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Byron Bird Buddies

BELONGIL ESTUARY AND BIRD OBSERVATIONS
For 1st July to 28th August, 2006

As a new locality group with BVL the Belongil Bird Buddies are looking forward to being associated with an active and committed group of people who care for all aspects of our environment. This report has been a part of BBBs activities since 2004 and aims to give an account on bird observations and happenings associated with the Belongil Estuary as well as some general BB activities.

The Belongil Estuary (photo, right) and the surrounding littoral rainforest is one of the great places to view birds in the Brunswick Valley and like all coastal environments the Belongil estuaryis dynamic. Due to severe weather events over the past eighteen months the environment at the estuary has been constantly changing.  Each visit the scene is different. Since my last report at the end of June when the creek opened to the sea, north of  the Becton Bayside building, the creek now opens to the sea south of where the building use to be (it was pulled down a couple of weeks ago).

Further erosion has occurred to the front dunes with slumping of the larger dune. The dune is so undercut it is about to collapse and  all the garden refuse, which has been used in the past to stabilise the dune, is about to be tipped into the creek. Where there was once a board and chain access which gently sloped to the beach, there is now a 3 meter drop and access is almost impossible. An old fence and a number of car tyres have been revealed and this was apparently used as a form of beach protection in 1975. But for the birds it’s great, a large sand spit provides a resting place for the gulls and terns with 250 Crested Terns being counted in one visit in August.

The protected area behind the temporary fence is once again a nursery. The Pied Oystercatchers have hatched one chick, now one week old. Not all good news though as the second egg was abandoned. The Red-capped Plovers eggs have gone from their nest but no chicks in sight, and the Osprey which definitely had two chicks in the nest a couple of weeks ago appear to have none now and over the week-end a juvenile skeleton was found on the ground under the nest.

On the inner tidal flats at low tide and foraging for food  was a lone Pacific Golden Plover, five Double-banded Plovers, Great Egret, Black-winged Stilts and on the island the Beach Stone-curlew. The air was filled with the sound of Rainbow Bee-eaters, their numbers have increased considerably over the last few weeks as they seek suitable sand slopes to tunnel their nests.

Belongil Bird Buddies celebrated a season launch at Oski Art Supplies August 13th in support of a fellow BB photo exhibition, exhibiting photos of birds from the Belongil. The exhibition is on for a couple of more weeks. We meet generally once a month and have an on-site presence when ever we can and over the breeding season we need to increase our presence mainly educating the public and monitoring the birds. If you wish to assist please feel free to contact Sarah Harris, birdbuddygroup@yahoo.com.au

Our feature bird

Double-banded Plover 

Five Double Banded Plovers have been spent the winter months at the estuary. These birds breed in the New Zealand summer and migrate to the warmer Australian east coast, usually arriving in autumn and leave during the spring months. 

Recognisable by the double black and chestnut breast band (see photo) they are the only small plover in Aust, with two breast bands.

As they are in the non-breeding phase during their visit here the bands fade to a dull brown and may be broken centrally and they may also look similar to the smaller female Red-capped Plover.  People are usually unaware of their presence on the beach as they are well camouflaged; they huddle down and hide in the sand depressions and amidst beach flotsam.
Their behaviour is typical of small plovers, stopping and starting frequently as they run in short bursts when disturbed and also when  foraging for food.

Bird list for July and August

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