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Comb-crested Jacana |
Large-tailed Nightjar and loads of waders were the highlight of a three-night camp at Boonooroo, south-east of Maryborough on the Great Sandy Strait. We visited Boonooroo after spending time at
Burrum Heads and Bundaberg.
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Comb-crested Jacana with chick |
The jacana in the image above had two tiny nestlings on a freshwater pond near the township. One of the youngsters can just be seen in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture above.
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Large-tailed Nightjar |
I first heard the distinctive call of a Large-tailed Nightjar from near the banks of Little Tuan Creek in the early morning from the Boonooroo Caravan Park. At 4am the next morning I went to that area and had no trouble enjoying excellent, repeated views of a pair of nightjars in the coastal scrub. The birds were very flighty and I was unable to photograph them; thanks to Geoff Jones from Barra Imaging for this one. Boonooroo is close to the southern-most limit of the distributional range of this species.
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Bar-tailed Godwits and Great Knots |
Boonooroo is well-known for its migratory waders and they were there in good numbers. The most common species were Bar-tailed Godwit, Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel, Great Knot and Grey-tailed Tattler. In lesser but still reasonable numbers were Curlew Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Pacific Golden Plover and Mongolian Sand-Plover. Species in small numbers included Common Greenshank, Red Knot, Terek Sandpiper, Grey Plover and Greater Sand-Plover, with resident waders including Pied Oystercatcher and Red-capped Plover.
The waders could be found in various places at high tide behind the mangroves on salt pans a little to the north of the township.
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Buff-banded Rail |
A Buff-banded Rail was in the mangroves of Little Tuan Creek.
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Common Greenshank |
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Eastern Curlew |
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Great Knots |
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Grey-tailed Tattlers |
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Gull-billed Terns |
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Mongolian Sand-Plovers and Red-necked Stints |
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Pacific Golden and Mongolian Sand-Plovers |
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Greater Sand-Plover |
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Pacific Golden Plover |
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Pied Oystercatcher |
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Red-necked Stints (with 1 Curlew Sandpiper) |
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Sharp-tailed Sandpiper |
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Terek Sandpiper |
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Shining Flycatcher |
During a morning kayak along Little Tuan Creek, a single Shining Flycatcher - a juvenile female - was seen.
Beautiful photos... the Comb Crested Jacana with the water lillies in the background is just lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks muchly for that
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