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The Dunlin Near Melbourne by F December ] SMITH, The Dun/in near Melbourne 193 1969 The Dunlin Near Melbourne By F. T. H. SMITH, Kew, Victoria The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, may occur more often in Australia than the recorded notes and the following observations suggest. It is a very plentiful member of the Scolopacidae, which occurs right across the Northern Hemisphere in a number of subspecies. The Dunlin which breeds in England, C. a. schinzii, belongs to a small race of the species, which would be approximately the size of the Eastern Broad-billed Sandpiper, Limicola falcinellus sibirica, while the race that nests in eastern Siberia, C. a. sakhalina, pro­ bably the largest of the Dunlins, is closer in size to the Curlew­ Sandpiper, C. ferruginea, and the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, C. acu­ minata. It is this eastern variety of Dunlin which, because of its geogra­ phical position, would be the one most likely to stray to Australia. Although not normally migrating so far south it is possible that individuals, and perhaps even small groups of Dunlins, may be caught up with other waders that migrate immense distances, and find themselves carried well south of their usual limit. Apparently the Dunlin does not reach the shores of this country regularly, and earlier records of the species here appear to be lost. It is, nevertheless, a bird that could well be overlooked among numbers of Curlew-Sandpipers; as is the case of the Pectoral Sandpiper, C. melanotos, with the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper which has some similarity of appearance. At Altona, near Melbourne, during the past 15 years, suspected Dunlins have been reported from time to time. There had always been a large element of doubt in regard to the sightings both by the observer and sceptic alike, and rightly so under each set of the particular circumstances. On January 27, 1955, at the mouth of the Skeleton Creek, Altona Saltworks, I viewed closely a bird which I identified then as a Dunlin. It was associating with numbers of Curlew and Sharp­ tailed Sandpipers, Red-necked Stint, C. ruficollis, and a few Broad­ billed Sandpipers, allowing very good comparison views. I for­ warded a report of this sighting to the Convener of the Altona Survey Group, with the suggestion that it be kept in abeyance until the bird was seen again. At that time my experience with the waders was just beginning, although I knew what to look for in regard to field identification. On September 10, 1967, I was at the Altona Saltworks, observing the newly arrived waders, when I saw a lone bird flying near me, over a salt-pond. At first I thought it was a Curlew-Sandpiper till the bird heeled over a little in flight and revealed dark upper tail­ coverts, bordered with white. The bird alighted on an islet in the pond and, crouching down out of the wind, went to sleep. From what I had seen I thought the wader might be a Dunlin, but also considered the possibility of it being a more pallid than usual Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. 194 SMITH, The Dunlin near Melbourne [ Bird Watcher Before I could view the bird satisfactorily it flew several hundred yards and alighted on a narrow bare levee between salt­ ponds. It remained in this position as I approached and allowed me to get to less than 50 feet with a 10 x 50 binocular. Standing with the bird were three Curlew-Sandpipers, in non-breeding plumage, thus allowing fine comparison views. The strange wader, although closely resembling the Curlew-Sandpipers, stood out by its somewhat smaller size, shorter legs, slightly shorter bill, darker breast and more greyish upper parts. I watched the birds for several minutes as they stood in a hunched attitude. Then moving closer, I flushed them to see the markings of the upper parts in flight. As the birds flew the white rumps of the Curlew­ Sandpipers and the dark rump of the strange bird were clearly seen. I was now convinced that this bird was a Dunlin. It returned and as it was about to land, once again showing the upper parts to advantage, a Curlew-Sandpiper chased it away. On November 25, 1967, near the Altona Saltworks, a small wader flew low overhead, calling as it came down and alighted near-by. We were unable to find it again. The calls were strange to me but M. J. Carter, who knew the Dunlin in England, thought that they were similar to those of this species. R. T. Sympson obtained excellent views of a Dunlin on De­ cember 24, 1966, at Altona (Sympson 1968). Near the mouth of Skelton Creek, Altona, on March 3, 1968, a wader was noted standing on the edge of a shallow pool. It was somewhat like a pale Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, with a longer and