Shorebirds Report
Observing and counting bird species and numbers is an enjoyable occupation when it’s fine and sunny, but entirely different when it’s windy and raining and cold.
Birds stay out in all kinds of weather so if we want to observe them we must too. The only way to get accurate knowledge about the birds on our bays is to count regularly and at the same tide times throughout the year. This month our count was done in miserable weather but the number and variety of birds observed more than made up for this.
Winter is also a good time to observe the wader birds that live permanently in Australia. Once these are known then the birds arriving in the spring from the northern hemisphere are easier to identify.
The Pied Oystercatcher (haematopus longirostris) is one of the more spectacular of our resident waders. It is commonly seen all around our waterways It is black above with a white belly, rump and wing bars. Its bill is red, legs are reddish pink and there is a red/orange ring around its eye. It uses its long bill to search through the mud for its food, which can be any small marine animals. It can also open shellfish with its strong beak.
The Pied oystercatcher builds its nest among the sand and seaweed at the edge of the tidal zone on the beach. Because of increased beach activity by people this bird is listed as a vulnerable species in some areas of Australia.
