Most small migratory wading birds – sandpipers, stints and snipes, for example – are from the northern hemisphere, where they breed during our winter.
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An exception is the double-banded plover, which comes to us for winter from its breeding sites in New Zealand. The other migratory waders come here for our summer. Our district’s first double-banded plover reports this year were from mid-February at Lake Learmonth. For most of their time here, they are in their non-breeding plumage, which is basically dull brown with a buff or gold tinge.
We don’t often see them in their “double-banded” finery, but perhaps we will be lucky enough to do so before they depart for New Zealand in July or August. Then their breasts will be bright white, with a narrow black band at the top and a wider, rusty-brown one not far below it.
Their presence here in July or August will depend on the level of Lake Learmonth, which may then be too high for them to stay.
Perhaps they will move from there to Lake Goldsmith, another local lake at which they are sometimes seen. They are sometimes also seen at Lake Burrumbeet. Their main food is small water snails, crustaceans and insects.
A substantial proportion – but not all – of the population migrates from New Zealand to Australia for the winter. Its preferred range while here is on the Victorian coast. The double-banded plover does not breed in Australia.
Lake Learmonth was still hosting three or four double-banded plovers at Easter time, along with red-necked stints from Siberia and red-capped plovers and red-kneed dotterels from Australia. There were also more than 100 red-necked avocets (also Australian).
RAT CATCHER
The kookaburra is not usually considered a rat catcher, but a recent photo proves otherwise. The photo shows a kookaburra with a large young rat in its beak. The rat is both thicker and longer than the bird’s big beak.
Kookaburras are well-known for snake catching, so it is no surprise that they also catch rats. Actually, kookaburras only occasionally take snakes, and they take mostly the smaller ones.
Larger prey is battered and squashed before being swallowed whole. A rat would make a nice meal for a kookaburra, easing its hunger for a long time before it felt the need to hunt again.
