Birding in the Maroochy River at Maroochydore

On Monday myself and three friends decided to go out birding on the Maroochy River. Two of my friends had a small boat so they towed their boat down and we went out on that. The weather didn't look too good as we arrived with a few showers but the sun came out within a few minutes and we only had a few light showers for the entire morning. It was a mixture of sun and cloud cover for the morning so I found myself constantly changing the settings on the camera. We were unsure of what we would see but it was one of the most successful birding trips for any of us for the number of new species that we saw in such a short time. We were mainly after water and sea birds and we found a good number of species.

A few minutes after we took to the water we spotted a pair of Ospreys on the northern bank of the river in a dead tree. We were unable to get through to photograph them though. Just as we were pulling away from the bank one come and landed in the tree on the edge of the bank.

Osprey

The same Osprey

While we were photographing the Osprey a Brahminy Kite was spotted gliding across the river.

Brahminy Kite

We then spotted a large bird in a tree on the bank of Goat Island. We thought it may be a White-bellied Sea-Eagle. As we got a little closer we realised it wasn't near big enough and eventually we saw that it was another Osprey.

Another Osprey

While photographing this Osprey a bird flew from the edge of the bank and landed on a mangrove just down from where we were.  We slowly moved the boat closer and found a Whimbrel. This specimen showed very well and was not fazed by the approaching boat. This is the first time I have ever seen a wader roosting in a tree. We were able to get within 15 meters of the bird to obtain some great shots.

A Whimbrel perched on a mangrove

One of my mates spotted a Pied Oystercatcher just a bit further up the bank. So we slowly moved towards it. As we got closer we realised it was missing one foot. Most likely it had been tangled in fishing line. The missing foot had healed over and it seemed to get around without any problems. It was sad to see the bird like this but great that it had adapted.

Pied Oystercatcher

As soon as we got these photos a White-faced Heron landed on a tree back near where we photographed the Whimbrel. I could see that the position it was in and the lighting was perfect so we went back to get a photo. I got a couple of great shots before it flew off and landed in the same tree the Whimbrel was in. The Whimbrel didn't want the company as it flew off as the heron landed.

White-faced Heron

The White-faced Heron landing and the Whimbrel taking flight

We decided to head towards the mouth of the river on the northern bank of the river. We could see many sea birds flying around. As we were approaching we could see that dogs were chasing the birds from the sand. We could see that most of the birds had disappeared by the time we got there thanks to irresponsible dog owners.

We started walking along the sand and we noticed many small birds standing on the sand. Like many birds they were resting on one leg. As we approached we saw one jumping away on one leg. I was saddened to think another bird had been disfigured. As we came closer to the flock we saw most of the birds were jumping along the sand on one leg. We realised that is how they move short distances as shortly after they had two legs on the ground and began to scurry along the sand. The two species that remained on the sand were a small flock of about 15 Red-capped Plovers and about 20 Double-banded Plovers. This was the first time I had seen either of these species.

A Red-capped Plover preening

Red-capped Plover

Double-banded Plover

Part of the flock of Double-banded Plovers

Another Double-banded Plover

A Double-banded Plover at North Shore

Another Red-capped Plover

As we were heading back to the boat we noticed a lone Gull-billed Tern standing on the sand. It was quite approachable. We managed to get a few good shots before it took flight.

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern in flight

As we were getting back on the boat we could see many birds sitting on a sandbank in the river. As we approached we could see that there was a pair of Pied Oystercatchers and a flock of Whimbrels resting. At the back of the sandbank we noticed one larger bird that looked very similar to the Whimbrels except for the size difference and the massive bill. It was a single Eastern Curlew, which is actually the world's largest wader. None of the birds even moved as we steadily moved the boat  as close as we could get to the sandbank.

A flock of Whimbrels resting on the sandbank

Close up of some of the resting Whimbrels

Eastern Curlew

Pied Oystercatcher

As we moved the boat back towards the mouth of the river my friends spotted some of the birds that flew off when they were chased by dogs. They had landed on one of the bigger sandbanks in the river away from the dogs. It took quite a while to get around to this sandbank as we had to take it steady as the water was so shallow for much of the route. Just before we arrived we could see a few children, probably 8 to 12 years old chasing all the birds continuously. As soon as they landed away from the kids they would run after them and chase them again. The 2 older men that were with them didn't even seem to mind about the problems the children were causing. I wanted to say something to them about chasing the birds around but my mates talked me out of it. Once we arrived they left on their boat which I was very pleased about, otherwise I may not have been able to stop myself. It is sad to think that these people had no respect for the birds.

The flock was a mixed flock of many different species. The larger part of the flock that was closer probably consisted of 300 - 400 birds. At the back of the sandbank was another smaller mixed flock of about 100 - 150 birds. I didn't attempt to view the smaller flock as I would have disturbed the larger flock to get to them. Some of the species in the flock were Silver Gulls,  Pacific Golden Plovers, Crested Terns, Common Terns, Little Terns and White-winged Black Terns.

Part of the larger flock

Another section of the large mixed flock

Four Pacific Golden Plovers (background)

Crested Tern

Some more coming in to land

Common Terns taking a bath

Common Terns with a Little Tern

More Common Terns with another Little Tern

Crested Terns, Common Terns and White-winged Black Terns

Golden Plovers, Common Terns and White-winged Black Terns

White-winged Black Tern coming in to land 

An Australian Pelican flying overhead

White-winged Black Tern in full breeding plumage (centre) 

 

Part of the mixed flock after some more arrived

More of the mixed flock after some other birds arrived

Common Tern

Little Tern

Crested Tern, Common Terns and White-winged Black Terns

Silver Gull, Common Terns and White-winged Black Terns

 

Artic Tern (front) with Common Terns

Common Tern coming in to land

This Crested Tern just landed



Four Golden Plovers with a Silver Gull and a variety of terns

We had a great morning out with lots of bird sightings and we managed to get a lot of great shots. It was great going out with some different people as well. Hopefully we can do it again soon.

More updates and pics coming soon.

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Australian Birds KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY