Hi
Sorry for the silence from my end, while people have been trying to get info on
this sighting. I've had a difficult day getting too and from work as my car was
written-off 10 mins after I got off the Southport Pelagic on Saturday afternoon
when a big 4WD and boat ploughed into the back of me (as Paul Walbridge and
others can confirm!!)
This is (was) a genuine observation. It's one of those species we (Poms) see
regularly particulalry in the SW of the UK in August-Sept. I have seen a lot
going back to the 70s! I would have made more of an effort to report it earlier
had it not been for the fact that it didn't stop (I was hoping it would drop in
with the roosting Silver Gulls and Terns) but it just carried on going beyond
Drury Point and out into Morton Bay towards the port. They rarely stop in the
UK with other gulls when they are passing along the coast. Also I didn't have
my mobile phone with me so I couldn't contact local birders immediately.
My honest obsevations were: it was approximately 50m off-shore on a rising
tide. I was probably c. 30-40m from the shore. The winds onshore were
reasonable strong (30-35kph). I noticed a small gull which had an almost tern
like 'light' flight coming towards me from N to S with a black (looking) head.
I nearly fell off the seat and raised my bins. Those of you who have seen
Sabine's know the head is a very dark ashy grey but in bright light the hood
looks more or less black, and in such conditions you can't see the black border
where the hood meets the white neck feathers unless it is fluttering around you
or sitting on the beach! The wing pattern was immediately striking with a black
wedge of outer primaries, a white triangle of inner primaries and secondaries
and a grey mantle and coverts. The tail was white. They are simply
unmistakeable.
The bird flew reasonable direct and low across the water but did briefly lift
and interact with a couple of Silver gulls which were clearly larger than it.
It then carried going in a pretty direct way and fairly low I assume due to the
wind.
I didn't see the yellow tip to the bill (again those of you who have seen
Sabine's will know that this is not easy to see in bright light against a
bright sea when a bird is flying) and I didn't notice white tips to the
primaries (the same comment applies). The eye / eye-ring weren't discernable.
I was using 10x40 Leicas.
I reported it so others could go and look for it in case it hangs around. They
occasionally do and I have seen quite a few on London Reservoirs following SW
gales in the UK. That said they are a very pelagic gull and it may well just
bugger off out to sea. I will report the sighting in a genuine way (who to?)
but I am completely unconcerned whether it is accepted or not. I'm not in the
slightest bit interested in Aus listing (I only keep a world list) and my
lifers at Sundown (Turquoise Parrots, Diamond Firetails and Fuscous Honeyeater)
the previous weekend and the views of Tahiti Petrel and White-necked Petrel on
Saturday were far more interesting to me personally!
cheers
Rob Morris Brisbane, Australia > From: > To:
> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:14:39 +1000> Subject:
[Birding-Aus] Sabine's Gull, Scarborough (Redcliffe, QLD)> > Hi all,> > Made it
out to the Redcliffe area this afternoon - work commitments> prevented me going
earlier - to look for the Sabine's Gull. No Tony, it is> not a furphy, the
observer concerned has seen hundreds of them and it's in> full breeding nick.
If you've seen a Sabine's before you'll know they're> unmistakeable even in
non-breeding plumage.> > Unfortunately, I was unable to verify it myself,
despite checking every> group of gulls I could find between Scarborough Boat
Harbour and Clontarf.> Basically it could be anywhere in Moreton Bay or beyond
and I'll have> another look tomorrow morning including at Southbank in South
Brisbane,> where a Franklin's Gull turned up in the late 1990s. Obviously the
more eyes> out, the better.> > It's worth pointing out that the rocky spit to
the right of the boat harbour> at Scarborough had probably a couple of hundred
Silver Gulls roosting this> afternoon along with Crested, Caspian, Common and
Little Terns. It was the> first place I looked and certainly it wasn't a bad
place to start. Bob> Inglis I hope has his eagle eyes out in the area so
hopefully it'll show up.> > Andrew Stafford> > ===============================>
www.birding-aus.org> birding-aus.blogspot.com> > To unsubscribe from this
mailing list, > send the message:> unsubscribe > (in the body of the message,
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