I went for a walk out at Inskip Point yesterday and saw another Kelp Gull out there. The previous one was there in February and I posted about it
here. The plumage on this one is so different I think it must be a sub-adult but would be happy to have this checked by a birder with more knowledge than I have of these birds which are usually seen much further south than here.
It's just two weeks since I was out there before and I was interested to see the darker breeding plumage on the Red-necked Stint. There was a small flock of Red-capped Plovers roosting with some Red-necked Stints right at the point. However, there were so many people and cars coming and going that they soon flew off to the sand island - at this tide height there was quite a lot of sand exposed out there.
Red-necked Stints
Red-necked Stints and Red-capped Plover
Silver Gull and Red-capped Plover - just to compare the sizes.
There were quite a number of campers in the camping ground back from the point and they all looked as if they were happy to have some drier weather. The previous afternoon and evening my rain gauge overflowed - that is more than 170mm of rain in about 18 hours. The road in to Gympie was under water in three places and traffic was stopped. News reports also said that one car was washed away when it tried to cross a flooded creek but the people in it managed to get out and spent several hours clinging to a bank in the rain.
Red-necked Stints and Red-capped Plover
I really appreciate your photos of the waders along with captions and comments. Waders can be such a challenge to ID, especially when in varying stages of breeding plumage! We tend to spend more time 'up the creek' than on the beach so we need all the help we can get.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Barbara. I guess its what we see most of. I am constantly frustrated by my lack of knowledge of all the little bush birds that you (and others) know so much about. I keep trying but have a long way to go!
ReplyDelete