Swamp Harrier, Common Sandpiper

Today, on the spur of the moment, I decided to have a crack at a couple of local birds not on my list yet. Last week, on the Broadwater trip, Andy Jensen had told me that he had a Swamp Harrier and a Common Sandpiper being seen regularly at his local patch, Kedron Brook. This, interestingly, is the same place I had the Grass Owl at the beginning of the year, but I have never been there during daylight before.

I gave Andy a call about 4pm and asked if he was interested in having a look around. He was already out in the field, having a look around on the off-chance of a Black Bittern turning up, so was quite happy to meet me at the wetland and show me where he had the birds. When I got there Andy was there, and chatting with local birder and guide Roy Sonnenberg plus his guest. They were there having a look for Lewin's Rail (apparently seen twice at the site this year so far) and of course for the famous owl. We had a quick chat and then set off across the sodden field.

Now at this point I should mention that I haven't owned gumboots (wellingtons/galoshas, etc) since I was about ten, but being out with Rob last week in the mud at the wader roost really pointed out the usefulness of this bit of birding kit. Rob said I could pick up a cheap pair from Big-W, though I ended up getting a $20 pair from Kmart. Well today they paid for themselves, as wading across that former grassland (current lake) would have ruined my expensive boots or any other shoes I chose to wear on the day. So armed with gumboots, camera and binoculars we set out. We didn't have to wait long, with a young male Swamp Harrier gliding across the back of the field, and then shortly after an adult female flushing from nearby the track we were walking down. We reached the back of the field and walked along the muddy channel at the far side. The very high tide was a little disheartening, but about 15 minutes into the search, Andy called out that he had a Common Sandpiper on the far bank. And another. Then I picked up another two. In all we had four Common Sandpipers on this small stretch of creek bank, all together. This was pretty extraordinary as they are a species I wasn't positive I would see this year, didn't even have a potential site to look, and had never seen in south-east QLD before. I'm aware they aren't as rare as I am making them out to be, and I know people who have sites they swear by that I have always failed to find birds at. All I know is it's now on my list and I'm very happy about it. And lets not forget, Common Sandpipers are one of the most charismatic of our waders, with their bobbing tails and short, erratic running. It was good to see them again, regardless of their place on my year list.

Total birds to date: 293