Having recovered from my state of exhaustion and my notebook having been
rescued from the depths of my Leeuwin cabin I add to my notes on the
mystery gull seen in the middle of the Arafura Sea.
I had good views of the bird through 10 x50 binoculars at a distance of
about 30 m for about ten seconds as it flew from starboard to port and
beyond. Time was 1730 and the day was clear. We were sailing at a rate
of about six knots.
The gull was smallish to intermediate size (hard to judge in the middle
of the ocean), and appeared slighter than Silver Gull with relatively
slender long wings (at rest I would assume wings reached beyond tail.
tip). The beak was stouter and longer than that of Silver Gull (and of
Little, Sabine's, Franklin's, Saunders) and then there was the lack of
white in the wing. The underwing was white (ruling out Little) with a
dark wingtip. .As I said the beak was dark but this may have been so
because it was in shadow. I couldn't discern white around the eye - it
might have been absent, or obscured (in shadow, wet or windblown
feathers).
I think this gull is probably around Goulburn or Croker islands or
perhaps Maningrida by now. Perhaps someone might like to nick out and
have a look!
Now to all those interested my long search for particular bits of the
male reproductive system of an emu (to illustrate for the new book), I
have finally succeeded! One arrived courtesy of the president of the emu
farming association. On opening the box in which it was ensconsed my
admiration at the courage of workers in this industry rose substantially
for the pong outweighed anything I'd ever encountered in my years working
in pathology and then rendering down dolphins on the kitchen stove (for
the WA Museum), the smell of which was so foul that not even my dog known
until then to eat virtually anything turned her nose up. Now all I need
is some help with waterfowl reproduction.
Regards
Denise
Denise Goodfellow (Lawungkurr Maralngurra)
Specialist Guide
Ph/fax 08 89818492
PO Box 39373
WINNELLIE NT 0821, AUSTRALIA
www.earthfoot.org
Parap Bookshop
2ndhand and new books
08 89813922
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