bar-tailed godwit

Barge rousse - Limosa lapponica - Bar-tailed Godwit

Taken on the early morning low tide .

Bar tailed Godwit

And that's it for that day at the mudflats. In fact, I don't think I saw much at the mudflats after that day either ... a couple of Oystercatchers, but no good photos. Oh well. Spring will come eventually.

Actually, mudflat ... but with a Common Sandpiper and a Bar-tailed Godwit.

There were also two species of godwits there that day. Bar-tails are the ones with the slightly upturned bill, right? This one was already in winter plumage.

A snap from a few months ago of this long distance migrant. The bird with the longest non-stop flight (Subsp baueri 11500 Km: Alaska - New Zealand). And the most amazing thing is that it digests its organs along the way to sustain the flight (autophagy). Once it reaches the destination, the...

These immature birds can remain in Australia for between two to four years before making their first long haul Northwards.

More and more coming into breeding colours at the moment gathering for their long flight north.

One of the exciting things about Lady Elliot Island is that you never know what will turn up, blown in by winds. The bird total for this tiny island of 45 hectares is 103!! There were two of these Godwits there.

On the left are two turnstones on the beach, the tattler on the shoreline and two grey plovers and two godwits in the water. On the right behind the three dunlins and the two other turnstones are two great knots and two more godwits.

These bird are now stating to moult into their breeding colours. Final result should have no white feathers at all.

Starting to colour up before their long journey northwards in a few weeks time .

Taken at the onset of the falling tide. In the foreground, from left to right: terek sandpiper, sharp-tailed sandpiper, two lesser sand plovers, red-necked stint, another lesser sand plover and a bar-tailed godwits. Two more tereks and two more godwits in the background.

I had no idea the Godwit was there until I was studying the pictures a couple of weeks ago! A rather nice surprise LOL Herring Gulls seem to like company, don't they. We still had a while to wait for the ferry, but it was a nice place to hang around.

There were two windows overlooking different pools (almost qualifying as lakes! LOL) Sadly most of the birds were a little distant for a small camera, though my 40x zoom did its best. I moved to the other window leaving Ann photographing Swallows in flight! Top of the picture is a Bar-tailed...

Not the greatest of pictures, but I do so like godwits and like to record what I've seen at different places. Another rather distant and well cropped image. Been round the block a few times, trying to confirm the ID and the consensus seems to be a Bar-tailed, which I believe is what we thought...