What an annoying bird. Despite two visits to the wharf while I was in Darwin
(the third was during the day and there was hardly a bird present) I had no
luck.
First was on Sunday 10th of January - bird had been relocated the night before
by Darryel and I visited around 6. There were plenty of people eating and
throwing chips and 4 gulls present (I tried hard to turn one of them into the
BH but alas it was just a young Silver). Around 6:45 the storm that was coming
across the harbour finally hit and as everyone fled for cover, the chips
stopped flying and the birds all disappeared.
I then returned for dinner on Friday (my last night in Darwin) and though many
people about not many birds (2 gulls and no Common Terns. No luck with the gull
and I have just seen another e-mail saying that it was seen at Lee Point
roosting with Silver Gulls that evening (the tide was pretty high right on dusk
on Friday).
I scanned every gull on my daily walks at Nightcliff where I was staying but it
didn't stop there either.
Oh well, I can console myself in that it would have only been a tick for my
Australian list and I did get 3 new species (on one day) for my world list and
had a great holiday to boot. A trip report will be sent soon.
Cheers,
Peter
> From:
> To:
> Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 12:42:56 +1100
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] A "shiver" of twitchers see Black-headed Gull in
> Darwin
>
> Dear Birders,
> I was in Darwin on Thursday looking for the Black-headed Gull seen during the
> previous week or so at Stokes Hill wharf. I had arranged to meet Darryel
> Binns, (aka Biggles), who had first found the bird, at 5:00pm at the wharf.
> The wharf is a good place to eat cheaply in Darwin and the Gull seems to know
> this and regularly turns up at around 5:00 to scavenge spare chips!
>
> I arrived a bit early and was greeted by a birder who introduced himself as
> Ian and his wife as Joan sorry I forgot their surnames). He had his bins out
> and was also looking to twitch the gull. Shortly thereafter Biggles and his
> wife Deidre turned up. There were no gulls around of any type though a few
> Crested Terns were flitting around. I went to the end of the wharf and looked
> across to another unconnected wharf and noticed a small flock of terns and
> the heads of 2 gulls. The gulls were tucked in behind a timber edging to the
> wharf. I called the others over and we waited in the hope that the gulls
> would eventually show themselves. Fortunately it was not too long before a
> guy got off one of the tugs moored beside the other wharf and walked along
> the wharf causing the gulls to move. The first gull was clearly a Silver Gull
> and the second had a white head and was too far away to easily see the bill
> in detail. Then it took off and displayed the characteristic white leading
> edges to the wings and the juvenile characteristic of a black band on the
> tail. Both birds took off and roosted out of site so we sat down at a table
> and ordered a few beers and a plate of Barramundi each.
>
> While we waited for the fish Xenia Dennett and Sue Abbotts hove into sight
> also on the twitch. I hailed them and told them of our sighting and after a
> brief unproductive look around they sat down with the rest of the group for a
> chat.
>
> When the meals arrived a few strategically thrown chips soon had both gulls
> and a group of terns competing for the spoils right in front of our table.
> What a wonderful way to twitch a new bird. Sitting with friends on a sunny
> evening that was not too hot enjoying a delicious and very economical meal
> washed down with a good beer while the bird swooped and chased the terns
> right in front of one.
>
> I was a bit surprised that the bird had an all white head. Black-headed Gull,
> in the basic phase both as an adult and a juvenile, typically has a black
> spot in front of the eye and a black ear patch. This bird now has neither
> however the wing pattern, the red bill with a black tip and the tail-band
> suggested a juvenile Black-headed Gull. Biggles advises that the bird did
> have the black facial marks when first seen so it will be very interesting to
> see how the present mould progresses if the bird sticks around in Darwin. I
> presume that the bird is moulting into second winter plumage but has not yet
> progressed to change the tail feathers carrying the juvenile black band.
> "Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America" by Olsen and Larsson says aberrant
> Black-headed Gulls include birds in which have "Winter head white with faint
> grey or pale brown ear-spot or indications of normal pattern; sometimes all
> white".
>
> And why a "shiver" of twitchers. Following the recent thread on twitchers
> there obviously has to be a collective noun for twitchers. Given the origins
> of the term twitcher, deriving from a couple of British birders who chased
> rare birds on a motorbike and arrived shaking with cold, a "shiver" of
> twitchers has a nice ring to it!
> regards
> Peter
> ==========www.birding-aus.org
> birding-aus.blogspot.com
>
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