Shorebirds Report
November 2006
Birds in the Mangroves
Of all the migratory wader birds, the ones that roost in the mangroves are the hardest to count. There are so many mangroves around the bay and the roosting birds are so well hidden among the leaves, that simply finding them is a challenge. Fortunately the birds go back to the same roosts season after season so once a roosting site has been found we can usually find birds there.
Trees used as roosts are very different. Along the Tin Can Bay foreshore there is one site where there are birds roosting in a group of very leafy mangroves a little way from the shore. The birds are well hidden here and away from people. However, the same birds have chosen a very different roost site on the Cooloola Cove foreshore. Here they can be found roosting in a dead mangrove right next to the channel which boats use. They are in full view. They fly off when any boat comes too close but return to the same tree later. In the Tin Can Bay site we have only observed one species of bird roosting but in the Cooloola site there are two species using the same roost.
The birds roosting at these sites are Grey-tailed Tattlers (Tringa brevipes) and Terek Sandpipers (Tringa terek). The Grey-tailed Tattler is a little larger – 24-27cm- and the Terek Sandpiper 22-25cm. Both birds are greyish colour above and white below. There are slight differences in the colouring but these are difficult to distinguish at any distance. Both birds have yellow legs but the Terek Sandpiper has a brighter orange-yellow colour. The easiest way to distinguish the birds is by the shape of the bill. The Grey-tailed Tattler has a medium length straight bill and the Terek Sandpiper has a longer slightly upturned bill. Identifying these two species by the size and shape of the bill is easy – unless the birds are roosting in a resting position with their heads tucked under the wings!
These species of birds roost on sandbanks as well as in the mangroves.
This month we counted 32 species and a total of 2236 birds.