Initially at Boundary Bay this afternoon there were good numbers of shore birds around. Most were out at the waters edge and starting to move in along the beach as the tide came in. The idea being to position myself in such a way that they would eventually work their way towards me.
So far so good as the plovers slowly moved closer. Then they all flushed as a result of a Peregrine Falcon hunting along the beach. They circled a few times out over the water and eventually returned to the beach. At this time I noticed something a little different than the usual plovers and sandpipers.
A Ruddy Turnstone foraging along the beach. While the Black Turnstone are seen quite regularly in this area, the Ruddy Turnstone is seen less frequently.
And then a second one. They have been spotted with the plovers for the last week or two. Unfortunately everything kept getting flushed this afternoon and there was no way I was going to get anything other than these distant shots today. As I was leaving I saw the Peregrine make one last pass at the remaining group of shore birds. Scanning the beach after that there were just gulls left.