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Private trip West Swan Bay I was supposed to undertake the OBP survey yesterday, but the wind was so strong that any smart parrot would be hunkered down under a bush somewhere and be impossible to spot, so I delayed the outing until today. The weather was not much better, but the wind had dropped a bit. The survey route encompasses most of western Swan Bay and takes about 3 hours to complete. There were no neophemas about near the start of the walk where Blue-wings are sometimes seen, but the sight of 20 Eastern Curlews feeding in the shallows provided a good start to the day. A flock of 20+ Sharp-tailed Sandpipers flew by, recent returns from their nothern hemisphere breeding grounds. A few Red-capped Plovers skulked away from higher ground in the centre of marshy areas, indicating that they may already be starting to nest. Two Striated Fieldwren were singing loudly from fence posts. The weather got a little worse, with increased wind and some rain just as I got to the Swan Bay Jetty. I spent 20 minutes in the shelter of the veranda around the toilets. I could see Crested Tern and Little Pied Cormorants in the Bay and a small flock of Sharpies landed on the beach. I ventured out again as the sun came out and shone on a plump wader feeding with several Royal Spoonbils. I unpacked the telescope and had nice views of a Grey Plover in breeding plumage. Beautiful! As it flew off, I could see the distinctive black armpits. Nearby, on a dried out wetland, 6 Caspian Terns were happily watching me watch the plover. These birds were very striking, with massive red bills. Out further into the bay, several Australasian Gannet were creating a large splash as they dived into the water. Five Little Egret were feeding close to the shore. A little further on, I passed through a section of land that had been replanted with wattles and some eucalypts. Within 50 metres, I saw 2 Horsfields Bronze-Cuckoo, a Pallid Cuckoo and 2 Fan-tailed Cuckoos. Back near the shoreline, there was still no sign of any neophemas, but I could see a flock of smaller terns hovering over an inlet from the bay. Closer inspection revealed 26 Fairy Terns and 3 Whiskered Terns all working over this section of water. A Caspian Tern flying by dwarfed these smaller birds. 9 Little Egrets fed with a small group of Royal Spoonbill. Walking back to the car, I flushed 3 Stubble Quail to complete a good morning of birding before the weather deteriorated into gale force winds and rain. The spring return of migrant species was well under way, but the last of the winter weather had not yet departed. Barry Lingham |
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Wyld By Design |