ORIENTAL PRATINCOLE

Photographed at long distance on Dampier Creek, near Broome, September 2016

 809      ORIENTAL PRATINCOLE         Glareola maldivarum

Australia         (653)

Also known as Swallow Plover. 23-24 cm, wingspan c. 60-65 cm. found on plains; shallow wet and dry edges of open bare wetlands; tidal mudflats, beaches. Breeds Pakistan, India, parts of SE Asia, China, Japan and Philippines: migrates to spend Nov.-Feb. or later, from coastal nw. WA to Top End (NT) and Gulf country of nw Q. Within Australia nomadic depending on rainfall, huge companies (tens of thousands) suddenly appearing over plains, then moving on.

Photographed at Grey River (north of Port Hedland, WA) Sept 2016

LITTLE CURLEW

Photographed at Broome (WA), September 2016

808             LITTLE CURLEW        Numinous minutus

Australia         (652)

Also known as Little Whimbrel. 30-36 cm. Found on dry grasslands, floodplains, margins of drying swamps; tidal flats, airfields, playing fields crops, commercial salt fields, sewerage ponds. Breeds Arctic Siberia: migrates from s. China to s. PNG and n. Aust in Sept., returning by April. Very large numbers disperse over grasslands of n. WA, NT and nw Q in wet season; singles or small parties casual to c., e. and se Aust. in summer; vagrant to Tas.

ASIAN DOWITCHER

Photographed(bird in the middle) at Broome Bird Observatory, September 2016

807              ASIAN DOWITCHER        Limnodromus semipalmatus

Australia         (651)

Also known as Asiatic Dowitcher. 33-36 cm; female larger, longer bill. Found on tidal mudflats, beaches, commercial salt fields, sewerage ponds. Breeds in c. and e. Siberia, Mongolia, ne China: winters from Persian Gulf to coastal mudflats of Indonesia. Scarce but regular summer migrant to coastal n. Aust. (Sept-April); mostly abundant from Top End (NT) to Port Hedland (WA). Casual elsewhere.

ORIENTAL PLOVER

Photographed near Broome Bird Observatory, September 2016

806             ORIENTAL PLOVER       Charadrius veredus

Australia         (650)

Found on open plains; bare, rolling country, often far from water; ploughed land; muddy or sandy wastes near inane swamps or tidal mudflats, bare playpens; margins of coastal marshes; grassy airfields, sport fields, lawns. 22-25 cm, wingspan 46-53 cm. Breeds in Mongoliaand Manchuria; regular summer migrant to Aust. (Sept-March). Records all states, but regular across coastal and n. inland.

BARN SWALLOW

Photographed in Broome, September 2016

805              BARN SWALLOW             Hirundo rustica     

Australia         (649)

Also known as Common or European Swallow. 16-17 cm. Found above open country; agricultural land, especially near water; railcards, towns, overhead wires. Widespread in Northern Hemisphere, ‘winters’ in s hemisphere.East Asian race gutturalise regular non-breeding summer migrant to Philippines, Indonesia, PNG, and n. Aust, mostly Sept-March. Now seen regularly, annually from Kimberley (WA) to ne. and se. Q; vagrant to e. NSW, c SA, n. Vic.