Hi all,
A 50 tonne fin whale was washed up on the reef at Cottesloe yesterday
(Monday) morning. I went there for an hour this afternoon.
The whale was very close to the shore. There were 4 Giant-Petrels in the
vicinity, and on several occasions I saw a Cape Petrel fly along the waves
about 100 metres from shore.
I am not good at identifying the two giant-petrels. A couple flew within
about 20 metres of me. All four were totally dark (no white on head, face,
belly, etc). The bills were pale. I looked for two tone colour on the bill
without success. Looking in Harrison - Seabirds - an Identification Guide
suggests that they were juvenile (first stage) and that it is almost
impossible to distinguish the two species.
About a month ago, there was a TV news item on a dead Humpback Whale out to
sea north of Perth. The short footage showed about 30 Giant-Petrels
(including a white one), 20 Cape Petrels and a few other birds (probably
shearwaters).
About four weeks ago there was a single all dark giant-petrel at the north
mole of Fremantle harbour. There were also two Flesh-footed Shearwaters on
the water about 20 metres from the mole and a distant albatross.
However, last weekend just after a big storm, during an RAOU outing we could
only find a few Great Skuas and about 10 gannets. However, a Little
Shearwater and a Cape Petrel were picked up during the day nearby on Port Beach.
There is a big storm due to hit Perth overnight, so I will be going back to
the whale and the North Mole tomorrow to see if anything has been blown in.
____________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Argyle Diamonds
8C Hardy Road PMB 11
Nedlands WA 6009 West Perth WA 6872
Phone +09 386 5694 +091 671 445
Fax +091 671 438
Email
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