A day of surprises.
Feb 21st, 2009 by Duncan
The great wader count is taking place in February, we had already done Lake Reeve, but still had Jack Smith Lake to do. With Gouldiae unavailable and two others also not making it, I went solo. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much at all with the dry conditions and ash fall from the fires, but it turned out to be a very interesting morning. My first sighting happened shortly after I turned on to Middle Road for the run down to the lake, with a Crested Pigeon sitting on the power cable. This was my first sighting in the district, it is one of the species that is expanding its range in Victoria. The second came soon after at the Giffard Flora Reserve, a big Wedge-tailed Eagle was feeding on a road-killed kangaroo a few metres off the bitumen. I spun around and cruised back to try for a picture but it was too canny and flapped away.
When I crested the rise and looked out over the lake, I could see that the main area was bone dry as it has been for several years. Once into the reserve I saw what would easily have been the biggest flock of Little Ravens I had ever seen, I didn’t try to count them but there could have been between two and three hundred birds.
At the end of the track the lagoon known as the permanent water was still holding, and there were waders, I counted about 35 Red-necked Stints plus 40 odd local Red-capped Plovers. Masked Lapwings were also there, numbering between 25 and 30, and 30 Chestnut Teal, 11 Silver Gulls, a Caspian Tern and a Crested Tern completed the bird count for that part of the reserve.
When I got back to the vehicle I looked up to notice a couple of White-throated Needletails scythe through the air, that was my first swift sighting for the season. Then, on my way back along the track en route to the Blue Hole, I saw a lot more. Pulling up I grabbed the camera and started to try tracking these aerial speedsters. After taking several of distant birds I managed to lock on to one that was coming straight past me at low level, and got what is probably a once in a lifetime picture.
The water level at the Blue Hole was down quite a bit compared to our last visit, but there were 15 red-caps there with 2 stints, and another small wader nestled down in the glasswort which I couldn’t identify from the limited view. I got the scope from the car but still couldn’t do any good, so walked on hoping it would come out and start to feed while I was away. It didn’t of course, but there was another pecking along the edge which made identification easy, Double-banded Plovers newly arrived from New Zealand. The photo was taken at extreme range.
With the counting done it was time to head for home, but there was one more sighting to make, a small bird sitting on the fence wire demanded a stop and photos from the vehicle. It was a cuckoo, a very scruffy Horsfield’s Bronze, either a moulting bird or a young one coming into adult plumage.
Shortly after I came on to a Nankeen Kestrel on a fence post, but like the wedgetail it was too canny, and so ended a remarkably good morning.
Photos from top.
Red-capped Plover,
White-throated Needletail,
Double-banded Plover,
Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo.
All pictures except the Double-banded are clickable to enlarge.