Wandering Tattler _Soldiers Point, NSW.

A Wandering Tattler had been seen at Soldiers Point by Alan Morris so there was a good chance that it would still be there when I paid a visit the next day. We timed our 4pm visit to coincide with the low tide as access to the rock shelf is tide dependant.

I was initially concerned as there were no obvious birds present. We headed to the far eastern end and after a few minutes of searching found a group of Red-necked Stints and Ruddy Turnstones. Then a wave crashed onto the shelf flushing all the birds out into an open area. A lone tattler was seen, which immediately caught my attention as it appeared darker than tattlers normally seen here. I was able to approach reasonably close. A series of waves drove the bird closer.


It's behaviour also seemed different, as it was very active and when it became aware of my presence it started  bobbing its bum. After a short time it got accustomed to my presence and settled down to feeding at about 10 metres distance. I got some images that  I was reasonably happy with, though I will try for more in better light.

I would suspect that this is the same bird that was earlier reported at Long Reef.

Normally I wouldn't go out of my way to get an image of a particular bird, but given that this is a rarity and was in my local patch I think it was worth the effort. The experience will also allow me to better identify this species in the future.