Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Plovers and Stints

What a week it has been - and continues to be as well.   The rest of the country has sweltered in unusual heat and strong to gale force winds and it is due to hit us today.  The temperature is predicted to hit in the high 90's (F) 36 (C) which is unusual for here.  The weather conditions have helped along some disastrous fires - especially in Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales.  There has been property lost and there are still people unaccounted for especially down in Tasmania - but no confirmed deaths so far.  Now, we wait and see what today brings!
The other problem - certainly not important when compared with the tragedies of the fires - I lost internet connection for 4 or 5 days!  How I have come to depend on net connection for immediate weather, news, and just plain connection to friends and family!  I was changing my ISP to get better speed and lower cost - and it looks as if it is all going to be worth it! - but in the process I was switched off from one service before the other was available.  It will be great to now be able to watch videos on many of the bird blogs without waiting several minutes for them to download!

OK now for the birds. These photos were taken a few weeks ago on one of the very high tides when most of the Mullens roost was underwater.  This one little sand bank stays out of the water and I have watched small shorebirds gather there over the past years. It's good to know they are still using it on very high tides.  There is water on both sides of the sand bank and because the birds usually gather on one side it is possible to stand on the other side without disturbing them.  They seem to feel secure enough to stay where they are without moving too much  - possibly because they can only see my head and shoulders above the sand because I am standing in waist deep water on my side of the bank.  The other week there was a mixture of Red-capped Plovers (a resident shorebird) and Red-necked Stints (a migratory shorebird).  BTW the Stints only get their red necks when they put on breeding colors just before they migrate back to the northern hemisphere.  They are the smallest shorebird to migrate here. 


Both of these birds are tiny - about 150mm or 6 inches.  The little ripples breaking against the sand looked like major waves behind the birds.

One of the Stints stretched a wing and gave me a good look at the feather details.

For more bird photos from around the world visit Wild Bird Wednesday

25 comments:

  1. cute little shorebirds! i do hope your country can make it through this heatwave and terrible fire season without too much destruction.

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  2. Great photos, - perfect for WBW!

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  3. Love 'em!! Great pics especially the Red caps & the water : )

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  4. Wonderful captures showing the size of the stints against the shore-break ripples ... they are so dainty!

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  5. Great of the birds and the breaking wavelets!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  6. Nice birds and photos! I'm not so familair with these birds actually. The water looked like diamonds behind the birds!

    Hope you be safe where you live and the heath won't be to high!

    Glad you understand my text in my blog, I see that the translator translate it very strange!!
    Greetings Pia

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  7. wow, awesome shots of the shorebirds. I will probably only be able to see photos of these birds. They are all so cute, thanks for sharing.

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  8. Great shots of both of these beauties Mick! I really like the shot of the Red-necked Stint showing its wing.

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  9. Wonderful, low-angle shots!

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  10. A plethora of feathered friends!
    I really like the next to last shot. It reminds me of kids wading in the breakers. :)
    Really nice shots!

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  11. Great image series showing the beautiful birds :) Hanne Bente

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  12. Nice pictures. Red-necked Stints are splendid little birds - when you have 4 in each hand and a couple in your shirt pocket, you get to understand how small they are - and yet they fly all the way from Siberia!

    Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW - Stewart M - Melbourne

    PS: we need nature reserves, because most of everywhere else is covered in concrete!

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  13. Lovely shots of the stints Mick. Really like the mixed waders on the white sand in the top shot. Been watching the fires on Sky - very scary. Stay safe.

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  14. I have just enjoyed reading some of your blog posts mick. Great pics. I hope the weather improves over your way. Over here in WA we have had a cooler change, for a couple of days at least. Cheers

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  15. Oh love the shorebirds! Interesting to know about the red-necked stints. It's just that kind of thing that make shorebirds so hard to identify ;>)

    The fires there are terrifying to even read about. I hope they get them under control soon.

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  16. Beautiful birds and great close shots. Hope your weather cools and fires are controlled without more damage. So hard to image those kinds of temperatures when it's pouring rain and cool here.

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  17. so much great bird. Love the rednecked stints. Thanks for sharing those gorgeous shots.

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  18. Beautiful photos of not only the Stints but the water also, very summery.

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  19. Neat photos of the shorebirds.

    We are hearing here a lot about the heat and fires on your continent. Stay safe!

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  20. Such fun watching shorebirds and you got some great captures...makes me want to visit a beach;')~ and sunshine...getting a bit dreary here~

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  21. Love your little bird congregations! Hope they appreciated you getting neck deep on their behalf.

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  22. Amazing shots! Yay for fast, cheap Internet but boo to fires and high temps. So sorry to read that. :(

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