Hi All, Brian Russell and myself journeyed up to the Sunshine Coast yesterday
hoping to get some good shots of the visiting Kelp Gull. On arriving early at
Cottontree we quickly located the bird some 300-400 metres away on one of the
sand banks with an ever dropping tide. Hopeless, no way we could get close and
the minutes were ticking by and that up turned Canadian canoe nearby was
beginning to look very tempting especially as no-one seemed to know at the
caravan park as to who owned it! Mind you there were no paddles and you've all
heard the one about being up a certain creek without a paddle!! Exactly how we
felt.
However after a few quick flights around the sand bar and a few quick naps the
Kelp Gull took off with a few Silver Gulls and headed south. After a few
hurried flight shots we quickly took off to try and track it down. First stop
Alexandra Headland, where there wasn't much save for a Wandering Tattler, 3
Ospreys, loads of White-throated Needletails and lots of very tame (and large)
Eastern Water Dragons.
Next stop Pt. Cartwright, where there was even less, not even wandering Tattler
and just 3 Sooty Oystercatchers. So after a fruitless search there we decided
to take a different way out from there to our usual route and drove slowly
along Harbour Parade along the southern edge of the Mooloolah River looking out
for congregations of Silver Gulls. Sure enough, on pulling up at the Kawana
boat ramp there was a fish cleaning station with a few Silver Gulls in
attendance, right opposite to the main trawler and long lining fleet ( gull
heaven). The first house to the left had several silver Gulls festooned on the
gangway to the pontoon and above them just 15 metres from us was the big bopper
resting on a pylon.
So for the next hour or so we got some great close-up shots as it rested and
fed on offal being thrown from one of the trawlers, unlike the Silver Gulls
though wasn't interested in our Big Rooster chips or sausage roll from our
favourite local Danish pie shop. This is my 4th Queensland record of Kelp Gull
and going on the deep bill it would be an adult male bird. Cheers - Paul W.
********************************************************************************
This email, including any attachments sent with it, is confidential and for the
sole use of the intended recipient(s). This confidentiality is not waived or
lost, if you receive it and you are not the intended recipient(s), or if it is
transmitted/received in error.
Any unauthorised use, alteration, disclosure, distribution or review of this
email is strictly prohibited. The information contained in this email,
including any attachment sent with it, may be subject to a statutory duty of
confidentiality if it relates to health service matters.
If you are not the intended recipient(s), or if you have received this email in
error, you are asked to immediately notify the sender by telephone collect on
Australia +61 1800 198 175 or by return email. You should also delete this
email, and any copies, from your computer system network and destroy any hard
copies produced.
If not an intended recipient of this email, you must not copy, distribute or
take any action(s) that relies on it; any form of disclosure, modification,
distribution and/or publication of this email is also prohibited.
Although Queensland Health takes all reasonable steps to ensure this email does
not contain malicious software, Queensland Health does not accept
responsibility for the consequences if any person's computer inadvertently
suffers any disruption to services, loss of information, harm or is infected
with a virus, other malicious computer programme or code that may occur as a
consequence of receiving this email.
Unless stated otherwise, this email represents only the views of the sender and
not the views of the Queensland Government.
**********************************************************************************
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