slightly decurved bill, and dark olive legs. Some of the streaking on the breast was similar to that of the Pectoral Sand piper only it was more sparsely distributed. The bird flew to a shallow pond about 100 yards away, revealing a dark rump pattern, similar to that of the Sharp-tailed and Pectoral Sandpipers. It alighted among other waders, and from behind a bank of sand we were able to watch the bird, from a distance of 40 feet, for several minutes. It was quickly picked out from the other waders by its longish curved black bill, the dark streaked whitish breast and the darker, more mottled, upper parts. It was almost the size of the Sharp-tailed and Curlew-Sand­ pipers, but it differed from the former by the longer bill, dark legs, and paler general hue, and from the latter by the darker upper parts, uniformly streaked breast and shorter legs. The bird ap­ peared to be more like a pale, long-billed Sharp-tailed Sandpiper than a Curlew-Sandpiper. It was obviously not the Dunlin that was seen by Sympson in the same area in December 1967, as it had no injury to its foot. All the waders became alarmed and dispersed about the ponds, and we were unable to locate the Dunlin again. My field description of the Dunlin that was seen on March 3, 1968, is as follows. December ] SMITH, Mallard R ecords 195 1969 General appearance: About the same size, but lighter coloured than a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, with darker legs and a longer, more decurved bill. Upper parts: Hind-neck and wing-coverts greyish-brown with some sparse darker mottling. Crown dark grey and faint pale eye-stripe. Flight pattern similar to that of a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Narrow white wing-stripe and white sides to dark rump. Under parts: Off-white from chin to under tail-coverts. Breast pale dusky, with sparse short dark streaks, showing a fairly well defined cut­ off from the whitish lower area. Throat whitish. Bill: Black and about the same length as the bill of a medium size Curlew-Sandpiper. Noticeably longer than in the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and broad at base, gradually tapering with decurve distally. Legs: Dark with olive tinge in sunlight. Shorter than in the Curlew or Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Eye: Dark. Call: Not heard. REFERENCES Bannerman, D. A., 1961. The Birds of the British Isles. 9 : 232- 248. Stout, Matthiessen, Clem and Palmer, 1967. The Shorebirds of North America. 228, 230. Sympson, R. T., 1968. "The Dunlin at Altona, Victoria." The Australian Bird Watcher. 3 : 141. Witherby, Jourdain, Ticehurst and T ucker, 1948. The Handbook of British Birds. 4 : 232-240. Mallard Records from Werribee Sewerage Farm. A drake Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, was noted on Lake Borrie, at the Werribee Sewerage Farm, on April 29, 1967. The bird, in full adult plumage, was with a large number of Black Duck, A. superciliosa, Grey Teal, A. gibberifrons, and Chestnut Teal, A. castanea. On January 21, 1968, a duck Mallard, in company with several Black duck, was observed about the ponds, at the Werribee Farm. Both Mallards appeared to be good specimens with no visible external evidence of inter-breeding with other members of the Anatidae. On May 2, 1968, on a pond at the southern end of Farm Road, Werribee, there was a mated pair of Mallards. This pair may possibly be the birds mentioned above. -F. T. H. Smith, Kew, Victoria, 19/8/ 1968. VOL. 9 (2) JUNE 1981 SMITH: Retraction Victorian Dunlin records 43 evidence, or a combination of both of these. Finally it requires the examination of any specimens involved. The eggs held in the Tasmanian Museum under B 1551 / 5918 sh ould now be marked as 'Sterna fuscata L., collector, date, and locality un­ known, ex A. E . Brent Collection. At one time claimed to be from T he Friars, South Tasmania, November 1885, coli . A. L. Butler, ex A . E . Brent Coll ection.' T he present paper should be noted as the source. Acknowledgements I wish to thank Mr David Rounsevell, of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, for sending me a copy of Hindwood's 1946 paper; Messrs Andrews and McEvey for their assistance with the specimens, and Mr Sharland for his letter. References Hind wood, K. A. (1946), 'The White-fronted Tern (Sterna striata) in A ustralia', The Emu vol. 45, 179,-200. Serventy, D. L., Serventy, V. & Warham, J. (1971) , The Handbook of Australian Sea-Birds, A. H. & A. W. R eed, Sydney. Sharland, M. (1958), Tasmanian Birds, Angus & R obertson, Sydney. Wall, L. E . (1980) , 'Birds of South Br uny Island', Tasmanian Naturalist vol. 63, 10-12. Whinray, J. S. (1980) , 'The F irst Australian Breeding R ecord of the White-fronted Tern', The Australian Bird W atcher vol.
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