Curlews still arriving
- Jewels
- Aug 4, 2018
- 2 min read
On the 27th July we had a special treat that lasted for 4 days, some visiting black swans feeding in the weed beds off Fisherman's Bay.
By the 29th July Curlew numbers had grown to 4. On the 30th July this was up to 5 and by today we are now seeing 8. This weekend has traditionally been the peak arrival days. I remember this as this is the bank holiday weekend. I can always remember arriving for this weekend and by the Monday seeing our almost full complement of curlews for the season. I am hoping that by Monday our numbers have significantly grown, but they could be later this year because of all the problems with food supply along the migration route.
We still have the full complement of 25 double-banded plovers. Some are more coloured up than others so unsure when their departure date will be. They are working hard to preserve energy as they are moving from the point of the Spit up to the Bonnie Vale end to dig in amongst the wrack and grass up there to keep out of the strong winds prevalent at this time of year.
I welcomed a new volunteer for our nesting season yesterday. Wendy lives at Lindfield, in the northern suburbs, so truly an extraordinary effort on her part to volunteer to travel down here to help protect the endangered nesting oystercatchers. Wonderful to see the message getting out there that volunteers are needed if the beach nesting birds in public spaces in Sydney are to have a chance at survival. Such as shame that this is the closest beach for her in Sydney where shorebirds still nest. Thankyou Wendy. I hope our oystercatchers try nesting this year, as they missed out last year, and you have a chance to help them out.
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