Stilts, Plovers, Coots and a lot of rain

I was fortunate to spend the day at a Birdlife Australia / Barwon Estuary Project workshop on shorebirds today.

The morning was spent with presentations from Birdlife Australia ornithologists on the life-cycles and environmental challenges faced by both migratory shorebirds (those that breed outside Australia and travel here in their non-breeding season) and indigenous shorebirds (those that breed, feed and generally hang around permanently within Australia - although several species migrate around Australia depending on weather conditions), and sessions on hints to ID shorebirds.

We spent the afternoon (or as much of it as we could bear given the persistent rain) at Lake Victoria in Point Lonsdale.

I arrived a little early so spent a few minutes photographing a pair of Eurasian Coots on the delightfully named 'Emily's Pond' nearby.

Eurasian Coot, Emily's Pond, Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Lumix-Leica 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens @ 400mm
ISO 400, 1/1250 second @ f/6.3

Once everyone had arrived we walked through the salt marsh to a viewpoint across one of the small lakes adjacent to Lake Victoria where we suspected there would be Avocets and Stilts. Despite the gloomy and 'damp' conditions, we were not disappointed as there were several small flocks of Red-necked Avocets in the middle of the shallow lake

Avocet, Lake Victoria, Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Lumix-Leica 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens @ 400mm
ISO 400, 1/1000 second @ f/6.3

and a large flock of Banded Stilts sheltering beside a small island in the lake.

Banded Stilt, Lake Victoria, Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Lumix-Leica 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens @ 137mm
ISO 400, 1/1600 second @ f/4.5

Several smaller groups of Stilts took off giving us fleeting glimpses of them in flight

Banded Stilt, Lake Victoria, Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Lumix-Leica 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens @ 400mm
ISO 400, 1/1600 second @ f/6.3

before landing on the small ponds on the shore of Lake Victoria proper, giving us a closer view of these beautiful birds, many of which were in breeding plumage displaying their brown chest band.

Banded Stilt, Lake Victoria, Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Lumix-Leica 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens @ 400mm
ISO 800, 1/4000 second @ f/6.3

Banded Stilt, Lake Victoria, Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Lumix-Leica 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens @ 400mm
ISO 400, 1/2000 second @ f/6.3

 There were a few (unphotographable) Red-necked Stints doing their sewing-machine impersonations feeding on the sand banks and a flock of Red-capped Plovers sheltering amongst the Bearded Glasswort on one of the small, semi-inundated islands.

Red-capped Plover, Lake Victoria, Point Lonsdale, Victoria
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Lumix-Leica 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens @ 400mm
ISO 400, 1/1250 second @ f/6.3

So, not a great day photographically but it's always great to see Avocets and Banded Stilts, both of which migrate around Australia chasing the wet so we don't always get to see them.

Western Treatment Plant

Today I had the pleasure of participating in a Melbourne Birdlife Photography outing to the Western Treatment Plant. I arrived early while it was still quite dark so I bumped the ISO up to 800 to give me at least some semblance of a chance of catching a few birds.

This immature Black Kite cooperated nicely, staying on on the branch of a dead tree long enough for me to park about a hundred or so metres up the road and walk back under cover of the roadside vegetation.

Black Kite (immature), Beach Road Avalon
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/5.6 1/250

There were a lot of Zebra Finches in the roadside vegetation but they were considerably less cooperative than the Kite, flitting from branch to branch and flying between trees in almost continuous motion. Combined with the low light, it was tough to get any great shots but these cheeky little birds are great to just watch.

Zebra Finch (immature), Beach Road, Avalon
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/5.6 1/125

Zebra Finch (adult male), Beach Road, Avalon
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/5.6 1/320

Lake Borrie and the coastal ponds had all the usual suspects: ducks, cormorants, pelicans and the beach sand and mud flats had gulls and a few terns but these were mostly too far away for any good shots.

When we reached the bird hide, two Australian Spotted Crakes turned on a show, wandering around the mud bank on one of the nearby ponds, seemingly oblivious of the wall of photographers.

Australian Spotted Crake, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/500

Returning back along the coast road, we spotted a group of White-winged Black Terns on a log in one of the ponds right beside the road. I've only ever seen these birds on distant rocks offshore so it was a thrill to see so many so close. The non-breeding plumage of these birds is nothing like the breeding plumage for which they are named so its somewhat confusing to separate these birds from the other 'grey-winged white terns' we see more commonly. The characteristic black patch curving around behind the eye was easily seen here though.

