Bar-tailed Godwit

All posts tagged Bar-tailed Godwit

What Spring Brings – The Wader’s Return.

Posted by aussiebirder on October 4, 2018
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, Holidays, migratory waders, National Parks, Nature, Nature reserve, Outings, shorebirds, Sydney, Uncategorized, waders, water birds, wetlands, wildlife. Tagged: .

Bar-tailed Godwit

With the return of Spring comes the return of our wonderful migratory waders, in particular my favourite, the Bar-tailed Godwit, featured in my book as the most endurant bird. This bird has been tracked travelling 16,000 km (9,942 miles) non-stop for 6 to 8 days directly across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Australia and New Zealand. At the end of Summer it will journey all the way back, via the Asian coast to breed, that’s an amazing 32,000 km in one year. In a bird’s lifetime, it is estimated, they travel to the moon and back 2.5 times. You can see the orange breeding plumage they gained before they left in Autumn still blotchy as it disappears for their non-breeding Summer in Australia. Click on photo to enlarge it.

Breeding plumage disappearing on rump of Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit

To get an idea of size and how small they are, see how tall they are beside this Silver Gull. Again you can note remnants of breeding plumage on the male.

Comparison of size with Silver Gull

The female is slightly larger in size with a longer beak than the non-breeding male, as seen below.

Non-breeding male next to a female Godwit

The beach where we see these birds is protected (apparently) for these birds, however, I had to remind one family to leash their dog as they encouraged it harass these  birds as they fed on the tidal mud flats. The dogs are actually banned from this beach, which makes one quite angry at the selfish disregard and arrogance that many people display for our wildlife safety. 

Flying to safety

Nearby in a creek flowing onto the beach we found this lone Royal Spoonbill decked out in full breeding plumage attempting to sleep in the wind. As you will see in the footage below his afro hairdo  as a humorous dimension to the bird. Spring brings with it the breeding plumage in many resident waterbirds.

These birds breed well away from humans, often with other non-migratory waterbirds, in fact they are known to permanently desert their nest should a human approach or disturb them off it. It was strange to find this bird sleeping as the tide was going out, so I think it was quite happy to stay by the fresh running water of the creek.

Also grazing the mud flats were a small flock of Australian White Ibis (nesting mates to the above Spoonbill).

Australian White Ibis flock

Another sign of Spring was this pair of Australian Pied Oystercatcher. These birds pair for life and are often seen in breeding pairs, especially now as this is the season. These birds are now listed as Endangered in NSW due to their nests being disturbed and destroyed on beaches by humans being permitted to drive 4×4 WD vehicles on NSW  National Park beaches without a concern for the delicate habitat of these very shy birds. It amazes me that they be allowed to do this, particularly on a beach protecting wildlife. The fencing off of breeding areas has worked for other bird species.

Aust. Pied Oystercatcher
Aust. Pied Oystercatcher
Aust. Pied Oystercatcher
Aust. Pied Oystercatcher

It was an enjoyable walk along the beach just before sunset, as my wife and I look forward to exploring more of the wader feeding areas in future weeks.

On closing, I share these photos of a nesting pair of Sulfur-crested Cockatoo we saw in the Royal National Park recently, protecting their nest from impending intruders. The action of sacrificial, unconditional love seen in bird parents is an inspiration to us of true parenting which when carried on as the family develops, in a love shown between spouses, is modelled for the fledgelings. As parents we always need to be aware it is our actions that speak loudest to our children, not our words. Words are given validity by the quality of the love we live and demonstrate firstly to our spouse and then to our children. Children learn most about what love is from watching how mum and dad love each other.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18

Have a wonderful week!

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You might like read it (click on link above) and also read more reviews and information and purchase your copy through the security of PayPal on my BirdBook page. 

The book is also sold in One of these Places.

