Most of the 14 participants drove from Canberra to Crookhaven Heads in atrocious weather conditions on Friday evening, with Mike Doyle the only one brave enough to pitch a tent on arrival. Everyone else was accommodated in cabins or campervans. Fortunately, the weather was fine on Saturday morning; however, the wind was so strong that telescopes were blown over and exposed skin was sand-blasted. This did not deter us or the birds – in fact, it brought Short-tailed, Wedge-tailed and Fluttering Shearwater right into the mouth of the estuary. The beach between Lake Wollumboola and the ocean yielded Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Red-capped Plover and Ruddy Turnstone, as well as Crested, Common and nesting Little Tern.
We subsequently learnt that the Little Tern was banded at Manning River estuary, Harrington, NSW (between Port Macquarie and Newcastle) on 21/2/1994 - 11 years 9 months and 12 days before we saw it - and was 385 miles from where it was banded. When banded it was at least 1 year old. I'm not sure how long terns live but ours is about 13+ years.
The wind had not abated by lunchtime, so it was decided to seek sheltered spots on Jervis Bay. Myola yielded few waders, but everyone had excellent views of a Scarlet Honeyeater in the forest behind the beach. Callala was also a disappointment, although some saw a Brown Cuckoo-dove. A stop at Orient Point late in the afternoon yielded Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew, Godwit and Pied and Sooty Oystercatcher, and a late afternoon walk along the shoreline adjacent to the caravan produced a Grey-tailed Tattler, Whimbrel and Eastern Curlew on the same rocky outcrop, allowing size comparisons to be made.
We gathered for a barbeque dinner on Saturday night, with everyone contributing to the pre-dinner nibbles, salad or dessert. We feasted well and all agreed that these communal meals are a highlight of any overnight trip.
It was a great relief to awake to a sunny Sunday with just a gentle breeze. Despite this, the shearwaters were still close to shore as was an Arctic Jaegar, which settled on the water just off Crookhaven Heads, allowing great views for about 5 minutes. The rest of the day was spent on Comerong Island, one of the best spots for waders on the South Coast. The spring tide meant we could not approach the birds from the usual direction; rather we had to walk along the ocean beach towards Shoalhaven Heads before tucking ourselves into the dunes, from where we had fantastic views of a good range of waders from large to small – Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Pacific Golden Plover, Red Knot, Terek Sandpiper, Red-capped Plover and Red-necked Stint. There was also an impressive variety of terns – Gull-billed, Caspian, Crested and Little.
The Wader Study Group reports that the Red Knot we found at Comerong Island was banded in Victoria – they don't say where, but give lat 38S and long 145E. It was flagged sometime after 1990 (which I guess is when they started to use orange leg flags) and was 621 km from where it was flagged.
After a late lunch in the shade, we had a short walk through the rainforest on Comerong Island. Highlights were Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo feeding young and Brown Gerygone. The drive back to the car ferry yielded a Swamp Harrier.
Despite the less than ideal weather conditions, the weekend yielded 83 species, including 14 different wader species and 5 different tern species. We had an excellent opportunity to compare the size, colour and markings of these birds, and someone was even heard to say, “I could get to like wader-watching!”
Sue Lashko