Hi Frank,
I too have not seen the Ruff there since Thursday, 3 December, despite
hourly waterbird and shorebird counts throughout the day and at night from
3-7 December, inclusive. I have not been there since 12.30 a.m. on Tuesday,
8 December.
As Jono says, there are good numbers of Bar-tailed Godwits (between 180 &
226, 3-8 Dec) and Black-winged Stilts (up to 120) at the Waterbird Refuge at
the moment. I counted between 3 and 11 Red-necked Avocets (most commonly 7
individuals) during the hourly counts. In January/February 2009 there were
as many as 30 Red-necked Avocets there. The Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Curlew
Sandpipers and Bar-tailed Godwits arrive at the Waterbird Refuge at night
about one hour before Parramatta River's high tide to roost. Nearly all the
sandpipers left the Waterbird Refuge shortly after dawn during the December
surveys, whereas the godwits slowly dwindled in numbers throughout the
morning/early afternoon.
Good numbers of Chestnut Teals and Grey Teals also roost there at night (up
to 392 Chestnut/Grey Teals during Dec sureys). They begin to build up in
numbers 3-4 hours before dusk, stay throughout the night, and slowly dwindle
in abundance the following morning/early afternoon.
It's also worth looking out for juvenile/immature White-bellied Sea-eagles
while at the Waterbird Refuge, as pointed out yesterday on Birding-aus by
Geoff Hutchinson. In the 5 days I was out there, an adult White-bellied
Sea-eagle soared over the wetland late afternoon on 3 December, but a
youngster soared over at 12.30 p.m. on 5 December. Other raptors observed
included Peregrine Falcon and Black-shouldered Kite.
Have a great time there over the weekend. It's a great place for
bird-watching.
Stephen Ambrose
Ryde, NSW
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Jon Irvine
Sent: Tuesday, 15 December 2009 10:43 PM
To: 'Frank Antram'
Cc: 'BirdingAus'
Subject: Ruff at Sydney Olympic Park
Hi Frank,
I have been keeping an eye on the Waterbird Refuge at SOP and there has been
no sign of the Ruff since Stephen reported them. I've also looked at Mason
Park a few times but have not seen them there either.
The Waterbird Refuge is the rectangular area of impounded water that is
bounded by Bennelong Road on the western side, Powells Creek on the eastern
side and Homebush Bay on the Northern side. It is at the northern end of
Bicentennial Park accessed by car by parking along Bennelong Road next to
the Waterfront apartments and walking back over Haslams Creek to the
northern entrance on the eastern side of the road or by walking along the
Badu Mangroves path from the south. By train it is accessible by walking
from Concord West station along Victoria Avenue and turning north (right)
once you have walked over the creek footbridge. You then follow the path
north for 1km through the mangroves until you reach the Waterbird Refuge on
the left hand side and Homebush Bay straight ahead.
Bar-tailed godwits, Avocets and Stilts should be at the refuge. If you look
out into Homebush Bay from the northern end of the refuge there are usually
Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers feeding at Rhodes (in front of the
shopping centre) to the east at low tide. Mason Park (south of Bicentennial
Park) has Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers as well as Golden Plovers at
high tide.
Good luck,
Jono
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of
Sent: 15 December 2009 21:59
To: 'BirdingAus'
Subject: Ruff at Sydney Olympic Park
I will be in Sydney this weekend. Has there been any further sightings of
these Ruff? Also, would somebody please advise precisely where the
Waterbird Refuge is? I have been to Olympic Park once, via train, and had a
bit of a wander around, but didn't find a Waterbird Refuge - at least,
nothing that I recognised as such! Is it an area where there is no public
access?
Regards
Frank Antram
Canberra
-----Original message-----
From: "Stephen Ambrose"
Date: Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:18:41 +1100
To: "'BirdingAus'"
Subject: Ruff at Sydney Olympic Park
> I and two English birders (sorry, didn't catch their names) observed two
> Ruff on the eastern bank of the Waterbird Refuge at Sydney Olympic Park
> around 9 a.m. on Thursday, 3 December. I've not seen them since then,
> despite being at the wetland every day. Will have another look for them
> again today.
>
>
>
> My apologies for not reporting this sooner, but I've literally spent long
> hours over the last 4 days/nights at Sydney Olympic Park investigating if
> there were any significant disturbances to waterbirds from the V8 Telstra
> 500 Car Race.
>
>
>
> Stephen Ambrose
>
> Ryde, NSW
>
> ===============================
> www.birding-aus.org
> birding-aus.blogspot.com
>
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