Thompson Creek

I was heading out towards Colac today and couldn't resist a quick stop at Thompson Creek. The incoming tide was attracting a variety of fisher folk, mostly human but did include these two:

Pacific Gull, Thompson Creek, Breamlea

White-faced Heron, Thompson Creek, Breamlea

Seabirds in flight at Point Impossible

On the way home from the Western Treatment Plant, I stopped at Point Impossible to see if there were any waders at the mouth of Thompson Creek.

There was a plethora of people walking, fishing, playing with dogs and engaged in soccer and frisbee so there was very little in the way of birds on the beach other than the usual Silver Gulls and Pacific Gulls dodging soccer balls and dogs but generally undisturbed by the human activity. There were, though, several birds flying and fishing around the mouth of the creek.

Pacific Gull, Point Impossible

Caspian Tern, Point Impossible

Australasian Gannet, Point Impossible

I didn't quite manage to get the point of contact with the water but did get a couple of shots of the start of a dive.

Australasian Gannet, Point Impossible

Waterbirds Galore

I have driven past Lake Connewarre on the Barwon Heads Road 20 or 30 times in the last month, noting the large mixed flocks of waterbirds congregating on the lake and meaning to come back and investigate further but until today had not managed to find the time. Mid afternoon, backlit and a lot of heat haze so not the best conditions for photography but sometimes you have to take what you find...

Most of the birds are Eurasian Coot, thousands of them, with a few intermingled ducks and grebes.

Eurasian Coot, Lake Connewarre

There are also flocks of ducks--mostly Grey Teal--along with Black-winged Stilts. This flock was spooked by a Swamp Harrier flying low over the lake.

Black Swan and Grey Teal, Lake Connewarre

Grey Teal and Black-winged Stilt, Lake Connewarre

I also drove past the Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve. The shallow, ephemeral lakes along on Blackgate Road are usually good for ducks, herons, egrets, ibis and spoonbills but today I found a flock of hundreds of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Red-necked Stints. I have seen the occasional small flocks of stints here before as well as the odd Red-capped Plover but this is the first time I have seen migratory waders in these numbers and the first time for Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.

Red-necked Stint and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve

Red-necked Stint, Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve

Eastern Great Egret at Breamlea

Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve currently has lots of water and attracts a variety of birdlife. Spotted this Eastern Great Egret today

Eastern Great Egret, Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve

Breamlea

Another dull and windy day but thought I would go in search of the Pacific Golden Plovers at Black Rocks. I had seen them there 6 weeks ago when a few were starting to get breeding plumage but reports from earlier this week suggested they were still there and some were in full plumage. The wind was howling off Bass Strait such that even the gulls were taking shelter

Silver Gull, Black Rocks

There was a small flock of Red-necked Stint and Double-banded Plover further down 13th Beach but no PGPs so I opted to practice some more hand-held flight shots

Great Cormorant, Black Rocks

There was not much else on the beach at Black Rocks so I headed into Breamlea where a flock of Common Starlings was flying around the saltmarsh on the Nature Conservation Reserve. This is one of the hardest shots to get with a moving flock of small birds at long distance and a detailed background - not the most exotic of birds but happy with this shot.

Common Starling, Breamlea Nature Conservation Reserve

Past Breamlea onto Pt Impossible Road, there were 5 White-faced Herons feeding along the edge of the creek. A bonus of shooting in dull light is the low contrast allows the subtle colours of the saltmarsh to show. The colour gets washed out in bright sunshine.

White-faced Heron, Thompson Creek, Pt Impossible Road

Not much in the way of birds at Pt Impossible but a Nankeen Kestrel did cooperate for a couple of flight shots and even a bit of blue sky :-)

Nankeen Kestrel, Pt Impossible

Low Tide at Point Impossible

Had another attempt at wading birds at Point Impossible (view map) this morning and was not disappointed. There were several flocks of small waders feeding on the exposed sand flats around the mouth of Thompson Creek and sheltering among the weed higher on the beach.

Mostly Red-necked Stint

Red-necked Stint, Pt Impossible

but a few Red-capped Plover and a single Double-banded Plover in intermediate plumage.

