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11 comments to more dead Short-tailed Shearwaters |
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In Newcastle we haven’t been able to get out on the water, but from the rock shelf behind Newcastle Baths this week it has been interesting. Early in the season (late August – early September) we had large numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and mid week last week there were a mix of Short-tailed (dominant), Wedgies and hundreds of Fluttering feeding in groups with Silver Gulls and commic terns (W-f, Common and Little). At the end of this week it is just short-taileds and very close inshore, which is unusual off Newcastle. Puts you in mind of the sort of close in activity we had from Fairy Prion and Common Diving Petrels earlier in the year. Allan On 01/11/2013, at 10:00 PM, Nikolas Haass wrote: =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Hi Chris & Tony, Similar scenario off Southport, QLD, on the 20th October. We had many hungry Short-tailed Shearwaters around the boat for the whole time and very low counts of Wedge-tailed Shearwater (35) and Flesh-footed Shearwater (6). http://www.adarman.com/Pelagics/Queensland-Pelagics/2013-October-20-Southport/i-5PF9nLz/A http://www.adarman.com/Pelagics/Queensland-Pelagics/2013-October-20-Southport/ Let’s see what it looks like off Mooloolaba, QLD, tomorrow. Nikolas —————- Nikolas Haass nhaass@yahoo.com Brisbane, QLD ________________________________ From: Tony Palliser < tonyp@bigpond.net.au> Cc: ‘birding-aus’ < birding-aus@vicnet.net.au> Sent: Friday, November 1, 2013 8:49 PM Chris, We had the same experience today off Sydney – that is 100’s of Short-tailed Shearwater that appear to be starving and many dead birds throughout too. Something appears to be very wrong this year! This is way beyond normal in my opinion. Like you very few Wedge-tailed Shearwater and no definite Flesh-footed Shearwater either. Cheers, Tony —–Original Message—– [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Chris Brandis Sent: Friday, 1 November 2013 7:42 PM Cc: birding-aus The pelagic trips off Wollongong this week had 100s of Short-tailed Shearwaters following the boat fighting over the burley of minced meat and fat and pieces of fat, obviously starving. A couple fell on board and appeared to have reasonable breast condition but many flying past appeared to have crops prominent from the breast line. In my experience this is unusual as they normally stream past heading south with the Wedge-tailed being the prominent Shearwater, but this time they were in the minority. Cheers Chris —– Original Message —– < chris.sanderson@gmail.com> Cc: “birding-aus” < birding-aus@vicnet.net.au> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 9:32 AM =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Chris, We had the same experience today off Sydney – that is 100’s of Short-tailed Shearwater that appear to be starving and many dead birds throughout too. Something appears to be very wrong this year! This is way beyond normal in my opinion. Like you very few Wedge-tailed Shearwater and no definite Flesh-footed Shearwater either. Cheers, Tony —–Original Message—– [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Chris Brandis Sent: Friday, 1 November 2013 7:42 PM Cc: birding-aus The pelagic trips off Wollongong this week had 100s of Short-tailed Shearwaters following the boat fighting over the burley of minced meat and fat and pieces of fat, obviously starving. A couple fell on board and appeared to have reasonable breast condition but many flying past appeared to have crops prominent from the breast line. In my experience this is unusual as they normally stream past heading south with the Wedge-tailed being the prominent Shearwater, but this time they were in the minority. Cheers Chris —– Original Message —– < chris.sanderson@gmail.com> Cc: “birding-aus” < birding-aus@vicnet.net.au> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 9:32 AM =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
The pelagic trips off Wollongong this week had 100s of Short-tailed Shearwaters following the boat fighting over the burley of minced meat and fat and pieces of fat, obviously starving. A couple fell on board and appeared to have reasonable breast condition but many flying past appeared to have crops prominent from the breast line. In my experience this is unusual as they normally stream past heading south with the Wedge-tailed being the prominent Shearwater, but this time they were in the minority. Cheers Chris —– Original Message —– < chris.sanderson@gmail.com> Cc: “birding-aus” < birding-aus@vicnet.net.au> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 9:32 AM =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Hi Michael, We’ve had sea-eagles take shearwaters (a Short-tailed and a Wedgie on separate occasions) from behind the boat on pelagic trips out of Port Stephens NSW when approaching the heads. The eagles have become quite habituated to meeting us as we approach, due to the attraction of birds behind the boat. Both birds were taken while preoccupied with foraging – the wedgie taken while it was just under the surface. Severe bruising on the back suggests a hit from a sea-eagle is a strong contender for your S-tShear cause of death. In recent years I’ve found that other birds seem to be very high on the sea-eagle’s menu list, and they never seem to miss an opportunity when it presents itself. It seemed incredible to me that the birds were taken, since the sea-eagles on both occasions were very conspicuously watching the seabird flock very closely and only the gulls and terns appeared to overly concerned about their presence. Allan Richardson Morisset NSW On 31/10/2013, at 10:54 AM, Michael Norris wrote: =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Many thanks to Mark Carey for his