You have to be in it to win it. A cliché, but an accurate one. If you don’t go in Tattslotto (do they still have Tattslotto?) you’re not going to scoop the pool, are you? Not going to catch a big Snapper in your lounge room, either. Right place, right time, sometimes things fall into place. Ain’t gunna see a rare bird in the kitchen, gotta get out there, get amongst it. A Great Knot on the beach on a flood tide at Stony Point near Hastings on Westernport Bay, now we’re talkin’!

Ok, slow down Deso, a lot of people reading this won’t even know what a Great Knot is, let alone be excited you’ve seen one. Is it something to do with rope or something? Nah, it’s a small wading bird which migrates from NE Siberia and they’re as rare as in our part of the world.

Many people I speak to lament the drudgery and boredom of international flights, personally my longest flight is to Perth, but yeah, I get it, it must be tough. But these migratory waders do it all under their own steam, imagine the energy to propel yourself from NE Siberia to southern Australia, and then six months later, fly back again. Beggars belief it can possibly happen, but it does, ya gotta take your hat off to them, amazing!

Not everyone gets it, I mean some people, even birdwatchers, chuck their hands in the air, this is too hard, they all look the same, they’re too hard to id, give me something a bit easier, a Rosella or a Kookaburra, something I can easily hang my hat on.

Push through the pain barrier guys, the results are worth it! To add another species to your life list is a real accomplishment, I mean I already had Great Knot but had never had such close-up views as this. Shut the gate!

An almost identical bird called the Red Knot is much more common in Westernport, still not a common bird but more likely to be observed. Picking the difference in a line-up of these two takes an extremely sharp eye, I could not have picked the difference without an extensive search in my field guide, but a member of our group, Bett, nailed it straight away!

One day I’ll be that good! Bett has been a birdwatcher in the Friends of French Island group since 1974 (she was just a very young girl) and is a wader expert.

Great Knots are simply great birds, a testament of all things to be admired, endurance, strength and persistence, something we all aspire to. A common bird in Northern Australia, where flocks of thousands congregate, but a rare species in Westernport, put simply, a super ‘good get’.

Bookings for Australian Bird Tours are filling fast, get in quick before you miss out!

See you out in the bush somewhere,
Des