 

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyrighted property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

 

Heralding The New Season – The Big Bird Changeover

Posted by aussiebirder on March 23, 2018
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Fauna, migratory waders, National Parks, Nature, Nature reserve, Outings, shorebirds, Sydney, Uncategorized, waders, water birds, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

It is that unusual time of year again where the seasons are changing, and so are some of our bird species. In Australia most of our birds are permanent territorial birds, but there is a certain amount of migration that takes place, especially with our migratory waders which are leaving for the upper reaches of the northern hemisphere during the next few weeks to breed. As we can see above, this male is already donning his breeding plumage is almost fully colored for breeding before taking his 16,000 km flight to Alaska with his family. We won’t see him again till next Spring, when he with his kind, will return on a 16,000 km direct flight non-stop for 8 days across the pacific Ocean, from Alaska to Australia. The world’s most endurant bird.  I love seeing these little guys before they leave with their orange appearance. You can see them with the family which do not show breeding plumage. Yes, this is the little flock I features some weeks ago on my favorite wader beach. I was thankful for half a day to get out and about from my very busy life.

Bar-tailed Godwit in breeding and non breeding plumage
breeding plumage
Non-breeding plumage

The passerine migrants will be on their way up the top of Australia and into New Guinea and south east Asia, these include the Dollarbird, the Bulbuls, the cuckoos and the Bee-eaters. I drove around to my other viewing place which is more secluded behind the mangroves and was delighted to find one Eastern Curlew and a Whimbrel, quite uncommon in our parts.  These birds will take flight also for the north in the coming weeks. A couple of Australian Pelicans rested on the shore with a Masked lapwing, these birds will be staying through winter.

Eastern Curlew
Whimbrel
Whimbrel
Eastern Curlew
Eastern Curlew
Eastern Curlew
Masked Lapwing
Pelicans

 The Silver Gull is a permanent beach resident here, and an immature gull (note the brown dappled plumage) watched the strange Godwit creatures walk past, while its parent flew past.

Immature Gull with Godwits
Silver Gull in flight

As I walked around the waterfront toward Botany Bay hoping for a double bonus afternoon, I saw this beautiful pair of Pied Oystercatcher walking the shoreline.  These birds are now classified as endangered in NSW due to their drop in numbers because their breeding places on human occupied beaches are interfering with their breeding patterns. The problem with 4×4 cars is that men like to drive them on beaches, which makes the shore and sea bird breeding areas more access able than ever before. Even when signs warn to take care or not enter sensitive areas, they continue to do so.

Pied Oystercatchers
Pied Oystercatchers
Pied Oystercatchers

With this changing season comes a special treat which occurs each year in Cook Park, Botany Bay. So I walked around to the large grove of unusual pine trees, where last year I blogged the feast of the Cockatoos and Corella as they fed on the pine cones, extracting the seed. Yes! they were there as predicted, which gave me great delight photographing their wild behaviour as Sulphur-crested and Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo along with Little Corella competed for cones. Bird everywhere flying and calling. Cones and pieces of them falling like rain from the trees. One cone landed on my camera, and thankfully it did not damage it. 

Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (male)
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (male)
Little Corella
Silphur-crested Cockatoo eating a cone
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (female)
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (female)
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (female)
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (male)
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (male)
Little Corella
Little Corella
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo (female)

If you look to the Yellow-tails above you can tell the males apart from the female by the red eye-ring. Notice how the Cockatoo, as with others in the parrot family, can hold, grasp and manipulate the food in one claw and bring it to its mouth while standing on the other leg. This is a unique feature of these birds. The above birds are all flockbirds and were present in their groups. When an alarm went up up from the corellas, the whole place was overcome by the sound of squawking and wing movement for several minutes.

Little Corella

It was a perfect birding afternoon, so I topped it off with an icecream and made my way home, knowing that each season brings its own, and like the cycle of the earth around the sun, so the birds cycle and move around in predictable habitat changes. In most cases they follow their food, and seek breeding places that provide warmth, safety from predators and close nearby fresh water and food suitable for their young. It is important for us humans to see that our life has seasons also, maybe not quite as predictable and cyclic as the birds, but nevertheless,  we need to appreciate this fact of life, or fall foul to depression and disappointment. Many of you will have seen this clip I made some time ago but I feel it is appropriate to finish this post with it.