informed input. Not wanting to be alarmist or warmist, perhaps he can help with my vague recollection that about 5 years ago there were concerns about adverse conditions (algae?) in Alaskan waters attributed to climate change that may have affected the STSH. Along with that I’ve also vague memories of some bird species being significantly affected due to the changing composition of fish stocks. A friend did a couple of autopsies on birds along eastern Port Phillip with the following results: (1) In good condition. Well muscled. Stomach full. Partly digested small fish and interestingly 2 small octopus, about 2 inches long. Haemorrhage in the abdomen. Not quite sure where from but quite bruised along the back muscles (could see this when the abdominal contents were lifted out. Suspect the haemorrhage is part of the cause of death but not sure where it comes from? External trauma? Are there any predators that might attack them? No signs of external injury but difficult to see through all the feathers. No hooks or plastic present. (2) In very light condition. Stomach empty. Migration stress / starvation presumably. My guess is that the first bird may have been attacked by a Pacific Gull. Is that likely? Any other conjectures (the biggest fun in birding)? And I note it had eaten some small fish. Michael Norris =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
As someone who has studied STSH for more than 8 years I find this article inaccurate and alarmist. First, STSH are crustacean specialists (krill). They only take “fish” in small amounts (and in my experience only at certain times of the the year i.e. provisioning chicks in Jan to March with post larval fish). Cephalopods make up the rest of the diet. Secondly, female birds are absolutely not carrying eggs on migration. STSH breeding biology is well known – birds arrive at their colony in late Sept/Oct. They copulate in late Oct and exit on their 3 week honeymoon period in late Oct to Nov. 85% of eggs are laid 3 days either side of the 25/26 Nov. Wrecks of varying degrees occur every single year. This wreck isn’t anything unusual. Every year there were hundreds, if not thousands of dead and dying birds on Flinders Island, Tasmania. No population declines have been recorded at these colonies but studies are continuing. The population still stands at 23 million breeding birds and Skira et al. did suggest they were increasing! My tracking data suggests it takes an average of 18 days for STSH to cross the Pacific back to their colonies. There’s no indication that they feed during this time so adequate body reserves are critical to complete the journey. Encountering bad weather, adverse winds or no wind will absolutely affect a birds ability to successfully make the trip back. Thankfully these birds are long-lived and have an opportunity to replace themselves in the population. The oldest banded STSH recorded is ~49 years old (See ABBBS website). If we start seeing wide spread declines over the breeding range then it’s time to be concerned. Unfortunately, there’s too few colonies studies adequately at present. Cheers, Mark =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
A possibly related article in today’s Age: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/-2wgzd.html Muttonbirds are dying in their thousands nearly every year and much more frequently than ever before, washing up on the coast from Coffs Harbour to Tasmania. On South Melbourne and Port Melbourne beaches on Wednesday beach cleaning contractor David Martinez picked up more than 150 short-tailed shearwater birds, a species of muttonbird. One day last week, he picked up a similar number. At Lord Howe Island this month, 200 shearwater birds washed up for the first time in many years, Monash University seabird biologist Jennifer Lavers said. These deaths en masse, known as “wrecks”, have been reported along the coast from Coffs Harbour to Tasmania, she said. The short-tailed shearwater birds migrate 10,000 kilometres from the Bering Sea, between Alaska and Japan, to Australian shores in late September to nest. Dr Lavers said they have eaten little on their journey and are exhausted by the flight. She said it was normal for wrecks to occur every 10 years, and this usually indicated a particularly “poor year” for the birds with storms or no fish available on arrival. However, major wrecks had occurred every second year since 2007, pointing to a wider problem, she said. “We need to start asking the question of what is going on in the marine environment,” Dr Lavers said. “This isn’t just a hiccough. This isn’t just a freak event. It is not just that the fish have decided to relocate themselves for one or two years or three years. This is obviously an indication of a much wider problem.” Dr Lavers said the birds started washing up on the beach in late September. By this time, the female birds are often carrying their only egg for the year and journey to sea to hunt for food with breeding males. Dr Lavers hypothesised that they may have failed to find fish and this may have contributed to the deaths. “You don’t want to lose your adult breeders. It spells trouble for species,” she said. Department of Environment and Primary Industries senior biodiversity officer Mandy Watson said in a statement that the feed available in the northern summer could affect the birds’ journey as well as storms. “Stormy weather and strong winds make it difficult for birds if they are already in poor condition from the long migration and this can be enough to cause their death,” Ms Watson said. “It is common for large numbers of short-tailed shearwaters not to make it.” Dr Lavers agreed that weather could play a role. “Heavy winds will do great things to them, but is it just the wind? I would say no,” she said. Weather bureau forecaster Andrea Peace confirmed that Melbourne Airport wind records since 1971 