This second survey of the season will be remembered by those who came for the choppy seas and soaking spray, courtesy of rather strong NW winds. Two of us will remember it for another reason – because 2 of us saw a Spoon-billed Sandpiper! But 2 of us didn’t! I was in the latter group, though not for want of trying. A few other shots from the day below.
Brown-headed Gulls were ready to go, and numbers were well down on last month’s count.
One or two craggi race Common Redshanks stood out from the crowd as they had begun to develop their foxy brown plumage (upper right).
A mixed flock of Common Redshanks and Terek Sandpipers.
Lighting conditions were variable and the haze further hampered things.
At other times the sun was out, providing perfect lighting for this photo of a Marsh Sandpiper.
The usual suspects – a mixed flock of Red-necked Stints, Broad-billed Sandpipers and Curlew Sandpipers.
There were a couple of Asian Dowitchers starting to come into nice red plumage.
A Black-tailed (right) and Bar-tailed Godwit dwarfing surrounding Curlew Sandpipers.
Spoonie fail! We spent a lot of time scouring the stints for the Spoonie – not easy from a rocking and rolling boat. And there were plenty of Red-necked Stints intent on fooling us. This one stood right in front of the primary projection of the bird behind, causing a missed heartbeat!
The really devious ones were those which went around with clods of congealed mud stuck to their bills. These are easy enough to discount on a still photo, but a lot more difficult when things are moving about! For more on the differences between real and fake Spoonies, see here!
Dig deep 
Yes, those “stints-posing-as-spoonies” get me going on a regular basis, too !
Most waders have left around Melbourne now so it’s nice to be able to follow them in your part of the world.