Birds and Dolphins

Yesterday morning I went out to Inskip to see if there were any Godwits back yet, but I couldn't seen any. When they return there are huge flocks of them. Last year I first saw them on the 10th September so there are still a few days to go - that is if the recent winds have not delayed them. However, there were large numbers of Eastern Curlews roosting out on the sand island.

I was surprised to see two small flocks of Double-banded Plovers still here (30-40 birds I estimate.) I have read over the last week or so that these birds have already left from other places along the east coast. As usual the birds were sitting down in the wheel tracks left by vehicles driving out to take the barges over to Fraser Island. Even though I was looking for birds on the sand I didn't see them until some of them flew off and over to the sand island. I saw birds in full breeding plumage and others still with smudgy color on the bands. They all looked extra fat - ready for their migration to New Zealand. There were also a number of Red-necked Stints roosting with them.

Just off the point there were a number of dolphins rolling lazily in the swell. They didn't seem to be going anywhere and stayed in the same area for some time. I didn't manage to get photos of them right out of the water - only managed some of their fins as they moved deeper into the water. This photo seems to be of an adult and a much smaller juvenile and I am told that there are possibly two young ones with this pod at the present time.