White-Winged Black Tern, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/11 1/640

White-Winged Black Tern, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/11 1/400

The real highlight for the day was finding two Pectoral Sandpipers among the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Red-necked Stints in the pond back near the Beach Road gate. The Pectoral Sandpiper is the one in the middle of this shot with the heavily streaked chest with the sharp cut-off to the white breast.

Pectoral Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/11 1/200

Pectoral Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/11 1/200

Pectoral Sandpiper, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/11 1/400

Pectoral Sandpiper, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/5.6 1/640

The stints also put on a bit of a show, congregating on rocks in the middle of the pond.

Red-necked Stint, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/11 1/400

Late in the afternoon in rapidly falling light and with an oncoming storm, two of us headed for the Borrow Pits at the far east of the Plant where we found dozens of Red-necked Avocets and Marsh Sandpipers.

Red-necked Avocet, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 1600, f/8 1/800 

Marsh Sandpiper, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO1600, f/11 1/200

and thousands of Red-necked Stints and Curlew Sandpipers

Red-necked Stint, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 800, f/11 1/200

which were spectacular when they took off in flight. I didn't have time to change the settings on the camera to enable a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the birds but decided that slow shutter speed and panning would work to capture recognisable birds but with blurred wings giving the feeling of motion

Red-necked Stint + Curlew Sandpiper, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 1600, f/16 1/50

and, just for the heck of it, I tried a few shots with less panning, blurring the birds even more.

Red-necked Stint + Curlew Sandpiper, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 x2 adaptor, ISO 1600, f/16 1/50

...and John managed to find an Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard and corral it by the side of the road until I caught up to him after locking a gate. 

Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 107.5mm, ISO 400 f/8 1/80

Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard, Western Treatment Plant
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 100mm, ISO 400 f/8 1/100

Kerang Lakes - Part 3 Back to Lake Tutchewop

After searching for the 'alleged' Long-billed Dowitcher at Lake Tutchewop this morning then spending some time at Reedy Lakes, I returned to Lake Tutchewop late this afternoon for one more attempt at the Dowitcher.

The water level had dropped even further this afternoon but there were still lots of birds to be photographed including Australian Pelicans, Australian Shelduck, Caspian Tern, Silver Gulls and several species of small waders hanging around at the water's edge.

Australian Pelican, Australian Shelduck, Caspian Tern, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-capped Plover, Red-necked Stint
Lake Tutchewop, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/32 1/100

Australian Shelduck + Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Lake Tutchewop, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/16 1/125

Australian Pelican, Lake Tutchewop, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/22, ISO 400, f/22 1/200

Masked Lapwing, Lake Tutchewop, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/22, ISO 400, f/16 1/125

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper + Silver Gull, Lake Tutchewop, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/22, ISO 400, f/16 1/100

Nothing close to shore though...and no Dowitcher! There were several other people at the site also Dowitcher hunting. They were a little more gung-ho than I am (well, a lot really) about searching the vegetated areas (two of them walked straight through the waist high vegetation) so if the bird was there it was definitely not going to show itself. Rather than get into an argument over habitat destruction, flushing birds and the dangers of snake-bite, I decided it was time to leave. Not quite willing to give up yet, I drove to nearby Lake Kelly, the only other lake in the area with wader-suitable shallows around the lake shore. A slow scan of the shore line from two vantage points found nothing resembling a Dowitcher but I did get the chance to get reasonably close to a feeding Red-necked Avocet. There were several of them feeding along the shore with Banded Stilts but getting any closer to the others would have meant walking along the lake shore with no cover and I didn't want to chance disturbing the birds just for another shot.

Red-necked Avocet, Lake Kelly, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/22, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/2000

As I was driving out, a Nankeen Kestrel flew into a tree by the roadside so first a shot from the car window...

Nankeen Kestrel (female), Lake Kelly, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/2000

then out of the car for a closer look/shot.

Nankeen Kestrel (female), Lake Kelly, Kerang
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/22, ISO 400, f/5.6 1/4000

So, I dipped on the Long-billed Dowitcher but I am confident I gave it my best shot on the day. I have seen this species before (in North America) so I was was not too devastated to have missed it but it may be the only chance I get to add it to my Australian list. Overall, though, happy with a great day of birding.

