Broome 2017 _ Wave The Waders Goodbye _ Day 06

Day 06

This was the last day of the course. Our excursion today was to visit the sites and sights around Broome itself. Birds seen included Red-headed Honeyeater, Little Curlew, Striated Pardalote at the Water Treatment Plant but no Semi-palmated Plover, Ruddy Turnstones and Pacific Golden Plovers within sight of nesting Ospreys on the docks and the obligatory Tawny Frogmouth in a tree in the Woolworth’s car park. It was in the same tree as in November last year at Ashmore Reef Pelagic time.

Eastern Osprey  Pandion cristatus

Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

Striated Pardalote Pardalotus striatus substriatus

Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides

Back at base it was Wader Watch time. I went down to the cliff top a bit earlier. Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstones, Marsh Sandpiper featured for me. The others arrived and we concentrated on watching waders looking to see if they were lining up on the mud, listening to the calls. Sometimes there would be false take offs where birds would lift off, sometimes quite high [5-700 metres] and in good numbers [50-100] and you would reckon, “That’s it. They’re off”, but, no, suddenly they would all come back down. It was as if no one individual bird felt competent or ready enough to lead off heading north with the setting sun on its left shoulder. Another day done.

Here are views of the bay at low tide. The guys in the boat just had to wait for the incoming tide. It was a ten metre difference between low and high tide!

The birds are well spread out at low tide. Just a few Eastern Curlew in view. These would have been 500 metres away.

We wondered if an Eurasian Curlew may have been present. At these distances, the only distinguishing mark would be  a clean white rump for the Eurasian so plenty of flight shots were taken. No Eurasian Curlew detected.

Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis

But some birds do come closer.

Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis

These need to be differentiated from Common Greenshank. The Marsh is quite a bit smaller and has a white rump and wedge up the back (see image 3). Q. What are the two birds at the back?

Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus