About 9 A.M. December 30, about 30 Silver Gulls were at the edge
of a shallow brackish water lagoon on Cylinder Beach, Point Lookout,
North Stradbroke I.
Some of them, in particular 2 black billed immatures, were giving
a repeat performance of behaviour noticed by my wife Judy the previous
day.
A gull stands in the water at the edge and rapidly shuffles its
feet up and down, a sort of running on the spot action, interrupted only
by a hurried pecking at the surface of the water and swallowing of the
catch, too small to be seen with the naked eye from 3-4 metres.
I displaced the gulls at their bit of shore and shuffled a foot in
the silt and sand. I managed to float a few detached Zostera roots but no
visible animal life.
We reported the gulls feeding behaviour to our son Harry and he
said he had seen similar behaviour by Silver Gulls when living at Orbost,
Eastern Victoria, some years ago.
Another curious thing about the Point Lookout gulls is their lack
of urbanisation. Gulls in the Moreton Bayside resorts on the mainland
frequent footpaths and rubbish bins feeding on human food scraps. Not so
these ocean beach ones.
Mike Hines
42,Pangeza Street,
Stafford Heights,
Brisbane,
Queensland, 4053,
Australia. Phone 07 33594998.
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