Double-banded Plover, Pt Impossible

Double-banded Plover, Pt Impossible

There were lots of Pacific Gull, Silver Gull and Crested Tern flying around and resting on rocks and sand flats but this immature Pacific Gull seemed intrigued by my presence, walking in a large circle around me while I knelt in the shallow water photographing the stints and plovers.

Pacific Gull (immature, year 2), Pt Impossible

My main interest here was in finding Hooded Plover. Another birdo and I thought we spotted one on the other side of the creek so waded across for a closer look but no luck finding it. With increasing canine and human activity on the beach at the creek mouth, I decided to try my luck around the point and walked west towards Torquay. Just at the "Nude Beach" sign (fortunately no nudists today - it can be awkward walking along here with a camera and binoculars!) I spotted one Hoody at the bottom of the dunes.

Hooded Plover, Pt Impossible

 For anyone interested, it was banded and tagged:

The weather was turning for the worse with rain approaching from the west but I couldn't resist trying for the Great Cormorant sitting on the reef about 200 metres offshore. Getting close enough meant either walking out along the reef, which would have scared away the bird (I find this species to be the most flighty of the cormorants and usually struggle to get closer than 30-40 metres) or wading directly out towards the reef. So, footwear removed, off I went into the water and managed to get close enough for this shot just after a second bird landed immediately behind the one I was stalking. 

Great Cormorant, Pt Impossible

The light was gone and drizzly rain started so I made my way back to shore, found my sandals (now covered in damp sand blown down the beach) and hiked it back to the car, wet from above and below but thrilled with two hours well spent at one of my favourite wader spots :-)

Shorebirds at Breamlea

Another beautiful day in paradise today so I rose early and headed on a shorebird hunt.

One of my favourite spots for plovers and other small shorebirds is Point Impossible between Breamlea and Torquay (see map). There are at least two pairs of Hooded Plover that frequent the beaches either side of the mouth of Thompson Creek along with (seasonal) mixed flocks of Red-necked Stint, Double-banded Plover and Red-capped Plover.

I arrived there early and scanned the beaches in both directions but nothing but gulls :-(

Heading back along Point Impossible Road there's a spot where the road is very close to the bend in Thompson Creek and a flicker of white caught my eye on the creek bank so I pulled over for a closer look. A single Common Greenshank was feeding about 400 metres upstream but I was almost due west of the bird and looking directly into the sun so shooting from here was not going to be much use. Tripod over my shoulder, I crossed the creek (only just over knee deep at low tide) and slowly stalked the bird from the other side, hoping to get close enough to get the sun side-lighting the bird and close enough for at least a good record shot, never having seen this species here before. I got to within about 150 metres and sat on the sandy bank (another good reason to cross the river - the south bank is sandy with dune sand blowing inland, the north bank is mud) to let the bird settle (it had started to get twitchy as I approached). I soon realised that it was not me that was making the bird nervous as two small terriers ran along the shore from the opposite direction barking at each other and the bird flew up stream away from me. Ah well...back to the car.

As the tide was out and Thompson Creek is tidal almost all the way up its length, I drove into Breamlea and parked at the end of Horwood Drive where it meets the creek, just in case the Greenshank had landed on the mudflats further upstream. No Greenshank but there was a pair of Whimbrel a long way upstream.

Whimbrel, Thompson Creek, Breamlea

Stalking them proved fruitless as wading birds obviously have a considerably higher foot surface area to body mass ratio than humans so are much better adapted at walking on the sandy mud flats of the creek than I am. They were not particularly concerned about me but were walking upstream as they fed and the further we walked, the further away they got so I stopped, lowered the tripod and knelt down in a sandy(ish) spot hoping they would come back my way and get close enough for some good shots.

As I waited, three Red-capped Plover landed on the sandy bank about 50 metres away from me so I slowly crept up on them on two knees and three tripod feet until I was close enough to one of them

Red-capped Plover, Thompson Creek, Breamlea

...and as I was about to try and get even closer, a Common Greenshank flew over me and landed in the creek on the other side of the sand bank.

Common Greenshank, Thompson Creek, Breamlea

No idea if it was the same bird I saw downstream half an hour earlier but highly likely. The two Whimbrel never came back. 

So, dipped at Point Impossible but very happy with the morning...muddy knees and feet and all.