Silver Gulls seem to be breeding among the tussocks on the slopes of the Pyrmont end of the old Glebe Island swing bridge. My daughter and I kayaked past there this afternoon and there appeared to be several birds sitting on nests. We also saw one apparently flying with nesting material and 2 copulating. I know gulls have used this area, particularly the isolated middle section, as a roost for years so maybe this isn’t news, but I haven’t seen any mention of breeding in Pyrmont. For some years prior to 1992 there was up to several hundred gulls breeding on derelict barges in Rozelle Bay (about 1km west). The nearby fish markets presumably provide a reliable food supply.
Andrew Taylor ===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
I’m sure there no way of knowing – because its not much longer a flight from Five Islands than from Sydney Harbout to Long Reef.
I wonder if any Crested Terns breed in the harbour – apparently there are a dozen colonies on off-shore islands including Five Islands.
Andrew ===============================
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 Andrew and others, I did some detailed observations on silver gulls in Sydney Harbour in 2008/ 2009. At the time they were breeding on Cockatoo Island (~1000 nests at peak), Goat IsIand (~300 nests at peak) and Snapper Island (~300 nests at peak). These numbers are approximate as I don’t have access to my notes today. There were smaller numbers at Pyrmont (on the old bridge, rock aprons and in abandoned boats awaiting disposal by maritime). They roost on the old bridge (under the Anzac Bridge) at night too. I also saw small numbers of nests on the naval barges moored off Snapper Island, however there appears to be less of these around at present. Apparently they have at times nested on Garden Island but I never confirmed this.
I found active nest year round but most of the nesting occurred between late August/ Early September and usually declined by February with only a few nests in March.
Cheers, Ben
And my understanding was wrong, there is a colony on Cockatoo Island (thanks Chris & Graham) and its mentioned in the management plan. There also seems to be breeding on nearby Goat & Snapper islands. I’m not sure how long they’ve been breeding at Cockatoo Island but they are said to have been breeding on Goat Island since 2004.
A 1992 paper by Smith & Carlile attempts to list all breeding sites near Sydney and doesn’t mention breeding on these islands. The barges in Rozelle Bay were removed in 1991 so perhaps the gulls simply relocated – the Cockatoo Island shipyards ceased operations about 1992.
Andrew ===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
And my understanding was wrong, there is a colony on Cockatoo Island (thanks Chris & Graham) and its mentioned in the management plan. There also seems to be breeding on nearby Goat & Snapper islands. I’m not sure how long they’ve been breeding at Cockatoo Island but they are said to have been breeding on Goat Island since 2004.
A 1992 paper by Smith & Carlile attempts to list all breeding sites near Sydney and doesn’t mention breeding on these islands. The barges in Rozelle Bay were removed in 1991 so perhaps the gulls simply relocated – the Cockatoo Island shipyards ceased operations about 1992.
Andrew ===============================
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 Andrew,
A couple of weeks ago there was 60+ Silver Gulls roosting at Long Reef, along with over 120 Crested Terns. In amongst the gulls I saw 11 with some juvenile feathers. 6 of them were the same as of this bird http://bit.ly/rI65bb I wondered at the time if they were local birds, or if they had come from afar. I guess if they are breeding in the inner city it might well be possible that they are local, but how could you tell for sure?
I also got to see some of the Terns mating. This happened 6 times in the span of an hour. On 3 separate occasions a Crested Tern would fly in with a small thin fish. Once it was chased by a Silver gull, another time it was crowded by 3 other Crested Terns drooping their wings and following it around, (going on the colour of the feathers it looked to be not an adult), and I can’t remember what happened to the 3rd one.
Regards, 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 ===============================
Hi Chris,
I live across from Cockatoo Island and can confirm that they do breed there (whether regularly or not).
Cheers,
Graham Buchan
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Andrew Last year I took the ferry to Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour. At the opposite end of the island from the ferry, near the chimney stack and Building 68 and the Sutherland Dry Dock (see map http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/pubs/map-cockatoo2.pdf ) I was mobbed by Silver Gulls. I saw a few young gulls in the buildings. I didn’t linger but I assumed at the time this was a SG nesting site. Not sure if this was just a few individuals or part of a larger colony. Do you know if this a SG breeding site?
Cheers Chris Gregory
===============================
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 revisited the Silver Gull colony in Pyrmont on Saturday by kayak. I spotted about a dozen gulls too young to fly as we cruised around. I would expect there would be at least as many again not visible. A number of adults appear to be sitting on nests.
As I understand it, every year a few Silver Gulls nest on pilings and moored boats in quieter parts of Sydney Harbour like Homebush Bay, but this is the first time larger numbers have bred in Sydney since 1992 when there was a colony in derelict barges in Rozelle Bay not far from Pyrmont. There is of course a large colony on Five Islands off Wollongong.
Andrew Taylor ===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
http://birding-aus.org ===============================