Painted Snipe, 160+ Red-kneed Dotterel, Peregrine, Spotless Crake on Sunshine Coast

Peregrine Falcon

Good birds over the past couple of days around the Maroochy River on the Sunshine Coast include Australian Painted Snipe, between 160 and 200 Red-kneed Dotterel, Peregrine Falcon, Spotless Crake and unusually large numbers of Pacific Golden Plover and Latham's Snipe.

Australian Painted Snipe

I saw a male and a female Australian Painted Snipe in an area of flooded grassland and exposed mud at the end of River Road, close to the Maroochy River in the locality of Yandina Creek. I was unable to photograph the birds; I snapped this male bird a few weeks ago in the Lockyer Valley.

Latham's Snipe

Also present were between 15 and 20 Latham's Snipe, an unusally large concentration of this species and rather late in the season.

Red-kneed Dotterel

Red-kneed Dotterels were in extraordinarily large numbers. I estimated at least 160 and as many as 200.

Red-kneed Dotterel

Last December, I noted about 80 Red-kneed Dotterels at Ewen Maddock Dam, which I thought was a large number for a species normally scarce in south-east Queensland. Heavy rains have fallen since then and the dotterels have not been present at the dam and other sites they were seen. Clearly they are still about the region, however.

Pacific Golden Plover

 About 100 Pacific Golden Plovers are also present at the River Road site. Other nice birds include Spotless Crake, several heard and two seen today.

Peregrine Falcon

A fine adult Peregrine Falcon was watched hunting the Golden Plovers. A pair of Peregrines nest on nearby Mt Coolum. Other raptors seen this morning included Australian Hobby and Spotted Harrier.

An overview of the site on River Road yesterday.

The same site today, following heavy rains overnight. The waders were still there but concentrated in flocks on isolated mud patches.

I noted recently how some of the grassland-wetlands habitat in this area had been destroyed for real estate development The grassland that was bulldozed was inhabited by several pairs of Lewin's Rail, a species listed as threatened under state legislation. I reported the development to the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection but was not even afforded the courtesy of a reply.

Since then, I have been contacted by the owners of some the best bird habitat in the area. They have tried to interest the Sunshine Coast Regional Council in purchasing 13 hectares of their land for a wildlife reserve.
Unfortunately the council has rejected the request because the land is not natural; it is human-modified. This  is true - the land is former sugar cane plantation. However, these former farmlands provide excellent habitat for a range of species which have been largely eliminated from the region by the destruction of wallum heath and wetlands for residential development.

That they are not natural should be no barrier to their protection - human-modified wetlands are the prime sites for birds and other wildlife in many parts of the world. Scarce or elusive birds that I have recorded regularly in the River Road area include Eastern Grass Owl, Lewin's Rail, Spotless Crake, Brolga, King Quail and Red-backed Buttonquail. Good numbers of raptors occur here including Spotted Harrier, Swamp Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Australian Hobby. Other birds include Buff-banded Rail, Bush Stone-Curlew and Tawny Grassbird. These latest sightings add to the case for conserving some of this habitat.

The land-owners referred to above will sell their land privately if the council is not interested, so this is a unique opportunity. People wanting the land protected as a reserve could contact the Sunshine Coast Regional Council - mail@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au - or the mayor, Mark Jamieson (phone 0754 418242 or email the address above, marked to the mayor's attention).

Apostlebird

In other news, earlier this week we visited our friends Trevor and Annie Quested outside Bundaberg. A spot of birding near Childers in the early morning turned up a party of Apostlebirds and a group of Grey-crowned Babblers.

Apostlebird

Grey-crowned Babbler

Grey-crowned Babbler