Western Treatment Plant _ Pectoral Sandpiper

A single Pectoral Sandpiper has been observed at the Western Treatment Plant since last October last year (2017). It is usually seen in T-section to the south-west of the Plant, accessed by key through Gate 1 which is on the right at the southern end of Point Wilson Road. Within T-section, it "lives" in the northern part of the Crake Pond where there is a island of large stones and boulders and accompanying mudflats or, less commonly, in the northwest section of the pond immediately to the east. It has been observed to aggressively chase Sharp-tailed Sandpipers away.

Comparative Diagnostics:

In the bird guides it is "paired" with the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper; i.e. they look very similar.

• Pec: 21-23 cm long, has a streaked breast with an abrupt junction with a white belly. Sharpie: 20cm long with a diffuse margin to the breast.
• Pec: The bill is slightly decurved (curves downwards) and brown with a darker tip; i.e. the base is appreciably lighter than the tip. On the WTP bird, the base is quite yellow/orange and the easiest ID factor. Sharpie: Bill slightly decurved but less than Pec. Relatively dark along entire length.
• Pec: no eye-ring. Sharpie: prominent eye-ring.
• Pec: Supercilium (eyebrow) is buffer than Sharpie. Sharpie: often white and distinct.

These were the views that alerted me to the Pec's presence in the crake pond. You can easily see the abrupt junction of the breast with the white belly and the yellow base to the bill. It is hard to tell from images without other birds but, pond-side, there were a few Sharpies to compare the size and I was able to tell it was just a bit bigger than a Sharpie.

This is a Sharpie so you are able to compare the breast/belly junction and the bill colour.

Here is another comparison image with the Sharpie in front and the Pec behind.

Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotus

Bird Nerd in Queensland 10

A providential trip to Brisbane meant an opportunity to bird the Ruff allegedly at the Nathan Road Reserve site near Redcliffe and Deception Bay well north of Brisbane Airport. A walk through a swamp [no snakes seen] takes one to a small series of ponds with good tree coverage to hide in. I never found the Ruff but I did find several life-ticks.

First life-tick was a Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilus [here alongside a Black-winged Stilt for size comparison].

A Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotus was the next life-tick.

Some fairy-wrens were knocking about, vocal and active. Here is an image of a male Red-backed Fairy-wren Malurus melanocephalus.

Although this image has a lot of "noise" or perhaps "vegetation", this is the only photo I have ever been able to get of a male Variegated Fairy-wren Malurus lamberti.

Another life-tick was the Mangrove Honeyeater Lichenostomus fasciogularis which I had ticked as a Yellow-faced HE but a local I met there, Steve, assured me that I had made the usual mistake of a visiting Victorian birder. Both species have very similar markings but the Mangrove HE has a little white patch at the posterior end of its yellow mark. This is the best image I got after learning about my new tick!

A small park runs along a waterway next to the Nathan Road Reserve which proved birdful. An adult Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis was feeding a youngster ...

... there were plenty of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus  in the blossom of the eucs ...

... Pale-headed Rosella Platycercus adscitus, of which I got some good shots ...

... and to round off a good evening of birding, a Cattle Egret Ardea ibis, which had decided to roost for the night in the garden of a house next to the reserve.