A banded pelican and Pohowera

A couple of noteworthy observations yesterday evening at Cairn Curran.

Firstly, a largish flock of Australian Pelicans, eighteen in total. I’ve seen larger flocks previously, perhaps up to fifty birds. They were resting on an exposed mud bank about 100 metres off-shore. The third image below shows a banded bird, a numbered blue band on the right leg with what looked like the digits 112. A metal ring, likely also numbered but indiscernible, was on the left tarsus.

As well as three Black-fronted Dotterels and a lone Red-capped Plover I found a single Double-banded Plover (Pohowera), clearly identified before it flew and my only observation of this species so far this winter. The blurry flight shot helps confirm the ID, showing the narrow white wing-bar and lack of white in the tail. This species is a winter visitor from Aotearoa (New Zealand) – see here for more.