Re: Silver Gulls breeding in Sydney Harbour at Pyrmont

[Andrew Taylor <>]

On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 02:47:16PM +1100, Andrew Taylor wrote:
> As I understand it, every year a few  Silver Gulls nest on pilings and
> moored boats in quieter parts of Sydney Harbour like Homebush Bay,
> but this is the first time larger numbers have bred in Sydney since
> 1992 when there was a colony in derelict barges in Rozelle Bay 

And my understanding was wrong, there is a colony on Cockatoo Island
(thanks Chris & Graham) and its mentioned in the management plan.
There also seems to be breeding on nearby Goat & Snapper islands.
I'm not sure how long they've been breeding at Cockatoo Island but they
are said to have been breeding on Goat Island since 2004.

A 1992 paper by Smith & Carlile attempts to list all breeding sites near
Sydney and doesn't mention breeding on these islands.  The barges in
Rozelle Bay were removed in 1991 so perhaps the gulls simply relocated -
the Cockatoo Island shipyards ceased operations about 1992.

Andrew