Have an extraordinary wonderful weekend!

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyright property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

 

Australia Day on the Mud Flats at Low Tide.

Posted by aussiebirder on January 27, 2018
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, Holidays, migratory waders, Nature, Nature reserve, Outings, shorebirds, Sydney, Uncategorized, waders, water birds, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Seven Bar-tailed Godwit, the perfect number flock

Happy Australia Day! all you Aussies out there enjoying the holiday weekend. It was hot and humid, though the cloud cover and sea breeze kept the morning more pleasant, so my wife and I decided to go looking for waders, as the tides finally lined up with our free time. I have not blogged waders this summer so far so I thought it time to visit the river mud flats of the Georges River, which flows into Botany Bay, the place where Captain James Cook landed at Kurnell to take on water in 1770. Eight years later on the 26th January the First Fleet of 1,420 people, mostly convicts,  made the first British settlement in Sydney Cove in Sydney Harbour at the mouth of the Parramatta River, just a little up the coast from here. The small reef next to where Cook rowed to shore from the Endeavour, is now part of the Botany Bay National Park, with monuments and explanatory narrative signs .

 

This humble reef today is the scavenging ground of the endangered Pied Oystercatcher, endangered because it lays its eggs on beaches where people unwittingly inhabit.

Pied Oystercatcher on first landing reef.
Pied Oystercatcher.

This year has seen much protest and debate over the authenticity of this day as a true Australia Day, as many, original inhabitants and non indigenous fellow citizens call it ‘invasion day’, as many terrible atrocities followed in the pursuing years in a land wrongly reported originally to be terra nullius  or no bodies land (uninhabited). Though the original inhabitants, unlike the greedy possessive British, never made ownership of their land an issue of power or wealth. They respected the land, preserved it and shared it. Some are advocating a compromise of a separate day for indigenous Australians. You may have wondered why my opening photo was seven Bar-tailed Godwits. Many of you know from my previous posts how much I love this –  the world’s most endurant bird, which flies about 32,000 km a year migrating from Alaska to Australia and back again in one year. It travels around the moon, two and a half times in a lifetime.  It is always where summer is, and currently is here after 16,000 km non-stop, 8 day direct flight across the Pacific Ocean. Yes, this same seven Godwits are back on the same beach mud flats again this year. Most people swimming and fishing on the beach have no idea how amazing these little birds are.

Bar-tailed Godwit family flock
Bar-tailed Godwit family flock
with remains of breeding plumage
Godwits in conference
Bar-tailed Godwit family flock preparing to fly
Godwit with crab in beak

If you look carefully you will notice two of the males having bloches of orange breeding plumage. This will intensify in March, covering their whole neck and upper body before their exit flight to Alaska, where the females will give birth.  You may see it better in these flight shots. It is interesting how they fly in a  line, slip-streaming along. Click on photo to enlarge.

Bar-tailed Godwit in flight
Bar-tailed Godwit flock in flight
Bar-tailed Godwit flock in flight
Bar-tailed Godwit flock in flight
Bar-tailed Godwit flock in flight
Bar-tailed Godwit flock in flight

I apologise for the poor light and focus, as I had my prescription polarising sunglasses on at the time, which made photographing a real challenge not to mention the clouds. The photos further up the river were with my normal gasses. Also on my favourite wader beach was a pair of Pied Oystercatchers, not unlike the ones seen on the reef in Botany Bay. It is always encouraging to see these birds on beaches in NSW. Unfortunately they were grazing the beach apart from one another so there is no pair shot.

Australian Pied Oystercatcher

A golden moment was captured as this juvenile Silver Gull was pestering its mum for food, a common scene this time of year in many bird families. Notice how the mum tries to escape the persistent pestering. I apologise for the jerky video clip, again monopod was in car. See how they bob their heads lowering it to below the head of their parent as they beg. This custom is seen in many different species of juvenile birds begging.

