Hi birders,
Ruth and I went to Point Cook today to have another look for the (probable)
American Golden Plover. We had previously tried in December with no luck. In
December, however, we caught up with Bernie, one of the rangers, and he
allowed us to drive into the restricted area to look for the bird. I note
that access has been provided in recent times and that Bernie has even
driven people around the site to find both the AGP and the Oriental Plover
that is present. Anyway, today we called Bernie to see if we could get
access and he told us that Parks Victoria would no longer be providing
access to the restricted part of Cheetham wetlands because birders have
apparently caused damage to gates and fences and have been caught walking
over sensitive habitat (he said "nesting sites"). This means that the site
that the Oriental Plover has been seen is off-limits, as is the high-tide
roost for the Golden Plovers).
The good news, though, is that it is still possible to see the American
Golden Plover. Ruth and I found a group of at least 17 Golden Plovers on the
westernmost rocky point near the homestead about four hours after high tide.
When we were there in December we also found a group of six Golden Plovers
at the same spot - unfortunately something spooked them before we could get
close. Of the 17 Golden Plovers, one immediately stood out as being
different (a paler bird with a much broader supercilium). I will post some
pictures in a day or two, but I have been having Internet speed problems and
need to get that resolved first. In the meantime I posted a small image to
Birdline.
Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria
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