John (and others who have enquired about Ash Island),
Technically the answer to your question is 'no', Ash Island is not "off limits"
to birders (or anyone else). But having said that, access to the main ponds (ie
Wader / Swan Ponds etc) is currently very difficult due to a bridge that is out
on one of the creeks. To access the ponds would require a long walk from where
the bridge is out or elsewhere on the island. I cannot say how long this bridge
will be out, but I suggest it will be for the majority of the remaining summer
/
autumn.
There is probably little point trying to access Ash Island anyway. For quite
some time now it has been almost devoid of "interesting" birds that people
often
visit to see. The monthly shorebird / waterbird surveys were conducted on
Saturday just gone, and very few shorebirds were recorded (a few Eastern Curlew
and lone Greenshank). For shorebirds I would suggest a visit to Stockton
Sandspit / Fern Bay foreshore etc would be your best bet (and to answer Mark's
earlier question, yes the Kooragang Dykes were surveyed by boat last Saturday -
about 800 Barwit, 100 Blackwit, 70 Greenshank, 100 Curlew Sands, 240 Golden
Plovers, 2 Red Knot, 2 Common Sands amongst others).
I was fortunate enough to have access to Deep Pond (being my monthly survey
site
in the estuary), which is the large freshwater swamp to the east of the railway
tracks on Ash Island (no public access to this pond is possible from either end
of Ash / Kooragang Island). On Deep Pond there was a single Wood Sandpiper,
about a dozen Greenshank / Marshies, 20-odd Black-tailed Godwits and 40-odd
Black-winged Stilt. A Lewin's Rail was also calling and there were Shovelers
(2)
for the first time in nearly a year.
On a related matter, a good part of Ash Island was gazetted last Friday as part
of the Hunter Wetlands National Park (minus infrastructure corridors and the
like). Whilst there was initial plans by NPWS to restrict access to the reserve
anywhere further than the radar huts near Ramsar Road, recent negotiations
between them and the Hunter Bird Observers Club have secured access to the main
ponds (ie beyond Ramsar Road) at all times except for particularly high tide
events, when the road will be temporarily closed and signs displayed.
In future, it might pay to check tide sizes before visiting the island.
We will keep you posted re: the Dead Mangrove Creek bridge situation.
Cheers
Mick
________________________________
From: John Clifton-Everest <>
To:
Sent: Thu, 24 February, 2011 9:53:17 AM
Subject: Ash Island accessible?
Is it the case that Ash Island is still off-limits to birders?
John Clifton-Everest
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