|
Great Egret & Yellow-billed Spoonbill |
The
latest BirdLife Australia survey of Yandina Creek Wetland for
Unitywater was undertaken on Saturday December 21 by myself, Steve
Grainger and Russell McGregor. We had an excellent morning with
plenty of good birds about. The
morning started off well with two Baillon's Crakes feeding in the
newly flooded southern half of the site. This species was once
regular at the wetland but this is just the second sighting since the
site's
northern half was restored. Two Spotless Crakes were recorded later
in the same spot.
|
Baillon's Crake |
A Lewin's Rail scurried
across the track and a couple of Buff-banded Rails were seen. Large
numbers of Grey Teal were again present and a small group of
Pink-eared Ducks - a very rare species on the Sunshine Coast - was
among them.
|
Grey Teal & Pink-eared Duck |
Migratory shorebirds
were in reasonable numbers with
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and
Latham's Snipe recorded.
|
Marsh Sandpiper, Grey Teal & Pied Stilt |
Large numbers of
Australian Pelican were present, feeding on what presumably were
commensurate numbers of fish.
|
Australian Pelican |
The normally scarce
Glossy Ibis was in good numbers and a couple of Yellow-billed
Spoonbills joined the sizeable rafts of Royal Spoonbill. Great Egret
was plentiful.
|
Glossy Ibis |
|
Royal Spoonbill |
Other nice birds
included Little Grassbird, Nankeen Night-Heron and White-throated
Needletail. Olive-backed Oriole was among the bushbirds seen.
|
Nankeen Night-Heron |
|
Olive-backed Oriole |
Black-necked Storks were
again on show, this time two pairs feeding in the shallows in widely
flung parts of the site. It was pleasing to see a Water Rat splashing
about with another couple almost certainly feeding in the shallows.
|
Black-necked Stork |
Recent surveys have
departed from the old format of short transects done by multiple
groups. There are several reasons for this. Some of the old transects
are now impassable due to the sustained inundation of the wetland,
which wasn't a problem in the early days but is now. Much
of the taller grass along the main perimeter track has drowned,
allowing easier observation over the wetland, so double-counting from
the old transects would increasingly be likely to distort data. It's
necessary to wade into the wetland in gum boots off the tracks, which
is not everyone's cup of tea. A comprehensive survey can be done
comfortably now by a small group in a few hours. As reported after the
September
survey, the
reopening of some more
floodgates on
Yandina Creek has allowed
part of the southern half of the site to be flooded for the first
time in several
years. More water has accumulated in that area since then.
Ebird
list.
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