Silver Gull family with juvenile
Silver Gull family with juvenile
Silver Gull family with juvenile

After drinking our take-away coffees and complete our time there with a walk along the shoreline to get our feet wet, we headed off to one of my secret wader viewing areas near Taren Point Shorebird Reserve. The many waders that we see during the day on the beaches at low tide roost at night across the bay in the Towra Point Nature Reserve which is a locked up (restricted access) park cared for by Botany Bay National Park. Many shorebird species breed here and it is a significant bird conservation area for Australia.

from Towra with Sydney CBD in distance
Towra sign
Shorebird sign

One of the amazing features of the city of Sydney is that it is surrounded by many National Parks and nature reserves, and I mean surrounded all around it, coastal, bush land and mountain.  Why secret spot behind the mangroves? Because this bird, the beautiful Eastern Curlew, our largest threatened wader is extremely timid and takes flight at the approach of humans. We were so thankful that our Lord gave us the gift of one on the day. Of course the bird finally saw us and took flight with his standard alarm call ‘cor-eek, cor-eek’. The Eastern Curlew is also a summer migrant to our shores.

A common resident wader nearby was the White-faced Heron, fishing the shores.

Then unexpectedly the appearance of another resident shorebird, the timid Striated Heron or Mangrove Heron as was its past name. In this case he was living among the mangroves. I have seen him here in past years, but not for a while, this could be one of the offspring, fishing the shallows of the shoreline, with his very classic crouching method, similar to the White-faced Heron.

It was quite spooky to note the coastal trees and mangroves were silent of birds. I have been saying it has been a ‘birdless summer’ here, and many species, especially waterbirds are not breeding here this year. maybe they know beforehand by divine instinct to be elsewhere through this extremely hot dry summer. However, the classic Australian Eastern Magpie has produced young this year, as we found this youngster walking on the grass at Taren Point Reserve. Note the brown immature colouring, not yet fully black and the dirty white neck, which resembles the female. This will change to pure white if it matures to a male.

Immature magpie
Immature magpie

Driving further up the Georges River beaches we found more Godwit and also some Australian White Ibis actually grazing where they should be, on the mud flats and not in city garbage bins, as they are known to do.

White Ibis
White Ibis

These Godwits did not mind us getting close to them at all. All of these waders showcased here today, with the exception of the Herons, are hunting for tiny mud crabs which burrow beneath the sand. At low tide these crabs often come to the surface or just below and are easily accessed in wet sand by long beaks both curved and straightish, as the Godwit beak is slightly curved upwards at the end.

With thankful hearts my wife and I returned home having had a small feast of waders ( viewing feast that is) on Australia Day morning. We did hear and see some Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo fly past in the distance but were not able to track down their landing spot. This last shot of a Silver Gull resting with one eye open reminds us of the need to be alert at all times due to the dangers of life that may surround us. Jesus warns us to be wise about the evils of this age we live in, but not to be afraid or alarmed: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” – Matthew 24:12

Many are wondering why the churches have lost their effectiveness, why integrity, respect, good will and justice have deteriorated in our society. Many are unaware as they disown Christian concepts and laws, which have given them many of the freedoms they currently enjoy in our western Post Christian society, that they stand to loose these freedoms, by their rejection of the One True God. These freedoms came from Godly caring people making a difference in a selfish society. The enemy of human souls, Satan, seeks to deceive the masses using  fear through popular opinion, the media and so called political correctness to draw one’s  life values from: “Satan will be released from his prison  and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth.” -Revelation 20:7,8

