By Lake Cargelligo Birds

New bird alert!
This takes the local bird count to #227. The newest addition to the list is the Australian Pratincole.
We totally expected to see this bird, much much sooner than 7-8 years of searching!! It seemed to match the descriptions, why weren’t we seeing them around Lake Cargelligo? The distribution map showed that they extend out to our area. The habitat description seemed to fit, “vicinity of water on inland plains”.
I checked records and there had in fact been very few records. Only several sightings in the last TWENTY YEARS!!
It came as no surprise as to the location we finally located these beauties. Just near Chat Alley! Its open plains out there, loads of grass, healthy from all the rain so abundance of insects. Water closeby. An ideal location. We have been searching since 2017 so you have to wonder what took them so long? Probably a case of having few migrate here, and just being missed.
But not this time! Thanks to friends of ours, Meg & Neil – who did a whirlwind trip out to Chat Alley and found them feeding beside the road. They said that the shape of their wings as they flew away caught their attention.
The Australian Museum website gives this description “On the ground, it is like a plover, running and darting along on its long legs catching insects. However, in flight it is more like a tern, flying elegantly with long, narrow wings.”
This is only our second new bird for the year. BUT it will come as no surprise to us if we see a few more soon, as the birds currently turning up to Lake Cargelligo is unreal!

Source and Image Credits: Lake Cargelligo Birds Facebook page.