On Sunday, February 7, Brett Brenchley took part in a shorebird count in the Peel Harvey Estuary. The environmental value of the estuary was emphasised when the counts revealed internationally significant populations of some species.
I was fortunate enough to be part of the group doing Austin Bay, a shallow, stinking, expansive mud flat on the eastern shores of the Peel Inlet. Of even more fortune was that I was part of a group consisting of myself, Bill Rutherford (shorebird guru/ornithologist) and Geoff Barrett (DEC regional ecologist).
We started off well with a shoreline count of over 3000 sharp-tailed sandpipers (internationally significant numbers according to Bill - over 1% of global population).
That was only the beginning. The day just got better and better as it went on with a huge diversity of shorebirds encountered as we journeyed southwards through the mud that fills the bay. We saw red-capped plovers, red necked stints, bar-tailed godwit, eastern curlew, greenshanks and my favourite of the day - a golden pacific plover.
The finale, and far and away the highlight of the count, was seen at the end of our designated area. Feeding in the southeast corner of the bay we found 18,000 plus banded stilts. It was a magnificent sight and was well worth trudging through a kilometre or more of smelly mud and algae.
Despite the sign, this landholder was pleased to let biologists count bird species on his property. Picture: Lisa Wray
We expect the results of the count will come through in the next couple of weeks and we will report on them in the blog at that time.
Fortunately, I was told that the landholder on this particular property was more tolerant of conservationists and birders than he was of off-road vehicle users, illegal campers and crabbers.
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