Wader mystery revisited

I posted a photo of two small wading birds, photographed at Mungalla Station near Ingham Qld, a fews weeks ago (see Mungalla Station part 2).

In this post, I had assumed the bird on the far left was a Red-necked Stint and wondered what the apparently smaller bird just to its right might be. The sizes can be judged relative to the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers on the right.

Since then, I have re-examined the original images and run them past a few colleagues and the longer we look at them the less sure we are.

The main problem is that the legs are not black. I initially passed this off as due to mud but closer examination makes this questionable. The legs appear to be a dull yellow. As you can see from the image above, the late afternoon light gives an exaggerated yellow in the photograph so I went back to the original raw files and neutralised the colour-balance. Here are the only 4 images I took of these two birds with no other manipulation (apart from colour balance neutralised).

Click on the images to show full size (100% resolution of original images, heavily cropped)

And here's the "smaller" bird by itself taken just a few minutes before the sequence above.

So, any suggestions for what species they may be?

Update 25 Nov:
Thanks to all those who emailed me on this. Consensus of opinion is that the two birds are Red-necked Stints, most likely first year birds with worn plumage (it's a long way from Siberia your first time!)

Paluma Range NP

One of the walks that I missed during the weekend workshop was to Jourama Falls in Paluma Range National Park so my wife and I took a day trip there today.

First stop, though, was the main street of Ingham where a flock of Metallic Starlings had been reported to be nesting. Precise instructions (thanks John, John and John!) proved to be spot on. The birds were flying in and out of the nesting tree squawking noisly at each other and anything else nearby.

Metallic Starling, Ingham Qld

 We were even lucky enough to find one still in juvenile plumage.

Metallic Starling, Ingham Qld

Also loudly defending its territory on the main street was this Masked Lapwing displaying the spurs for which it got it's previous common name of Spur-wing Plover.

Masked Lapwing, Ingham Qld

Heading south out of Ingham we spotted a Black-necked Stork just as we crossed over Cattle Creek so we pulled over and went back to see it more closely. The stork had wandered further away but we still managed to see a few birds worthy of the stop.

Green Pygmy Goose, Cattle Creek near Ingham Qld

Royal Spoonbill, Cattle Creek near Ingham Qld

Jourama Falls is a short drive off the Bruce Highway. The picnic and camping grounds were already busy with people enjoying the long weekend so we continued on to the falls walk at the end of the road, crossing the beautiful Waterview Creek twice.

Waterview Creek, Jourama Falls, Paluma Range NP Qld

Immediately we got out of the car, I spotted the second new species for the day, feeding on caterpillars in the low branches of a nearby tree.

Pale-yellow Robin, Jourama Falls, Paluma Range NP Qld

The highlight of the day (and perhaps the whole trip) occured as I crossed the creek further along the track.

Waterview Creek, Jourama Falls walking track, Paluma Range NP Qld

A brief encounter with a Noisy Pitta was completely unexpected.

Noisy Pitta, Jourama Falls, Paluma Range NP Qld

Yes, these birds are listed as in the area but they are so secretive that I have always had this bird on my "nice to see but don't expect to" lifetime wish list. Not the greatest photograph but the surprise of seeing and managing to capture it all was worth the trip.

A few metres further along the creek bed and lifer number four for the day!

Black-faced Monarch, Jourama Falls, Paluma Range NP Qld

After crossing the creek bed, the track climbed up to the falls lookout (not sure about the sign post at the bottom that said "Lookout 450 m"...more like 450 m vertically!). Though the view was spectacular, there was not a lot of water coming over the falls.

Jourama Falls, Paluma Range NP Qld

Crossing back along the creek bed (right at the Noisy Pitta spot) we first heard, then saw, a Lace Monitor scrambling over the rocks among the leaf litter.

Lace Monitor, Jourama Falls, Paluma Range NP Qld

Although this one was quite small (approx. 1m long), its "grand-daddy" was found back in the camping ground when we dropped in for a rest stop.

Lace Monitor, Jourama Falls, Paluma Range NP Qld

After lunch at the delightfully named Frosty Mango roadside cafe, we headed for Paluma in the Mt Spec section of the park. We were planning to stop at the various waterholes along the way but the long weekend crowds made this less attractive and it did give us more time in the rainforest

Rainforest, Paluma Qld

where I managed to find another six lifers: White-headed Pigeon, Spotted Catbird, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Grey-headed Robin, Dusky Honeyeater and Tooth-billed Bowerbird. The first three were all in the rainforest canopy so I didn't manage any worthwhile photographs but I did manage to capture the robin and honeyeater.

Grey-headed Robin, Paluma Qld

Dusky Honeyeater, Paluma Qld

The bowerbird remained elusive from the camera but we did find its bower. Nothing like the spectacular bowers of some of its relatives, the Tooth-billed Bowerbird "builds" a bower composed of overturned green leaves displayed on a suitable flat area on the rainforest floor.

