Inskip Point

All set to go kayaking. Good tide early morning, only one problem, the wind was blowing a gale. Plan B, go for a drive instead to Inskip Point to see what birds were around.

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)

Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)

 Not very often you get a clear photo showing different species nicely lined up, in this case four terns.

 Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) 

Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)

Great Knot

Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)

 A large flock of Pelicans and Godwits were on the little sand island out from the point.

Australian Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longiristris)

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus)

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)

For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday

Wader Time Again.

I think this is the first time I have come across a Buff-banded Rail in a tree, every other time they have been on the ground heading for cover.

Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis)

Mangrove Honeyeater (Lichenostomus fasciogularis)

It was a very hot day, and the Mangrove Honeyeaters found some water under one of the picnic tables to drink and have a bath to cool down.

Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus)

 & Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)

 

 Lesser Sand Plover & Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)

Interesting to see the size difference between the different species.

 Lesser Sand Plover & Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)

Lesser Sand Plover

Little Tern

Mixed Waders

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus)

For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Waders at Inskip

After receiving a phone call from Mick to tell us about all the waders at Inskip Point on Wednesday afternoon, it was decided that Thursday's high tide at 6 in the morning would be a good time to meet up and check what was out there. Most were in various stages of breeding plumage.

Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)

Bar-tailed Godwit

Great Knot

Bar-tailed Godwit

Great Knot

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

The deciding factor for our early morning start, leaving in the dark, was Mick's report of a Curlew Sandpiper in breeding plumage. But trying to find such a small bird in a flock of over 4000 mixed waders was easier said than done. After much waiting and patience it finally paid off, and we managed to get quite a few Curlew Sandpiper in different stages of breeding plumage. We even managed to see the red starting to show on the front of the Red-necked Stint.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Great Knot

Curlew Sandpiper (Front)

Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus)

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)

Thanks Mick for the great morning out, without you we would not have been able to have a chance of seeing a Curlew Sandpiper with breeding plumage.

Lesser Sand Plover

The Lesser Sand Plover are getting ready to leave our shores for their northern migration and are showing lots of beautiful colour. So when we next count this site the numbers of birds and species should be well down. Overall count for this day was 15 species 1650 birds.

Click on photos to enlarge

Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus) Little tern (Sterna albifrons)

Lesser Sand Plover & Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris)

Lesser Sand Plover, Little Tern & Grey-tailed Tattler (Heteroscelus brevipes)

Decided not to kayak this time due to strong winds. With plenty of runoff from the creeks because of the heavy rain we have had the water was coloured tannin instead of clear as it normally is. Usually there is at least a metre of sand on the walk up to the wader site, but with the weather the way it was strong winds were pushing the waves up to the edge.

The Samphire looks a lot healthier now that we have had lots of rain.