Up at a very reasonable 0400 and off to the reservoir. It was getting light as I arrived at the car park, giving me a chance to bird the woodlands on the approach to the reservoir itself. Good numbers of White-throated and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, along with a few Leaden Flycatchers were about. At the pylon break, I heard the distinctive sound of a Rufous Fantail, and saw it reasonably well although it mostly remained out of sight. It called persistently and I got a couple of recordings through the iPhone. I do have a “proper” recorder, and one of my aims this year is to make some recordings of as many species as possible – we don’t have many bird recordings from Brisbane currently stored on eBird. Rufous Fantails can be found all year in Brisbane, but are commonest in spring and autumn – their movements are probably fairly complex and I haven’t researched it enough to pretend yet to understand them.

I proceeded as usual onto the Forest Peninsula. The water level in the reservoir is still slowly dropping (today it was 54.4%) and a little more mud was exposed today. The Sharp-tailed Sandpipers had moved closer, and looking through the flock I saw something different – a Wood Sandpiper!!! This is a rare non-breeding migrant to Brisbane, occurring just about annually. The bird was calling stridently, so I got a recording – the first one of this species recorded in Australia on eBird!

Off the end of the peninsula another small group of sharpies was present in the usual spot, and with them something smaller – a Red-necked Stint! While not a rarity, they are essentially a coastal species, so it was great to get this species on the patch year list. A male Australasian Shoveler had joined the two females, and I later saw what were presumably the same birds at the JC Trotter end of the reservoir, before retiring to the car as the day heated up.

All in all, a great morning! My patch year list edged upward to 115, having added Rufous Fantail, Wood Sandpiper and Red-necked Stint.

eBird lists: