Cairns Esplanade Take Two

Back in Cairns now and we have till three-thirty before we have to return the van. Arriving at the Esplanade with a falling tide not preferable, but it’s not so bad because it’s still pretty high. It is best to view shorebirds on a rising tide because the birds will get closer and closer to you as the tide rises. Obviously on a falling tide they get farther and farther away. But the way the tides are today and the stuff that we have to do in the afternoon make it impossible to bird this area with a rising tide, still we plan to return this afternoon. 

Right away I noticed several Gray-tailed Tattlers, Black-fronted Dotterels, and groups of Red-necked Stints and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers . Scanning the tide flats I pick up Far-eastern Curlew, Whimbrels and a Common Greenshank. So far nothing new till a local comes and tells me that he had seen a few Terek Sandpipers near the mangroves. So I grabbed my scope and headed that way. Brian stayed behind because the guy also mentioned a Superb Fruit-Dove in a tree over by the grassy area behind the boardwalk. 

I scanned the mudflats near the mangroves. I saw more tattlers, a few Curlew Sandpipers and some Great Knots. Working left to right I found a sandpiper that was sprinting across the mudflat. He was running with his body leaning forward and his head pointed straight ahead and down. I followed him until he stopped and then I noticed the up-turned bill of a Tarek Sandpiper. When I first learned about vagrant birds, that is birds that live in other areas but due to a storm or light pollution or God knows what they end up in your town. county, or state and it is your sworn duty as a birder to get out and find them. 

This is an aspect of birding that most people don't know about. And if you get into birding be careful because it can easily consume you during the bi-annual migrations. Like the Curlew Sandpiper, the Tarek is a bird that I have dreamed of finding or seeing in the United States., preferably Oregon, Eugene Oregon to be precise, in my yard to be exact. Okay that deserves a JK (just kidding). 

One thing that I really love about shorebirds is the variety of bill shapes and sizes. Think about the Far-Eastern Curlew's long down-curved bill, then you have the straight thick bill of a Dowitcher, The up-turned bill of the Tarek, and the Spoonbill Sandpiper is probably the best of them all. Still waiting to see that one. 

                                                   SPOONBILL SANDPIPER

                                          NOT MY PHOTO -- PHOTO IS FROM EBIRD

We decided to take a walk up the Esplanade because the tide was just getting too far out for us to have good looks at the birds. We were on a mission to find some Beach Stone Curlews that had been reported last week when we were in town. After walking for about a half hour we spotted them way out on the mud flat. I couldn't see them very well but these birds are very distinctive. They stand on long legs, have a long neck and an massive bill. We didn't have a scope, but no worries because for some reason they were moving pretty steadily right toward us. We stood still at this culvert where a trickling stream was making it's way out of the culvert and on to the mud flats. I was kicking myself because I had left my camera in the van. But the video I took with my phone turned out pretty well. 

After returning the van and checking into our hostel, we walked down to the Esplanade. When we got there the tide was really high and there were only one group of birds all huddled together on the last remaining non-flooded real estate. We hustled over to them and found that it was pretty crowded on the boardwalk too. This spot was close to the pool so it was a popular place to hang out. Luckily we were able to claim a good spot for viewing the birds and we had just enough space to set up our scopes, which is funny because as bad as we needed them earlier we didn't need them now. 

I started to scan the birds, oh my God!, such a beautiful Royal Spoonbill and there's a Great Knot with several Curlew Sandpipers. As I was photographing the Royal Spoonbill a gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and asked "what are you looking at"? I told him that I was a birder and I was looking at all of the birds. We then began to admire an unbelievably close Australian Pelican when he said that's a beautiful heron. I was pretty stunned and didn't know what to do. I was afraid that if I pointed out that it was a pelican he would be embarrassed. As I was pondering what to say he called to his wife, "honey come look at this heron". Okay so now his wife is going to think that I have shown her husband a pelican and claimed that it's actually a heron. So I say, "well actually this is an Australian Pelican". He says "no it is some kind of heron". Now I'm really kind of uncomfortable. I don't want to debate with this guy, but I'm thinking of just going with it and let him life-list his Pelican Heron. But then I hear Brain say, I think he's looking over there, and he points to an area so close to the boardwalk that you have to actually lean out a little to see the bird. I leaned out and was so relieved to see a Pacific Reef-Heron. 

                                                          ROYAL SPOONBILL

                                                        AUSTRALIAN PELICAN

                                                        PACIFIC REEF HERON

                                                   AUSTRALIAN IBIS

So I spent about a half hour with this guy and his wife. I pointed out the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and how they were different from the Curlew Sandpipers. How the Whimbrel is smaller in body and bill than the Far-eastern Curlew. These Aussies were from the bottom of the country (Victoria) and this was the top (Queensland). Also they weren't really birders, just interested in birds. We were continuing to have a good chat when a chap with a British accent came up and asked if we were birders. The Aussie answered for all of us and said "no not really, we just like to look at them". 

The Brit said "oh because he had heard that there was a probable Asian Dowitcher spotted earlier in the day. That's when I blurted out a little louder than I intended "I'm a birder!!". The guy didn't have binoculars and said "it was hanging out with a bunch of godwits". I looked and said "well there's a bunch of godwits". Being from the west coast of North America I'm very familiar with godwits and dowitchers. But I'm used to Marbled Godwits, not Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits! And Long and Short-billed Dowitchers not Asian Dowitchers. In fact I'd never even heard of or seen a picture of an Asian Dowitcher. Nevertheless, a godwit is a godwit and a dowitcher is a dowitcher. 

So I began to scan the godwits and right away I spotted the Asian Dowitcher. It was the bill that gave it away. The godwit's bill is long, slightly up-turned and tapered where the dowitcher has a long thick black bill and it's swollen at the tip. I said there it is and the Brit said "yeah that's it"! And we were all pretty excited, even the Aussies who just like to look at birds were pretty thrilled when they realized that this was a rare find. I was so stoked to get some pics of my first rare bird in another country! 

                                                        ASIAN DOWITCHER 

But the celebration didn't last long because the tide was lapping at the birds feet as they were perched on the tiny island just twenty feet away. In groups of five here and ten there they took flight to find some where to wait out the high tide. 

We all went through the introductions and I found out that this Brit lived in the Atherton Tablelands of Queensland and his girlfriend was from Minnesota. Both of them are professional wildlife photographers. She had just come back from photographing Grizzlies in Alaska this summer. She was telling me how when the bears are fishing, they basically couldn't care less about you and you can get really close. I said, no thanks, all it takes is one to decide that he doesn't care for people who get to close too him when he's eating.

After a bit we all said so long and Brian went into town and had some of the best Thai food I've ever had. Todo está bien! ---- oh wait -- wrong country --- good on ya mate!