Apologies for the delay in posting this little write up, but since Sunday morning I have been struck down with an incredibly nasty gastric virus. Battling fever I took the day off work today but I thought now that I feel a little better I might post some photos.
As you can see from the photo, it was a busy day at Yorkey’s Knob. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stay as long as I would like but still I got some nice snaps of the waterbirds present. The weed that is usually on the lagoon seems to have increased since the last time I was here and with it the number of waterfowl species present. The usual suspects were there, being the Pacific Black Ducks (Anas superciliosa), Green Pygmy-geese (Nettapus pulchellus) and a lone Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae). The new arrivals were some Grey Teals (Anas gracilis) and Wandering Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna arcuata).
One thing I noticed was that as the weed increases, the number of Pelecaniformes seems to decrease. For the first time on Saturday, I saw absolutely no birds from this order at the lagoon. Amazing to see how the habitat, no matter how it changes, is utilised to its maximum potential. If there is lots of clear water, cormorants and darters will be present, if there is lots of weed, a larger variety of waterfowl are present. Here are some photos of the Grey Teal:
The Wandering Whistling-ducks have a rather strange habit of sticking together in tight groups, as can be seen from the photo of a raft of them at Cattana Wetlands posted Saturday. Their behaviour was no different at Yorkey’s although I noticed it is limited to when the birds are not feeding.
Some other interesting sightings were a lone Chestnut-breasted Mannikin (Lonchura castaneothorax) perched on powerlines next to the lagoon and this Yellow Oriole (Oriolis flavocinctus). I know the Oriole is fairly common, but take a look this photo with its throat extended while calling!
Overall it was well worth the stop. It was the first time I have seen Grey Teal in Queensland.
