Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Small Shorebirds

This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

When I walked out to Mullens the other day the bigger shorebirds were all at the far side of the roost. Since I had walked out instead of kayaking there was no way I could get closer to them. However the smaller shorebirds were in their preferred roost site at the southern end of the roost and all I had to do was wade through some shallow water. They were standing in shallow water in among the saltmarsh plants. Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stints were roosting together. Both of these birds are only 15cm (6 inches) beak to tail. Red-capped Plovers are an Australian shorebird and stay here all year. Quite a few were showing their beautiful red caps. Red-necked Stints are the smallest of all the shorebirds that migrate from the arctic to spend the summer here. They only show their red necks just before they migrate north - that is in March and April.

21 comments:

  1. cute little birds. love the red-capped plovers!

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  2. Beautiful birds, Mick! I love the scenery in your shots. Nice job!

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  3. I just love the cute Plovers, great shots.

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  4. beautiful photographs your plovers.

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  5. OK, envious once again :D They are so beautiful and I love the close-up!

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  6. Really nice shots! I love the background and the birds together in your work. You really capture these things nicely.

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  7. Hi there - nice pictures - I'll be banding lots of the stints between Christmas and the New Year. We target other waders, but you can’t avoid these little chaps!

    Hope you have a good weekend!!

    Stewart M - Melbourne

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  8. Great shots of these tinies Mick.

    Have a very Happy Christmas!

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  9. Those Red-capped Plovers are beauties Mick.

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  10. Great birds Mick! I haven't seen these before.

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  11. Always love seeing your birds. In the evenings, the sanderlings and plovers entertain us at sunset.
    Hope you are having a great week, Mick!

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  12. A stint..I have never heard of that..lovely photos...

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  13. Great photos Mick. I've not seen those waders before.

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  14. Two great images, Mick, of the Red-capped Plover! I am not familiar with this bird, but your photos would allow me to id them.

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  15. Arctic to Australia, that is some migration! Thanks for sharing your remarkable plovers Mick.
    Cheers to you this holiday!

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  16. They are sweet little birds. not quite Santa red, though. Merry Christmas!

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  17. trekking your superb blog! keep blogging and inspiring people! happy holidays!

    cheers!
    ...TREK...

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  18. Super shots of the Red-capped Plovers and the Red-necked Stints! Lucky you get to see the Red-capped Plovers all year.They're a real treat!

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