Smallest Shorebirds.

The Mullens shorebird roost is huge and although sometimes the birds all roost together they also roost in separate places that best suit their special needs. When I had finished photographing the larger shorebirds that I posted about last week I backed off and then moved to where I could come in and pull the kayak up on the sand. I had seen small birds moving in amongst the taller vegetation and I knew that if I moved behind them they would happily come out and move along at the edge of the water. These small shorebirds prefer more open spaces to places where the plants grow too tall and thick.They can often be found at the top end of the bay where the water is always shallow and the salt marsh plants grow. Salt marsh plants grow where the tide washes up and over them at regular intervals. (I wrote two pages on salt marsh plants and this special habitat. You can find these pages listed on the right hand column of my blog. There are photos and details of the plants in Page 2.)  In this part of the bay these plants are only a few inches tall and these little shorebirds feed and rest between them. I saw both Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stints. Red-capped Plovers are an Australian shorebird and stay here all year. Red-necked Stints are migrants that come down from NE Siberia each year. They are both small birds - about 15cm or 6 inches. The Red-necked Stint is the smallest migratory shorebird to come down to this area.
A Red-necked Stint roosting among the salt marsh plants. (Red-necked Stints only have red necks in breeding plumage.)

Two Red-capped Plovers and a Red-necked Stint on the right.

I know I have not disturbed the birds when some - or most - have their eyes closed and are sleeping!

All Red-necked Stints except for one Red-capped Plover on the right foreground.

There are usually a pair of Oystercatchers roosting somewhere around the bay. This time one was resting on a sand bank and the other was feeding further around the bay.

As I turned around and looked right out to the entrance to the bay I saw a line of pelicans swimming in.

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.