So the message to us all is…

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8

“Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” Mark 13:33

The Good News is that Jesus has defeated Satan and disarmed Satan by his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, as a free gift for all who put their life’s trust in him, as their representative before God. He has broken Satan’s power and hold over death and won for us a victory which is free to all who put our trust and life in his hands, and receive the help and power of his Holy Spirit to live a life free of the fear and condemnation. Keep in mind that Satan might have a very threatening roar, which may evoke fear, but he is toothless, because Jesus has disarmed him. Through faith in Jesus we can overcome Satan like he did. We only give Satan power in our life when we believe his lies and  allow fear rather than faith to rule our life. The only  tool that Satan has to influence us in life is our fear, especially our fear of death.  Jesus paid the price for all our wrong doing by taking all our punishment due to us, on himself when he died on the cross. For a child of God, Satan no longer has any power over them, unless they give it to him.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” – 1 John 4:18

“…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  – Romans 8:37

Have a enjoyable, peaceful and restful weekend!

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyright property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Meeting the Challenge of a New Year

Posted by aussiebirder on December 30, 2017
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, Holidays, National Parks, Nature, Nature reserve, Outings, rainforests, Sydney, Uncategorized, water birds, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , .

As the past year fades away, my wife and I set goals for the new year and look at ways to improve our life together. We ask what can we do better? What do we need to change? What do we need to start doing to achieve our goals for 2018? When we go birding in our local Oatley Park Reserve we find this male Superb Fairy-wren pictured above, eclipsing (this means it is changing its plumage from non breeding to breeding plumage). The male Superb Fairy-wren when not breeding looks very similar to the female, but for its blue tail. You can see the blotchy changes, as it starts to gradually change to its blue coat.

Superb Fairy-wren male in eclipse
Superb Fairy-wren female

It is quite amusing to watch the eclipse process taking place, as the blotchy appearance forms into the beautiful male in breeding plumage. This is how it is for us during seasons of change, where there is uncertainty and fear of the unknown ahead. As with the Fairy-wren, we courageously move forward, trusting God to bring us through our blotchiness to the blessing of eventually being transformed into the person we are becoming,  with a beauty we display in being  wiser, more thankful, gracious and loving.

Superb Fairy-wren (morphing male)

As many Australian birders know, the male fully eclipses to breeding plumage, he dons his beautiful blue suite, attracting the female to breed with him and have his family. When the breeding season is over he reverts back to his brown and white plumage, retaining only his blue tail to signify his maleness. Click on images to enlarge them.

Male Superb Fairy-wren

We all have to adapt to the season of our life, and the changes it brings to us, and we need to do this gracefully, to meet the challenges that may lie ahead. Some birds like the Red-browed Finch do not undergo any change at all during their breeding season, and stay the same throughout their life.

We may not change our appearance but our circumstances may change and call for a change in the way we live our lives. This White-faced Heron shows the difference in breeding plumage to non breeding but it does not change what he does each day. How we accept these changes is part of our character development which is so important in our growth as a person.

 Change and new experiences should not be seen as problems to be solved but as challenges to encounter. It is a positive approach to what life throws at us that gives us the ability, enlisting God’s help, to meet the challenge and win the day. This Royal Spoonbill undergoes this head dress development during breeding season which offers a challenge to its normal life for a time.

Royal Spoonbill in breeding plumage

As I have shown in previous posts, colour change is a common breeding appearance in waders during breeding season, as with this Bar-tailed Godwit, the worlds most endurant bird, develops an orange appearance in our Autumn, before flying 16,000 km to have their young in the Arctic region of the Northern Hemisphere, returning in Spring.

Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit

Let the changes that come into your life be used for growth and positive change in the new year. Look for the treasure in the trials of life and remember that everything that happens to us is for a reason, for growth and development into the person we are being formed to be. So make the changes work for good in your life, as my wife and I are seeking to do in ours. Have a truly happy and prosperous new year, and may you prosper and grow in each aspect of life: not just physically but also, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually as Jesus did when he lived with us here on earth, thus developing our whole person.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” – Luke 2:52

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” – James 1:5

Check out the various pages of my website for more birding information and life skills.

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyrighted property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018