show October had been the equal windiest month on record, based on average winds. The average wind speed was 23 km/h for the month. Dr Lavers said there were many bird rescue groups in Melbourne and advised untrained beachgoers not to touch them. She said that even after a long journey they were often “feisty” and could leave bloody gashes on hands and arms. Ms Watson said all native wildlife was protected in Victoria. “Because of the risk of being bitten or any disease the birds may carry unqualified people should avoid handling the birds if possible,” she said. Anyone who sees sick or injured wildlife is advised to call the department on 136 138 or RACV Wildlife Connect on 13 1111. Sent from my iPad =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Hi Philip, I know someone that has autopsied quite a few Short-tailed Shearwaters that have been wrecked and they have all had some plastic in their gut, though this doesn’t prove a link between their death and the plastic. Cheers, Chris On Wed, Oct 23, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Philip Veerman < pveerman@pcug.org.au>wrote: — Check out our site: http://www.bird-o.com Follow us on Facebook (Bird-O) and Twitter (@birdodotcom) =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
I agree with you again Phillip. When I was a first year Ranger it was my job to patrol from Vic border to Maurray mouth along the SE SA beaches, This was about every six weeks or so and in early spring when they arrive, after a severe storm or two, sometimes i could collect nEARLY 1000 dying short tailed shearwaters, starving and enmaciated. The only thing about it that was less tragic was one day when I returned to base at Southend, S, I was occupied with doing something else when this little mongrel kid lifted the lid on a container holding some shearwaters that were resting, and one latched onto his nose. We would provide care and feed the Shearwaters with everything that a mutton bird could likely eat but no matter what we would do, most of them would die. It wass distressing. This was the late 1970’s and sometimes i would think, unless we could find a solution, one day these birds will go the same way as the Passenger Pigeon. At that time, it was considered the second most common bird on the planet. Eclipesed only by the European Starling. Two years ago after a severe wreck along then east coast of Tasmania, there was a dead or dying Shearwater on nearly every part of the visible beach, from Schuten Is to Cape Portland there must have been many 10s of thousands. And now it is considered the most common bird on earth so I was wrong. regards Ian May St Helens, Tasmania 7216 Philip Veerman wrote: =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
I agree that most people believe that ‘this has always happened’ but I wonder if the magnitude of the problem has increased greatly since the plastic pollution problem has been present. I have seen dead Short-tailed Shearwaters on North Coast NSW beaches that had their stomachs full of plastic. Some research is being carried out on this but we need funding to carry out a comprehensive study. Some dead shearwaters are presently being tested by Department of Industry and Investment with the assistance of NPWS. I advised the laboratory that the issue of plastic ingestion could be a cause of death in at least some of these birds. They are going to check this during the autopsies. They are also testing for the presence of avian diseases. Regards Greg Dr Greg. P. Clancy Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide | PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460 | 02 6649 3153 | 0429 601 960 http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com —–Original Message—– Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 6:35 PM Cc: ‘birding-aus’ This has always happened. Do you know if they are also vulnerable to eating plastic rubbish? As are some other sea birds. If so, surely that would drastically increase the natural problems of being exhausted and underweight. If they are found dead, this could be investigated or maybe already has been…………. I don’t know. Philip —–Original Message—– [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Janine Duffy Sent: Wednesday, 23 October 2013 3:42 PM There are several dead or dying Short-tailed Shearwaters on my local beach, Port Melbourne. I have one in care right now (weight 420g). There are also about 20 near shore, still alive and swimming, but probably exhausted and underweight. I was on Kerferd Rd pier earlier watching them, and on a whim asked the nearby fisherman for a fish scrap. I threw it to the nearest shearwater, which took it readily. I don’t know if this is appropriate or not, but is it worth trying to prevent a few deaths by looking out for exhausted but still living birds near piers or boats and offering food (fish)? Surely these still living birds have the best chance of recovery – waiting until they wash up and rushing them to overworked wildlife carers is a bit like closing the door after the horse has bolted. Also, could Vic birders check their local beaches for beach-washed, still living birds? They are vulnerable to dog attack if left on the beach. A cardboard box with a towel is a good transport option. Take to local wildlife carer, or vet. Call wildlife victoria 13 000 94535 or Aware (Frankston area) on 0412 433 727 . Janine — JANINE DUFFY Director Marketing ECHIDNA WALKABOUT PO Box 370 Port Melbourne, Victoria 3207 AUSTRALIA E: janine@echidnawalkabout.com.au Web: http://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au Ph: +61 (0)3 9646 8249 Mob: +61 (0)427 808 747 Fax: +61 (0)3 9681 9177 OPERATIONS & GROUP enquiries contact: Roger roger@echidnawalkabout.com.au> Smith roger@echidnawalkabout.com.au> Director Operations A.B.N. 72 716 985 505 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================