Sea Eagles playing in late afternoon.

Here are some images (combined) of two White-bellied Sea Eagles, (Haliaeetus leucogaster) (one a juvenile bird) playing together along the beach at Shoalhaven Heads yesterday.

Click to enlarge this compound image.

4 combined images of two Sea Eagles, one single shot of juvenile bird.

Other species of birds seen along the beach, on the way to the whale were as follows.

Red-capped Dotterels

I believe the smaller birds in this next image are Pacific Golden Plovers (Pluvialis fulva), but I am not very experienced with Waders.

Click to enlarge the image.

Pacific Golden Plovers (I think) and Bar-tailed Godwits

This was a surprise when I developed the image - one of the Pied Oystercatchers I was following had a yellow "flag" clearly numbered 35, on its right leg.

Australian Pied Oystercatcher, with numbered "flag" on leg,

I am hoping that Mick may be able to give me a clue as to where to report this tagged bird. As far as I know these Oystercatchers are not migratory, but even so, the dated "sighting" might just add to the knowledge base of the life cycle of these birds. But I need to be able to report the sighting to the appropriate persons.

*****

Feedback so far:

30/12/2010 Information gathered so far on the "flagging" of Waders in Australia. I have emailed the local, national contacts, and the most likely person in north-west Western Australia who uses the same positioning code of yellow flag on the tibia of the bird. As Mark Clayton noted, there appears to be no metal band to match the yellow flag.

Shorebird Color Flagging Protocol on the EAAF (by color)
Upper leg Lower leg Country Location
Yellow no flag AUSTRALIA N Western Australia
http://www.shorebird-network.net/PDFs/EAAF-Flagging-Protocol-EAAF-1Nov2010Review.pdf

http://www.shorebird-network.net/PDFs/Asia-Pacific-Flyways-leg-flags.pdf

 

All reports of flag sightings will be replied to, even if you see the same flag colour many times. Please report all sightings. Report all sightings to mintons@ozemail.com.au .