I went to Nairns this morning to look for the possible Western
Sandpiper photographed by Craig Lester on 7th January 2012. Craig
was there when I arrived. I talked with Craig, and he has not seen
the bird since the 7th, despite visiting the site up to 3 times a day
since. So the report that he relocated it yesterday is a
misunderstanding. He did see a Ruff there yesterday (16th). The
south west wader study group had been mist netting overnight, but
with the fairly strong winds had caught very little.
I arrived about 08:00 and left at 09:20. Most of the time, I was
located along the beach about 30 metres or so past the two small
trees. The stints are generally well spread out over the mud and the
water's edge. However, from time to time the birds flew and landed
as quite a tight group. The banding team twinkled the stints nicely
into a tighter group when they packed up the mist nets about 08:30.
Note that there are two 'channels' that lead back from the mud into
the saltmarsh. I only observed the first channel, where there were
very few birds. But the birds from the second channel flushed at
least twice, so there were an indeterminate number of birds
there. Once was due to an accipiter (probably a Brown Goshawk that
Craig has seen there recently). Not sure why they flew the second
time. The easterly breeze gusted a little but I doubt that caused
them to fly. However, don't walk across the mud to the second
channel if you are likely to disturb the birds near the first
channel. If you did cross, you will need mud boots.
Anyway, what did I see?
Red-necked Stint (400++)
Curlew Sandpiper (20+)
Bar-tailed Godwit (11)
Red-capped Plover (10++) I didn't count these properly
Black-winged Stilt (6)
Common Greenshank (4)
Broad-billed Sandpiper (2) very good views
Grey Plover (1)
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (1)
Fairy Tern (9)
Note that my count of RNSs is probably a significant
underestimate. The count of 400 was after they were flushed into a
fairly tight group. But there were likely to be birds in the second
channel. There have been up to 1500 counted within the last week or
so. So no WESTERN SANDPIPER, but of course it could be hanging out
with the rest of the stints wherever they are (South Yunderup? Lake
McLarty? Creery Island?).
One of the Red-necked Stints is a Victorian flagged bird (orange flag
over metal band on the lower left leg). I will report this to the
AWSG. Note that I did not see any south west flagged birds (yellow
on upper left, over orange and metal on lower left). They had only
banded a very few birds because of the strong winds, so they were
likely to be in the second channel.
There were two sizes of stints. Most were plump, but a fair
percentage of the birds (maybe 10%) were thin and hence looked quite
a bit smaller than the majority. I assume these smaller birds are
first year birds that do not intend migrating back to the northern
hemisphere. I am a little surprised that the adults would have put
on weight by mid January, as they don't usually leave the south west
until about April.
Craig had seen a Grey-tailed Tattler and three Gull-billed Terns
earlier this morning.
There is also a Silver Gull there with orange legs and orange bill
with a dark tip. This is similar to two birds I have seen in the
south west over the past 20 years that have had yellow bills and
legs. The bird today looked like it otherwise had adult plumage in
good condition.
PS : Note that mist netting is happening for the next three nights
(as part of a shorebird course being given to raise the awareness and
importance of the birds to the local community). They will probably
pack up the nets at about 08:30 each morning. So I would suggest
that if you are intending to go to Nairns, get there before they pack
up, and wait for the birds to be moved. It is much easier to scan
through the flock when they are more tightly packed. They spread out
again quite quickly. Make certain that you set up behind the beach
(I started in the dry seaweed 5 or 10 metres behind the beach, and
moved to the edge of the beach when the birds were pushed further
along the mud closer to the point when the mist nets were
dismantled. Some birds (10 to 20) came to within 10 metres during
the next 45 minutes or so before I left. If you stand still they
will have no problem with you being that close. Most birds are about
50 metres away, so you will need a spotting scope.
PPS : For those outside WA who might be wondering about the White
Wagtail seen on Sunday at Lake Gwelup. The bird was not seen
yesterday, or early this morning.
_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
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