Shorebirds in the Bay
The recent wild weather- while disastrous for so many – certainly made spectacularly different scenery to enjoy for those of us who had warm dry homes to go back to.
When the weather eased a little, I went out to the coast and then along to Inskip Point to see the waves and how they were tearing at the beach. Many others seemed to have had the same idea and almost all had cameras with which they were trying to get pictures of the waves and the wind-swept foreshore.
I ended up along at Inskip Point where the choppy waves and flying spume were turning the bay into a wild and magnificent spectacle. The sand island in the middle of the bay was almost underwater and only the largest birds – pelicans and a few cormorants – were still using it as a refuge.
On Inskip Point there was a flock of terns. They were all crouched close to the sand and facing into the wind. They only moved when people came too close and then as they flew up they were tossed about by the wind. As soon as the people moved off, they settled down on the sand – again, facing into the wind and crouched down close.
There was an interesting mix of birds in the flock. There were a few Crested Terns- some in breeding plumage but most still in juvenile plumage. There were larger numbers of Common Terns and Little Terns and a few White-winged Black Terns.
These last three are summer migrants to this area. They come here after breeding in central and northern Asia. Little Terns, however, also breed around the southern coasts of Australia but these ones come here at a different time.Crested Terns are the largest of these four terns and the Little Terns the smallest. The colouring of all terns is white, grey and black and it is necessary to learn the distinctive patterns of each species as well as to recognize the differences in size.
There was another flock of very tiny brown/grey birds running close to the water and busily picking at the sand to find food. They were hard to see but closer views showed that they were mainly Red-capped Plovers with a few Lesser Sand Plovers.
