Check my birding map for specific location.
France and Wrights Road is south of Cairns close to Edmonton. It is a just a series of connected roads with some houses and most importantly, a turf farm. There are also sugar cane fields and other crops I couldn't identify. I visited in the hopes of seeing Pectoral Sandpiper and Yellow Wagtail that had been reported on eBird. I was a bit uncomfortable driving or wandering the roads around the turf farm with a large camera. I have subsequently been told the residents and farm owners don't mind birders visiting at all as long as they respect the bio-security of the area.
Anyway, I didn't spend too long here but it was rewarding. Walking along the cane field saw me flush a Latham's Snipe and I saw several Buff-banded Rail. A bit of lurking around enabled me to photograph one. Maybe if I didn't lurk, I wouldn't feel uncomfortable? Something to think about.
Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis)
On the fields were lots of birds including Golden Plovers and Whistling Ducks. Further on, there was a patch of open ground opposite the cane field I found a family of Black-fronted Dotterel. Not an uncommon bird but always good to shoot.
Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)
Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops)
Lastly, I looked further across into the fields and saw Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and possibly a Pectoral (it wasn't). I took lots of photographs so I could check the identification later. It was only on processing them that I found I had actually taken a photo of the wagtail. I had not even seen it when I was there. Annoying.
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis)
Maybe I will return to France Road again with other birders so I feel more comfortable and can actually bird properly.
eBird list
No comments:
Post a Comment