Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Very High Tide

This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

Yesterday was a beautiful day - bright and sunny and a very high tide in the morning as well. I took the kayak down to the bay and went around to the Mullens shorebird roost. However, the tide was so high that there wasn't anywhere left for the birds to roost so they had all flown off somewhere else. I paddled down to the far end of the roost where there is sometimes a little sand spit left out even at very high tides. This is the second entrance to the roost and has bollards and a notice to discourage 4 wheel drives from entering.
There was a mixed flock of Red-capped Plovers (Charadrius ruficapillus) and Red-necked Stints (Calidris ruficollus) roosting together and I was able to get quite close without disturbing them.
Red-capped Plovers stay in Australia all year. This is a male.
Red-necked Stints spend the southern summer here after breeding in NE Siberia and W Alaska.
This is a mixed group standing among the small plants and the debris washed up by the tide. There is one bird in this group that has a slightly different plumage. More about this one tomorrow!
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21 comments:

  1. Mike B. @ slugyard.comJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:11 AM

    I love your shore birds! I need to get out to our coast more often.

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  2. mickJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:27 AM

    Thanks Mike. I want to get out more often too but I need the weather to stay good!

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  3. UnknownJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:34 AM

    Beutiful birds and you're fortunate to be able to kayak the area. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  4. Midmarsh JohnJanuary 5, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    That is a really long migration route - from Siberia and Alaska to Australia.

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  5. theconstantwalkerJanuary 5, 2011 at 7:07 AM

    Great images of some beautiful birds.

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  6. SpringmanJanuary 5, 2011 at 7:59 AM

    What a fantastic blog! Let's hope your Internet service stays up and running. My kayaks are put away for winter and your post made me long to take a nice paddle. Your photography is excellent and your warm summer scenes were just what the Doctor ordered for a Michigan winter day! ;-)WBW

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  7. mickJanuary 5, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    Hi Gary, John, Constantwalker and Springman. Thanks for your comments.
    The Red-necked Stints are the smallest of the migratory waders which makes their long trip that much more fantastic.
    Kayaking in the area is a great way to see all the little secluded places that the birds like. Sometimes, though, I could do with a nice cold blast of cool wind!

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  8. Hilke BrederJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Gorgeous shots of shorebirds. They are all new to me. Would love to see a red-necked stint.

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  9. mickJanuary 5, 2011 at 6:11 PM

    Thanks for commenting Hilke

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  10. SondraJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:14 PM

    Thats an awesome assortment of shorebirds in one frame! Ive always had trouble with ID's on these fast movers! Enjoyed this post!

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  11. ArijaJanuary 5, 2011 at 11:46 PM

    Oh bugga Mick, I could not get any of your pictures. I'll have to try again an other time. Our internet is intermittent at best and we are only 80 km from the capital city of our state!

    So glad to know that your house was not flooded. One can cope with wallowing around the yard as long as the sanitation system is working. When that wells up inside the house it is no fun at all.

    Stay dry. I'll come again soon.

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  12. Empty NesterJanuary 6, 2011 at 1:34 AM

    Lovely birds! Hope to get out to the beach tomorrow (too rainy today) and get some shots of the gulls.

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  13. mickJanuary 6, 2011 at 4:43 AM

    Thanks for commenting Dixxe, Arija, and EmptyNester.
    Your internet connection sounds as bad as mine, Arija, and you are closer to your capital city than I am. I wish I believed that the Gov. were capable of fixing the system or even better of putting in place a reliable new one! re the floods right here - the land drains into the bay and the sea quite quickly so we are lucky. However, once the water-table is up it takes a while to dry out.

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  14. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2011 at 5:24 AM

    How lovely, what a different life: taking the kayak our for a spin of birdwatching.
    Sigh.
    No baddies around? Like crocs and snakes?
    I'm just reading Bill Bryson's "Down under", and he makes it all sound so wonderful. Wish I were likely to get to see it for myself one day.

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  15. mickJanuary 6, 2011 at 5:53 AM

    Hi Morememes - I've never seen a croc or a snake in the water around here. I think its a bit too far south for crocs although there is some talk that they are moving slowly south.

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  16. NatureFootstepJanuary 6, 2011 at 7:55 AM

    makes me long for the season when they comes back. Even if itis not this beauty.
    Du you have problems with too much water as well? We hear alot of flooded areas in Australia now.

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  17. mickJanuary 6, 2011 at 12:11 PM

    Hi NatureFootsteps - fortunately no floods here but everything is still wet and soggy.

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  18. UnknownJanuary 13, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    Those are some real Beauties you discovered there.
    You are lucky to go with your Canoe everywhere :)
    Are those mangroves?

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  19. mickJanuary 13, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    Hi Nicole, yes they are mangroves. That's the only tree that can stand in salt water most of the day. I would need to go up there again and check but I think that there are 4 different species of mangroves right around there.

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  20. UnknownJanuary 13, 2011 at 2:58 PM

    I didn't even know there were different sorts of mangroves.
    One never seizes to learn new things :)
    I was surprised to find mangroves in Bahrain on Monday :)

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  21. mickJanuary 13, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    Hi Nicole, so I have learnt something new too! I never realized there were mangroves in Bahrain!

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