A good collection of birds on the Ashley today, including:
1 Black Stilt
1 Sanderling (feeding Sanderling fashion on the ocean beach with a group of Wrybill in tow doing the same!)
3 Turnstone
10 Red Knot
1 Grey-tailed Tattler
Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
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Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
Last edited by andrewcrossland on Sat Dec 15, 2018 10:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
No sign of a curlew Andrew? There hasn’t been one that I’ve known of for a couple of years.
A good record though to have a sanderling. And nice that the tattler is back again
A good record though to have a sanderling. And nice that the tattler is back again
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
Hi what part of the Ashley can I see the birds.thank you.
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
The Sanderling was on the beach feeding in the wash zone, associating with 4 Wrybills doing the same (ie feeding sanderling-style).
The Tattler was roosting with Banded Dotterels and wrybills on sand/stones on the lagoon edge of the spit just beyond where the sand hill chain finishes.
The Black Stilt was on the lagoon just out from the river mouth delta.
I didn't venture up to the North end of the estuary after the Curlew/s. They've been pretty much annual since at least the early 1980s and were first recorded in the 1870s by Sir Julius Von Haast, so a real tradition at the Ashley and I hope the global decline in this species hasn't spent the end of their visits to the Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary.
The Tattler was roosting with Banded Dotterels and wrybills on sand/stones on the lagoon edge of the spit just beyond where the sand hill chain finishes.
The Black Stilt was on the lagoon just out from the river mouth delta.
I didn't venture up to the North end of the estuary after the Curlew/s. They've been pretty much annual since at least the early 1980s and were first recorded in the 1870s by Sir Julius Von Haast, so a real tradition at the Ashley and I hope the global decline in this species hasn't spent the end of their visits to the Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary.
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
I saw the Sanderling today around 2 pm. It was feeding in the washzone of the ocean as described, before being spooked by a dog and flying over into the estuary where it continued feeding with a godwit.
Thanks Andrew for the tip.
Thanks Andrew for the tip.
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
I was out looking for the sanderling and grey-tailed tattler yesterday (with no luck) and instead found skua/jaegers chasing white-fronted terns which were feeding on a huge boil up by the river mouth - very cool to watch!
I'm not sure if I had a group of entirely arctic skua or whether there were a couple of pomarine skua mixed in as well, mostly based on the slightly different body shapes and flight patterns that I observed among individuals in the groups. I tried to take some photos (apologies for the poor quality) and as this is my first time observing these skua species, I'm hoping someone with more experience may assist with ID, if possible.
Cheers,
Warwick
I'm not sure if I had a group of entirely arctic skua or whether there were a couple of pomarine skua mixed in as well, mostly based on the slightly different body shapes and flight patterns that I observed among individuals in the groups. I tried to take some photos (apologies for the poor quality) and as this is my first time observing these skua species, I'm hoping someone with more experience may assist with ID, if possible.
Cheers,
Warwick
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
Nice spotting!
Something I've kept an eye out for but still yet to see.
Something I've kept an eye out for but still yet to see.
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”
Samuel Ullman
Samuel Ullman
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
The last photo is definitely an immature Pomarine skua, nice find! I think the others are all Arctic but see what others think.
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
No sign of any Skua at all yesterday on the ocean, there were very few terns about let alone tern work ups. Oh well!
Sanderling and black stilt both showed very well, along with 100 odd Godwits, one young Banded Dotterel chick yet to fly and all the other usuals. Notably absent were the wrybill and Banded Dotterels usually seen feeding or roosting. Perhaps they were hiding higher in the grasses along with 60 odd pied stilts?
Sanderling and black stilt both showed very well, along with 100 odd Godwits, one young Banded Dotterel chick yet to fly and all the other usuals. Notably absent were the wrybill and Banded Dotterels usually seen feeding or roosting. Perhaps they were hiding higher in the grasses along with 60 odd pied stilts?
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Re: Ashley-Saltwater Creek Estuary, Canterbury
I made a brief stop there this evening and had about 50 banded dotterel alongside the river and one godwit and wrybill but no sign of the sanderling, black stilt, or grey-tailed tattler. Whereabouts did you see the sanderling?
Kaitorete spit tip could be good for skua at the moment - I saw at least one there on Saturday morning.
Kaitorete spit tip could be good for skua at the moment - I saw at least one there on Saturday morning.