Sunshine Coast Hooded Plover & others

Sightings anywhere within a 250 km radius of Toowoomba, but excluding the local survey area (see above), for the period 1 Jun - 31 Aug 2010.

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Russ Lamb
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:28 pm
Location: Maleny,SEQ

Sunshine Coast Hooded Plover & others

Post by Russ Lamb »

Following Clive Allen & Barbara Dickson's sightings of a juvenile Hooded Plover and an Arctic Tern at the Noosa River mouth on Tuesday, went up there today(Sat. 19/6) to see what I could see. Pleased to report that the Hooded Plover is still easily seen (telescope makes it easier, but it can be seen with binos) from the carpark on the south side (continue down Hastings St). The bird is loosely associating with Red-capped and Double-banded Plovers. Birds seen at this site include:

Whimbrel
Bar-tailed Godwit
Little-Pied Cormorant
Silver Gull
Crested Tern
Red-capped Plover
Hooded Plover
Double-banded Plover
Beach Stone-curlew (pair)
Sacred Kingfisher

Stopped in at Perry Point (Coolum) to find:

Osprey
Crested tern
Sooty Oystercatcher
Sacred Kingfisher (clinging to side of rock stack near pounding waves like a marine tree-creeper)

Russ Lamb, Maleny
Sat 19/6/10
Glenn McRae
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 9:02 am
Location: Stanthorpe, Qld

Post by Glenn McRae »

I will be heading to Noosa tonight to look for the Hooded Plover and others tomorrow. I will let you all know how I do.
cheers
Glenn McRae
It's a good day when you learn something new
Rod Hobson
Posts: 509
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:03 am

Arctic Tern in Queensland

Post by Rod Hobson »

Folks,

The recent sightings of Hooded Plover and Arctic Tern at the Noosa River mouth have set the local birding community abuzz; certainly two good finds. I've never seen Hooded Plover in Queensland but do have an old record of Arctic Tern from Fraser Island. I've just spent the past couple of hours going back over my field notes to find the details. I eventually came upon them in my entry for 15.05.1996. On that day I was showing a visiting birder from South Africa, Marc Botha around the island. We were at Ocean Lake, which lies in the north of Fraser Island, when Marc drew my attention to a tern flying low over the lake's surface. We watched the bird for some time with Marc giving a running commentary on the field marks that distinguished it as the Europese Grysbors-seeswael, or Arctic Tern. He was familiar with the bird from South Africa, which was very convenient for me, as I was able to scribble notes on field marks throughout. These jottings later confirmed Marc's initial identification of the bird as an Arctic Tern; my one and only record for Australia.

A quick scan of the literature regarding the Arctic Tern in Queensland reveals very few records. 'HANZAB' Vol. 3, p. 670 states, " Aust. All records singles unless stated. Qld Cairns, 25, 28 Dec. 1978; Carbrook-Redland Bay, 1980; Buchan's Point, 28 Oct. 1980 (Aust. Atlas). Unverified record, Cairns, 3 Dec. 1979 (Wren 1980)." Also, relevant to our general region 'HANZAB' records a single bird just over the border at North Creek, Ballina, 9 April 1984 sourced from the 'NSW Bird Report 1984'.

Greg Roberts (1979) says of the species, "Vagrant. C. Corben has observed at least three individuals in southern Moreton Bay and off Stradbroke Island in March, May and August."

The most complete data for this bird in south-east Queensland waters, however, are from Smyth and Corben (1984), that contain five sightings, all from Stradboke Island viz. single birds sighted on 18 Mar. 1973, 9 Aug. 1982, 11 Jun. 1983, 13 Jun. 1983, 10. Jul. 1983, however the autors do state, "The three sightings in 1983 were undoubetdly of the same individual."

Another interesting fact arises in that Greg Roberts' booklet was published in 1979 and Chris Corben and Anita Smyth only have a single record of the Arctic Tern from Stradbroke Island before that year (March 1973). Hence it can be deduced that, at least, an additional two individuals had been sighted in 'southern Moreton Bay' by Chris between March 1973 and 1979, the publication date of Greg's booklet.

And I feel very privleged just to have seen one!

Regards,
Rod Hobson

References:

Higgins, P.J. and Davies, S.J.J.F. (Eds) (1996). 'Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Vol. 3: Snipe to Pigeons.' Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Roberts,G.J. (1979). 'The Birds of South-east Queensland' p. 20. Queensland Conservation Council, Brisbane.

Smyth, A.K. & Corben, C. in Coleman, R.J., Covacevich, J. & Davie, P. (Eds) (1984). 'Seabird Observations on North Stradbroke Island, Queensland', pp. 363-9 in 'Focus on Stradbroke. New Information on North Stradbroke Island and surrounding areas 1974-1984.' Boolarong Publications, Brisbane.

Wren, J. (1980). 'Aust. Bird Watcher 8: 168-9.'
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