Today at Alexandra Headland on the Sunshine Coast I had two Wandering Tattlers in breeding plumage, including the bird above. I reported in April the presence of 6 Wandering Tattlers at this site in breeding plumage. Those birds remained in the area until mid-May before leaving for their Northern Hemisphere breeding grounds. At least one and possibly two Wandering Tattlers overwintered at Alexandra Headland and while I did not see those birds, others reported that those or that birds were in non-breeding plumage.
Presumably, therefore, these birds have just returned from their breeding season in the north. This is the second of the pair at the headland today. So it seems these tattlers may have been absent for what would seem to be a very short time of about three-and-a-half three months. I had thought previously that the Wandering Tattler, one of our rarer migratory waders, may be one of the last of that group to leave Australia and one of the first to return.
Eastern Reef-Egret showed well today at Alexandra Headland.
As did Sooty Oystercatcher
Elsewhere, a pair of Great Crested Grebes has turned up on Lake Poona. These birds have been absent from the Sunshine Coast area for the past 12-18 months, presumably having been attracted inland by floodwaters. Like the Pelicans after a bumper breeding season inland, they are on their way back to the coast.
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