Does anyone know their Shearwater calls well?
My wife and I volunteer at the local Little Penguin Rookery as
guides. This area is also home to many hundreds of nesting Short-
tailed Shearwaters. Presently they swirl in, silently, just as the
last of the sunset is fading.
Most nights we are there, though, well after dark, a small number (2?
3?) of birds which from the silhouette, we think are some sort of
Shearwater, fly around calling frequently. This call is very like
the raucous, calls of a Laughing Kookaburra, just getting wound up
before finally breaking into its laugh, proper.
Pizzey and Knight say nothing about Shearwater calls. My old
Reader's Digest book indicates a few calls, and it COULD fit their
description of the Short-tailed Shearwater call, except they indicate
they mostly call from the burrow, if they call at all. These are
definitely flying overhead, and most of the Short-tails are well into
their burrows by this time of night. At that time of night, it's
impossible to get anything of physical features, except brief
glimpses of silhouettes.
There has been an unsubstantiated report of Sooty Shearwaters being
seen in the area, though this would be well away from their normal
range much further south in Tasmania. The Readers Digest book
description of their call doesn't seem to fit, either.
Does anyone have any ideas about Nocturnal Sea Bird Calls, who could
offer any suggestions?
Thanks in anticipation.
John Tongue,
Ulverstone, Tas.
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