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RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD, STREAKED SHEARWATER - MISTRAL POINT, MAROUBRA - F

To: "'Birding-aus'" <>
Subject: RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD, STREAKED SHEARWATER - MISTRAL POINT, MAROUBRA - FRIDAY 27TH FEBRUARY 2009
From: "Graham Buchan" <>
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:55:27 +1100
Hi Folks,

What an amazing last 3 weeks of sea-watching! With Ray Gobbe this morning
and got one Streaked Shearwater followed quickly by a distant Red-tailed
Tropicbird. I had seen Red-Tailed in Hawaii (I think it was Oahu) at much
closer range some years ago. The bird at distance is unusual-looking as the
red-tail is not visible - it looks as if the wings are set too far
backwards. It looks all white (no black visible on the wings) with a large
dark bill and bulbous head (in some ways reminiscent of a Caspian Tern in
that regard). The closest view was as it flew past Magic Point, some 2kms
away, and it was never below the horizon (my guess would be 50-100m above
the water). The only reason I spotted it was that David Mitford said I
should scan above the horizon to get White Tern and tropicbirds - I did so
for 1 hr before I picked it up (probably at 3-4kms). Using this method, I
also observed dozens of Jaegers and Gannets - some flying hundreds of metres
above the sea. 

Have a great and safe weekend.

Graham Buchan

 

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