Inskip Point

I had an interesting walk out at Inskip Point yesterday afternoon. The tide was higher than I had expected it to be so the only birds I saw were right up on the point where all the traffic goes. It always surprises me how many birds use the area despite the number of vehicles and people all around them.
The first waders I saw were Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stint busily hunting for food in an area of very soft sand. These are the Red-necked Stint.
There was one Eastern Curlew which definitely didn't want me to come any closer.
There was a juvenile Crested Tern that really didn't know what it should and should not be eating. This fish is poisonous and if it had managed to swallow it the result would be disastrous.
Then I spotted a single Whimbrel and tried to get closer to get a good photo but it was even more timid than the Eastern Curlew.
While I was slowly trying to get closer another bird flew in and landed close by. This was a juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit – the first I have seen this season. They leave the arctic some weeks after the adults have left. The plumage of the juveniles has quite a different pattern. They only keep this plumage for a few months after they reach here and then molt into the typical adult patterns. I will include a photo of an adult for comparison taken a few weeks ago.
The best sighting of the afternoon was when I was walking back to the car park along the bush track from the point. Unfortunately my attention was in the tree-tops where I could hear birds. I heard a rustle in the grass very close to my feet and was just in time to see Black-breasted Button-quail scurry into the longer grass. I was too slow getting the camera up to take any photos but it certainly made a nice end to the afternoon walk.