To build up an appetite for Christmas lunch, I
went for a walk round Point Cook, on Port Phillip Bay about 20 km west of
Melbourne city centre - easily reached by following the signs from
the Westgate Freeway.
We visited Spectacle Lake which has shrunk to about
one-third its winter size, where there were a few waders, Marsh Sandpiper,
Greenshank and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper plus Black-tailed Native Hen
and Australian Shelduck.
At Point Cook itself (near the homestead) there was a
flock of about 1000 waders feeding on the beach, on the falling tide.
These were predominately Curlew Sandpiper and Red-necked Stint
with a few Sharpies and Red Knot.
Amongst this
throng was one Broad-billed Sandpiper (I apologise to the Melbourne and Victorian birders for not posting this
earlier, but I only discovered the rarity value of this sighting
yesterday). My field notes are as follows:-
Larger than a Red-necked Stint, smaller than Curlew
Sandpiper. Most distinctive features a broad white supercilium
extending from in front of eye to well-behind the eye. Bill proportionally
longer than Red-necked Stint's but shorter than Curlew Sandpiper's
although also down-curved. There seemed to be a reddish tinge to the
base of the lower mandible otherwise the bill was black. The legs were
dark, possibly greenish. Wings extended just beyond the tail. The
bird's upperparts were greyish, but not as grey or as uniform as Curlew
Sandpiper. Breast and undersides to the undertail coverts were white. There
was fine grey
streaking on the ear coverts, extending onto the side
of the neck and throat. There was a dark spot or patch on the wing
between the bend of the wing and where it joins the body.
I looked hard for the split eye-strip but could not
see it. I did not see the bird fly and so did not see the rump pattern.
When I left the bird was happily feeding. (any comments on these notes
would be gratefully received)
One other sighting of interest was a dark phase Skua
heading past the point a long way out. I tentatively identified it as
an Arctic Skua because it did not look powerful enough for a
Pomarine. However, there was nothing else with which to compare it and it was a
long way out.
