Rare bird sightings attract twitterers to Peterborough
“Peterborough, what a place to be!” exclaimed birdwatcher Matthew Crawford on Trevor Chappell’s Victorian Afternoons program on ABC Radio
Melbourne, on Thursday 28-Nov-2024.
There has been a recent influx of rare birds in Victoria, and especially so in Peterborough. And, as you would expect, there has been a few more visitors to the estuary and beaches looking for these rare birds. While these birds are rare in Peterborough, they are not necessarily on the endangered species lists yet.
Long toed Stint
The Long toed Stint is a small wader who loves estuary wetlands and mudflats. It breeds in the north of Asia and rarely flies as far south as Peterborough. It feeds on small crustaceans, insects and snails.
Curlew Sandpipers
The Curlew Sandpiper comes from the tundra of Russia also. And while it is reddish in plumage like the Knot, it has a longer, finer beak which turns down a little. In flight its large white rump patch helps identify it from other sandpipers.
Wood Sandpiper
The Wood Sandpiper is a small slender bird with a distinctive white brow line. It is a cautious and nervous bird, bursting into flight if disturbed. It will zig-zag off and call call loudly, then generally glide gracefully to ground again if reassured.
Common Sandpiper
The Common Sandpiper is a small bird who has a distinctive tail bob. It is a paleartic bird, this means that if you draw line line from north Africa, through across the Himalayas and Asia, everywhere above that is paleartic.
Red Knot
The red knot is a medium-sized shorebird, a type of sandpiper. It breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a stocky bird and the reddish tinge is more marked during the breeding period.