (With the development
work at Penryhn Road, this is their last nesting site in Botany Bay
apparently) There were plenty of Curlew, Bar Tailed Godwit and a few
Whimbrel that could be distinguished and several Pied Oystercatchers. It
looked to me as though there were some smaller waders in with them too (Knot
possibly - they use the island apparently), but we were too far away for any
meaningful ID. A Caspian Tern flew up off the island and headed upriver as
well.
We got back at about 11:20. There was a 2nd shift on the boat that left
Sans Souci at 11:30, so I'd be interested to hear if they saw anything
different as I think that may have had slightly more water to work with.
Cheers
Tom Wilson
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www.birding-aus.org
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