There was a report recently (Victorian Birders Facebook group) of a dead Little Penguin found mauled on a beach at the Western Treatment Plant. Apparently a vet has said the bird was alive when mauled. The implication is that it may have been killed by a dog or fox. I assume it must have been on the beach to have been caught, and I’m wondering if these birds often come up on beaches in the bay. I had assumed they normally feed in the water and only come out at the rookery. I’m also wondering if it could have been mauled by a shark or hit by a boat, but perhaps the blood stain patterns preclude those possibilities. Peter Shute Sent from my iPhone
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Just letting people know, that during the course of hundreds of walks along the beach in the late seventies and eighties, along the beaches of Victoria, Little Penguin was the second most commonly found bird found dead on the beach (first by a long way is Short-tailed Shearwater in tens of thousands). We found a few thousand Little Penguins dead in that time, & it is not unusual to find them dead on beaches (including bay beaches). As a side note the next after penguin, was Fairy Prion which would probably add up to about a thousand or so.-Kevin Bartram
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Hi Peter and all Following Peter’s request I had a quick look thru the records I hold for the City of Bayside (Brighton to Beaumaris). I couldn’t find any records for live birds on shore at night but amongst the many entries for dead birds there are five particularly interesting ones, summarised below, that include headless corpses (only one low enough to be a seal victim) and three well above sea level. Could birds from the St Kilda colony be checking out possible nesting sites? They may be running out of space (at times) and must have lots of energy when they travel such small distances compared with those on Phillip Island for their food. Indeed their are rumours of breeding at some sites. I’d be happy to share info in private correspondence. corpse (part) Brighton Jim Willis Reserve c10/11/1997 bit of corpse (“shoulders” with both blue and white feathers) found under tea-tree in dunes over 30m from beach. Beach-washed? and then eaten by fox? dead – bits fox? Beaumaris: near Table Rock Point 10/06/2003 15m above sea. Dumped by angler – or fox?? It was quite fat and heavy. dead – no head fox? Brighton: Head St to North Rd c 23/01/2007 [area is less than 2m above sea level’] dead cliff top Beaumaris Monocline cliffs 20/07/2008 [c 20m above sea level] dead fox? Beaumaris nr Table Rock 2008 to 2010 Suspected/guessed left by fox. [15m above sea level] Michael Norris
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Peter I once saw a Little Penguin sheltering on a rock ledge on the Ile des Phoques off the east coast of Tasmania. The skipper of our boat said that there was usually one or two sheltering there among the Australian Fur Seals, so taking a break on dry land (or almost dry land) during fishing does occur. However, sheltering on a rock ledge on an island is very different to coming ashore on a sandy beach with a range of predators. I guess it’s possible that an Australian Fur Seal could be the culprit. Cheers David On Sat, Apr 18, 2015 at 10:40 AM, Peter Shute < pshute@nuw.org.au> wrote:
Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org