Tooth-billed Bowerbird Bower, Paluma Qld

A specactacular day of birding. I can't remember a day where I've ticked off 10 Australian lifers in one day before.

Mungalla Station (Part 1)

After a brilliant morning at Tyto Wetlands (see Part 1 and Part 2) and some great afternoon workshops, we gathered at Mungalla Station for some early evening birding and BBQ dinner.

Mungalla Station is a cattle property located approx. 12 km east of Ingham. The property is owned by the Nywaigi Aboriginal Land Corporation and managed by the Mungalla Aboriginal Business Corporation. Their mandate to "...improve the economic and social position of our people..." is being achieved through property management and cultural and eco-tourism.

The wetland on the property is a treasure being brought back to life by careful environmental management.

Mungalla Wetlands

In the 90 minutes we had exploring the wetland, we found a variety of wading birds including Masked Lapwing, Red-necked Stint, Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterel, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper and Latham Snipe. All were too far away for any good photography so I concentrated on the many birds flying overhead.

Brolga, Mungalla Wetlands

Magpie Goose, Mungalla Wetlands

Several small terns were fishing right in front of a group of photographers

but their quick movement and the poor light made it difficult to identify them with any certainty. These are the best photographs I could manage.

Whiskered Tern, Mungalla Station

I am not 100% convinced but the best identification I can come up with is Whiskered Tern. The only alternative is that they are White-winged Black Tern. WWBTs are northern hemisphere summer breeders that migrate to Australia in our spring. Early arrivals may retain some breeding colouration. I am not familiar enough with the changes of these birds as they move into and out of their breeding colouration. These birds have retained the red legs and bill there is no evidence of black plumage so I think it unlikely they are WWBTs.

As the sun was setting we walked back to the designated pick up spot where a flock of Nankeen Night-Herons were roosting.

Nankeen Night-Heron, Mungalla Station

Mungalla Station

Tyto Wetlands (Part 2)

...more birds from Tyto Wetlands (see Part 1)

I was lucky enough to capture a basking freshwater turtle and a male Australian Darter in the one image.

Australasian Darter, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

After the turtle departed, the Darter remained, in all his glory.

Australasian Darter, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Comb-crested Jacanas were seen in several places and this one allowed close approach while it hunted among the lily pads.

Comb-crested Jacana, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Red-winged Fairy-wrens were seen in many places but their perpetual motion and proclivity for remaining in the centre of bushes made them difficult to photograph.

Red-backed Fairy-wren (male), Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Red-backed Fairy-wren (female), Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Both Varied Triller and White-winged Triller calls were heard and this male White-winged Triller in breeding plumage cooperated nicely for some close-ups.

White-winged Triller (male), Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Willie Wagtails were seemingly everywhere and this one posed nicely so I couldn't resist a quick snap.

Willie Wagtail, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Several pairs of Masked Lapwings had small chicks and this adult was captured uttering the "duck and cover" call.

Masked Lapwing, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Pied Currawongs could be heard in many places around the wetlands but it wasn't until I was back in the car park that I managed to find one close enough to photograph and, in this case, I almost had too much lens needing to take several steps backwards to get the whole bird in the frame.

Pied Currawong, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Tyto Wetlands (Part 1)

I spent a fantastic weekend in Ingham with the BirdLife Photography group. This is my first time this far into North Queensland so it was a great introduction to the local birdlife with 4 new species for my lifetime list on the first morning at Tyto Wetlands :-)

Before we had even left the car park, I had my first lifer for the day

Pied Imperial Pigeon, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

The mown grass along the edge of the tracks proved to be a good location for several species including the gorgeous Peaceful Dove,

Peaceful Dove, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

while the branches of nearby shrubs provided perches for two more lifetime firsts.

Brown Honeyeater, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

Crimson Finch (male), Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

The open water of the ponds didn't provide much in the way of birdlife but a solo Green Pygmy Goose cruised past, while I was searching the edges, albeit a long way away.

Green Pygmy Goose, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

The edges proved more fruitful with sightings of several Comb-crested Jacanas and my first ever White-browed Crake, which walked out of the reeds directly in front of me.

White-browed Crake, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

and a Yellow Honeyeater (lifer no. 4 for the morning) took a bath in the adjacent pond and perched precariously on a lily flower stem to shake itself dry.

Yellow Honeyeater, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

We saw several oriole nests along the tracks and finally came across one being tended by a pair of birds.

Olive-backed Oriole, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

As we arrived back at the car park at the visitor centre, a flock of Plumed Whistling-Ducks flew into a pond and I couldn't resist a few shots.

Plumed Whistling-Duck, Tyto Wetlands, Ingham Qld

... Part 2