Rainbow Lorikeet

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year hope everyone enjoyed themselves.

Click on photo to enlarge

Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)

It would not be Christmas without the Rainbow Lorikeets gathering under the Mango Trees to feed on the fallen fruit dropped by the Flying Foxes. It is interesting to watch the antics of these birds as they stagger about, getting drunk on the fermenting fruit. Once we watched a Crow dragging a Rainbow by the tail so it could have a feed of a Mango too.

Have been trying to get photos of them at the Mango's but it is a bit wet at the moment. We are having very good rain and the place is green again. Have to dig out the mower after many months of not needing it.

Whistling Kite & Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

Last Wader Count for the year. Just a few birds we saw at the local sewage ponds. Numbers here are still down owing to the continuing upgrade of the ponds.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)

Saw a shadow, and looked up to find this Whistling Kite overhead.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)

Raptors such as the Whistling Kite sometime cause waders to fly off but not this time.

Count numbers for the sewage ponds
Whistling Kite 1, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 36, White Ibis 49, Pacific Black Duck 4, Black-winged Stilt 17, Black-fronted Dotterel 3, Royal Spoonbill 31, Intermediate Egret 1, Purple Swamphen 2, Chestnut Teal 3, Latham's Snipe 2.

New Roost Site Carlo Island Complex

What a way to spend the morning, checking out a new roost site. As with any new area you don't know what to expect. Take these Black-winged Stilt for example, we have only ever found them before at the local sewage ponds.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Thank you Mick for allowing me to use your photo of these Black-winged Stilt in flight, hope you enjoyed the morning as much as we did.

The smaller birds here allowed us to get very close to them, unlike the Eastern Curlew and Godwits.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus)

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

Black-winged Stilt 7, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 6, Red-necked Stint 300, Red-capped Plover 80, Bar-tailed Godwit 206, Eastern Curlew 350, Little Egret 1, Intermediate Egret 25, Whistling Kite 1, Brahminy Kite 2.

Crab & Whelk
Just to show it is not all about birds.
For views and story about our morning out at this roost site go to Mick's blog

White-throated Honeyeater

This White-throated Honeyeater was one of a flock of ten foraging for insects among low branches, on tree trunks and even on the ground nearly at our feet as we prepared for a recent wader count. They were either too close for photography or too shaded, but we managed this one decent shot. It was one of those "memorable moments" in bird-watching, as most often this species is found higher in the trees.

Click on photo to enlarge

White-throated Honeyeater (Melithreptus albogularis)

Kayak

Have been asked how do you keep camera and equipment dry and safe while out in the kayak.

This is how I do it.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Take one Pelican Case with camera in it.
The Pelican Case warranty actually states "Not guaranteed against shark bite & children under five years", but it is waterproof!

Attach one homemade harness.

Attach to straps on hatch

Our kayak has two hatches front and back to hold Telescope tripod and what ever else you want to take with you (in waterproof bags as an added precaution).

Also has drain holes to let water out if it gets too rough as well as storage holes for keys etc. have taken lid off to show it better.

Thank you to Mick over at Sandy Straits and Beyond for taking this photo when were coming back from checking out the new wader site on Sunday. It shows the camera case attached behind me.

Our kayak is guaranteed unsinkable. This was tested out by five family members who boarded it soon after we purchased it. They didn't get anywhere, but at least it did not sink or capsise!

Mixed Shorebirds

It was a beautiful day on Friday for a wader count, calm water a higher tide and light winds made for a great day. With the higher tide most of the birds were roosting on the far side of the flats, though they were very flighty. Just as well we were in a kayak, not too much dry land today.

10 species were recorded with a total count of 2833 birds.

Click on photos to enlarge

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) & Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus)

I just like the way the Red-capped Plover is looking at me as much to say
"what do you think you are doing?"

All Red-capped to the right please.

Red-necked Stint, Red-capped Plover & Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)

Just to show how high the water was, these Bar-tailed Godwit were trying to land.

Looking towards where we would normally walk in to the site.

The water was too nice to stay in the kayak all the time.

Kel counting the birds out there.