From September to November each year millions of migratory shorebirds are making their way south to Australia from their breeding grounds in North Asia, Japan, Siberia and Alaska. Their flight path is the East Asian-Australasian Flyway: a massive aerial highway marked by prevailing winds and driven by a wonderful behavioural trait known as “site fidelity”.

Site Fidelity simply means that for the most part shorebirds are drawn to return to the same breeding and wintering grounds each year. This makes sense if you’re a migrant, because: a. it ensures that you work to the flight path that you have learned from the outset and; b. the “If you’re on a good thing stick to it” principle is a good one for survival.

All this means that for the past few weeks, and for a few more ahead of us, the coastal and inland wetlands of the Sydney region are enjoying an influx of shorebirds, after a depauperate winter, and the through-passage of a number of species which we don’t often see. We also get to witness plenty of birds with coloured leg flags and these are worth noting in detail and reporting: mintons@ozemail.com.au.

Awesome Long Reef

As reported last week, we’ve witnessed some fantastic shorebird diversity on Long Reef and Boat Harbour, beginning with our monthly shorebird count at Long Reef, where we witnessed the return of the Pacific Golden Plovers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Red Knots and a nice influx of Ruddy Turnstones and Red-necked Stints: with plenty more yet to come.

A BRILLIANT RARITY for the Sydney region was the Australian Pratincole, which a shorebird enthusiast reported at Long Reef through the week. They’ve been reported in the Hunter Region in the past, but this is the first incursion of this species in the Sydney region that I’ve heard of.

Amazing Boat Harbour

Boat Harbour has become increasingly brilliant. First, with a steady influx in numbers recorded on my survey last week. These are possibly third year birds returning from their “practice run migration” to the Yellow Sea and back, but also with a number of species which are now pretty uncommon on the reef or bearing coloured leg flags that continue to inform us of their movements. I had reports of over 100 Sanderling on Boat Harbour through the week: a nostalgic sight it would have been, as thousands of these birds once wintered on the beaches of this area before the era of beach buggies, horses, dogs and 4WD vehicles.

This week it was a further influx in numbers of Red-necked Stint and Ruddy Turnstone, but with even more Sanderling, a Red Knot, a Victorian-flagged Bar-tailed Godwit (and traveling companion) and a Lesser Sand Plover (also once common here prior to massive human disturbance).

All in all, it’s a great time to head out onto the rocky headlands of Sydney, you really owe it to yourself to head down to Long Reef or Boat Harbour and catch some of the action!

Let’s conserve these sites!

Again, these events prove the incredible importance of these headlands to dispersing shorebirds, even though they may appear almost bereft of shorebirds in the winter, they are vital to these birds, which are completing exhausting journeys and are often desperate for a spot to shelter, sleep, feed and bathe towards the end of their long sojourn. Threats include destroying diversity through invertebrate poaching, excessive human disturbance on high tide roosts, fisher’s litter and unrestrained dogs. Constant education for the well meaning and compliance vigilance for the less intelligent members of the community who think they’re above instruction or doing the right thing is always required.

Until next time . . . happy birding!

Filed under:
Cool sightings, Shorebirds by Ricki