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Dear All,
Sorry to speak off-topic again. Interested to read
about various sightings of cetaceans recently including the Killers off
Wollongong.
I would be very grateful for photos and locations
for any cetacean sightings. The Killers particularly will be of interest to a
friend of mine who is studying them around Australia. It is just possible that
any photos may be used for ID purposes. Aside from that, there is so little
information on distribution and abundance that birders are probably one of the
main sources.
Likewise, any photos of the Pygmy Killer Whales
from the Wollongong pelagic or any archived material of beaked whales (however
poor quality) would be of great interest.
I am willing to act as a conduit for information of
this sort and can make sure that it gets to the right people and provide
ocasional feedback for anyone interested. For your information, I have recently
posted standard recording forms (simple minimum information) on the front page
of the following website: www.orcaweb.org
If anyone feels like filling in one of the forms
and sending it to me at the address below (not the address on the form as that
is a UK address for ORCA), I would be grateful. Otherwise, just the species,
number, a description and / or photo (vital), location (lat and long), number of
observers and the time spent looking is the minimum data required. A description
is extremely important as these species are so poorly known that many of the
records will be new to an area of Australia. For example, the Pygmy Killer
Whales off Wollongong are still practically unknown although seen many times
last year. I am most interested in seeing photos to get a definitive
confirmation of ID. If nothing else, only so that I can decide to come
out on a trip next year to see one!
Cheers,
Simon.
_____________________________________________
Simon Mustoe - Director
AES Applied Ecology Solutions Pty Ltd.
59 Joan
Avenue
Ferntree Gully
Melbourne
Victoria 3156
AUSTRALIA
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