Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Wading into the smugness

See me smiling? It's the ugly mug of the smug gloater. We would-be Nostradamuses don't pay too much attention to the odd failure. But just hear us crow about our successes!

I was a few days out with my small-waders-here-by-November. Better early than late, I say. Get on with it, I hear you say?



Didn't spot the bird hidden by reeds in the shallows today till a passing Little Egret took my eye. And led it to a Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola). The birds that visit Tyto are usually loners. They may stick around for months and can become almost as approachable as the more gregarious Sharp-taileds (yet to appear in Tyto but plenty nearby).


A shrill call from a more distant area of reeds revealed one of two Marsh Sandpipers (Tringa stagnatalis) wheeling low over the shallows, and landing again in the ankle-deep water.


The tall birds, much daintier than the lookalike but bigger Common Greenshank, will grow in numbers till the shallows evaporate.


Now, where are the plovers, stints and godwits?

Further to yesterday's talk of killing tulip trees, here's a bird today making use of the flowers - for the colour. The scrap of flower closely matches the excited Red-backed Fairy-Wren's (Malurus melanocephalus) glowing colour. The offering is intended to attract a female. Red berries are also used. Without conspicuous success in either case, from what I've seen!

5 comments:

mick said...

Nice that the waders turned up on time. Now I will be watching for more photos of these birds - especially the small waders, please, which are not all that easy to approach down here.

Duncan said...

Nice Tony, never see wood or marsh sandpipers around here, have seen them elsewhere though. Wonderful colour on the wren, spectacular little fellow.

Mosura said...

That wren's a real stunner!

Tyto Tony said...

Gidday Mick. Don't get your hopes up too much. It's easier to sneak up on them here, but then the reeds always block the camera! And sneaks never prosper. Bruised my funnybone when camera crashed into it as I crawled up on a Little Egret yesterday. Missed bird too - of course!

Tyto Tony said...

Hi Duncan, Mosura. You think that wren's hot, you should see five or six males excited and displaying together. But I've never caught clear pictures of the action - usually fast and furious!

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