birding-aus

Intermediate pale morph Wedge-tailed Shearwater off Swansea, NSW

To: Birding Aus <>
Subject: Intermediate pale morph Wedge-tailed Shearwater off Swansea, NSW
From: Mick Roderick <>
Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 18:53:09 -0800 (PST)
Hi all,
 
Steve and I took the tinny out today to about 20km off Swansea (NSW) to see if 
we could get amongst some of the interesting birds reported off the NSW coast 
in the past week. Seems the southerly air-flow may have spoilt the party 
following the cold water upwelling earlier in the week that saw sea 
temperatures plummet by 6 degrees overnight after a bout of nor-easters over 
warmer water.
 
It was reasonably quiet today, but with the usual Wedgies, Fleshies and 
Short-taileds getting about (and more Hutton's than Fluttering, maybe a dozen 
of the former). On the way back in a bird that looked otherwise like a 
Wedge-tailed Shearwater but with pale underparts appeared in the throng. We 
have identified it as an intermediate morph Wedge-tailed Shearwater (there is a 
very low res image attached to a Birdline NSW report, but if anyone would like 
to see higher res images let me know and I'll forward them through).
 
I've been trying to find info on just how commonly this morph is recorded in 
Australian waters and cannot find much at all. I recall talking to Lindsay 
Smith (SOSSA Wollongong) about this last weekend and I'm sure he said they've 
had very few, if any, off W'gong over the years.
 
Has anyone else recorded pale Wedgies in south-eastern Australian waters?
 
Mick
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