Birds of the Thousandth Day

Today marks 1000 days since I started this blog so I was keen to add something special. Fortunately, the day had already been booked for a trip to the Western Treatment Plant with the Melbourne Photography Group from BirdLife Australia, always a great bunch of people with whom to spend a day in the field.

The weather forecast was for a cool and windy day with a light showers, which turned out to be accurate, but this didn't deter our intrepid bunch. We started at Paradise Road ponds as there have been recent reports of a Northern Shoveler sighted here. The Northern Shoveler is a northern hemisphere bird that migrates to Africa, India and SE Asia during the northern winter. Occasionally a few birds seem to miss the off ramp and end up in southern Australia. With no sign of the Northern Shoveler, we moved to Walsh's Lagoon. There were plenty of birds present including several species of raptor, large flocks of Australian Pelican, Pink-eared Duck, Red-necked Avocet, two species of stilts and a lot of Australian Shovelers but no Northern Shoveler so we drove on to the Borrow Pits for lunch. This proved fruitful for photographing avocets and stilts that were close to shore and seemed unperturbed by the many photographers pointing lenses at them. I was happy to be able to capture all three species in one image:

Red-necked Avocet, Banded Stilt, Black-winged Stilt, Western Treatment Plant

as well as a solo Banded Stilt in flight

Banded Stilt, Western Treatment Plant

and I finally managed to photograph a Spotted Harrier! I have been chasing this species at the WTP for a long time now and never managed to catch one close enough for a photograph. This one is not the greatest but happy to finally record it on camera.

Spotted Harrier, Western Treatment Plant

Just as we were settling in for a longer shoot here, we got the call that the Northern Shoveler had been spotted back at Paradise Road ponds, so we saddled up and headed back there. As could be expected, the bird was in the middle of the large pond so could only be seen at a long distance but I did manage to get a record shot (albeit a very tight crop at long distance) for a positive ID on this male bird.

Northern Shoveler (male) with Australian Shoveler (male), Western Treatment Plant

While back at Paradise Road, I also managed to get a shot of a small flock of Pink-eared Ducks (which were in greater numbers at the plant than I've seen before).

Pink-eared Duck, Western Treatment Plant

While there, a large bird of prey flew overhead disturbing the flock of Red-necked Avocets and Banded Stilts:

Red-necked Avocet, Banded Stilt, Western Treatment Plant

Last stop was the Lake Borrie outlet where the incoming tide made it easy to capture the Red-necked Stints feeding on the mudflats.

Red-necked Stint, Western Treatment Plant

Other birds were also making the most of the feeding opportunities in the outlet creek

Hoary-headed Grebe, Western Treatment Plant

Australian Spotted Crake, Western Treatment Plant

So, very happy to celebrate the 1000th day with a lifetime tick with the Northern Shoveler and add Spotted Harrier as the 200th Australian bird species on this blog :-)

More at the WTP

Following the Pratincole encounter and the Glossy Ibis, I headed further along the beach track to the Lake Borrie outlet where I found a pair of Cape Barren Geese at the location at which I photographed (what I presume is) the same pair 18 months ago. The larger bird posed nicely for a portrait shot

before charging its mate...

but a bit of butt sniffing...

and it all ended happily

Cape Barren Goose, Western Treatment Plant

under the watchful eye of this Nankeen Kestrel.

Nankeen Kestrel, Lake Borrie Outlet, Western Treatment Plant

It was high tide by the time I got to the bird hide so there was not a lot of activity there but I did manage to get a good view of some pelicans flying over the bay against dark clouds but lit by a bit of sunlight that broke through the overcast behind me.

Australian Pelican, Western Treatment Plant

One last stop at Paradise Ponds on the way out yielded a close-up of a lone Yellow-billed Spoonbill

Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Western Treatment Plant

and a large mixed flock of Red-necked Avocets and Banded Stilts, mostly feeding in the shallow water

Red-necked Avocet, Western Treatment Plant

Banded Stilt, Western Treatment Plant

but some roosting on the mudflats on the northern side of the pond.

Red-necked Avocet + Banded Stilt, Western Treatment Plant