On the way back to the boat ramp I took a photo of the other kayakers with me. Sitting down so close to the water gives a different perspective to the everything else on the water.
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.
Showing posts with label Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Shorebird Count at Crab Creek
The other day I kayaked over to the Crab Creek roost with friends to do a count of the shorebirds. We counted almost 400 birds with the majority being Bar-tailed Godwits. The Godwits were lined up along the sandspit with most standing out in the water a little way. I was doing a second check on the bird count when I thought I saw something different. Finding one different bird among a couple of hundred others is not easy so I took lots of photos. There was definitely one bird that was smaller and moving differently from the Godwits but it was not until I got the photos home and had a good look that I could definitely ID it as a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. 
On the way back to the boat ramp I took a photo of the other kayakers with me. Sitting down so close to the water gives a different perspective to the everything else on the water.
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.
On the way back to the boat ramp I took a photo of the other kayakers with me. Sitting down so close to the water gives a different perspective to the everything else on the water.
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.
Monday, December 7, 2009
High Tides - and High Winds
This last week should have been perfect for birding. The high tides were early and the highest so far this season. However, we also had high winds and I just can't manage to get my kayak up and down from the car roof racks - safely! - in these conditions.
On the one perfect morning I did a count of the birds at the Crab Creek site. The birds were disturbed and flew from both areas of the roost. I could not see what had disturbed them from one area but in the other area I saw quite a big goanna walking around - and the birds walking rather hurriedly away from it. Two Pied Oystercatchers followed along behind and looked as if they would have liked to get a few good pecks in if they had dared. Off to one side of the roost I saw these two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers roosting next to a little clump of samphire.
Yesterday we kayaked north from the Carlo boat launch to try to get a better idea of where the birds roost in the big roost site that we have been told about in that area. We found a very extensive mangrove roost with both Whimbel and Godwits roosting in it. This is the first time I have ever seen Godwits roosting in trees. However, we also saw a huge cloud of birds disturb from further north again and could not find a way to get through the mangroves. The wind was quite strong and we only managed to get as far as we did because we had shelter from the land and also from the mangroves. I took these photos as we paddled back to the Carlo boat ramp with the wind behind us. The first photo is looking west towards Tin Can Bay in the distance, and the second photo is looking south to the Carlo boat ramp area.
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.
On the one perfect morning I did a count of the birds at the Crab Creek site. The birds were disturbed and flew from both areas of the roost. I could not see what had disturbed them from one area but in the other area I saw quite a big goanna walking around - and the birds walking rather hurriedly away from it. Two Pied Oystercatchers followed along behind and looked as if they would have liked to get a few good pecks in if they had dared. Off to one side of the roost I saw these two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers roosting next to a little clump of samphire.
Yesterday we kayaked north from the Carlo boat launch to try to get a better idea of where the birds roost in the big roost site that we have been told about in that area. We found a very extensive mangrove roost with both Whimbel and Godwits roosting in it. This is the first time I have ever seen Godwits roosting in trees. However, we also saw a huge cloud of birds disturb from further north again and could not find a way to get through the mangroves. The wind was quite strong and we only managed to get as far as we did because we had shelter from the land and also from the mangroves. I took these photos as we paddled back to the Carlo boat ramp with the wind behind us. The first photo is looking west towards Tin Can Bay in the distance, and the second photo is looking south to the Carlo boat ramp area.
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.
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