My partner and I made an impromptu visit to the Yorkeys Knob Golf Club lagoon this evening just to see what was around. I spotted two Bush Stone-Curlews (Burhinus grallarius) on arrival in the field across from the course.
Another species present I haven’t seen on the lagoon before is the Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae). There was one pair present, and as the light was patchy at best, here is a crop of the best shot I got.
Species also spotted that really caught our eye were a single Darter (Anhinga melanogaster), one Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus), four Green Pygmy-Geese (Nettapus pulchellus), a number of Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus) and approximately twelve Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) that were working the surface of water with incredible speed and zest. The strangest sighting was a lone Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) that engaged us with a long calling display from a log on the island. Special thanks to Mark Young for his help with the ID of this feral species (although I doubt this bird was part of a feral population). The photos and videos I got of it were sketchy so I think I will leave them out!
