Seabirds off Hampton Beach, VIC

["" <>]

G'day Chris,

I reckon the large, dark birds your Dad was referring to were juvenile gannets. There were several (maybe half a dozen or so) present along with hundreds of adult (and presumably some immature birds). It was these dark birds that had initially made me turn around and check them out as at first I thought they could have been giant petrels. (Last year Northern Giant-Petrel was recorded in Port Phillip Bay around Mornington and it seems a Southern Giant-Petrel I saw hanging around the Lorne Pier may be back again this year, with a recent sighting of a similar bird at the same spot, behaving in the same manner.

I was very glad I did go back to check them out as after about ten minutes a school of bait fish appeared and the water in front of became a spectacular teeming mass of around 250 gannets and a similar number of cormorants (mainly Pied and Little Black, mostly the latter). Gannets were diving into very shallow water, literally about two metres off the beach where I was standing. It really was extraordinary to witness, particularly on the morning commute to work.

I was a little surprised to see juvenile birds this late in the year but HANZAB says that in NZ at least juveniles don't begin primary moult until September. I assume they would keep the rest of their juvenile plumage until they begin such a moult.

There had been a high pressure system over Melbourne the last couple of days so the sea birds seemed somewhat becalmed (the rafts of Fluttering Shearwaters further offshore were mainly just loafing on the water. This morning the wind had picked up and I didn't notice anywhere near the same numbers on my drive in to work.

Cheers, Sean

 
 

---

On 26/07/2012 1:43 PM Chris Watson wrote:

G'day all,

Unfortunately I have no other details to relate other than those included
in my first posting. This is a sketchy secondhand report from my dad who,
despite a keen interest, is very much a "Sunday" birder.

It sounds like there has now been a large congregation of birds in this
area for at least three days so it would certainly be worth having a look
at it if you are within a reasonable drive. My GPS informs me that I have
2260kms between me and Hampton beach, but assures me that I could be
expected to get there by 16.49hrs tomorrow afternoon. Even though I assert
that I could probably beat this estimate, I have flights booked to
Melbourne in August, so I will just have to wait until then.

Cheers,

Chris

On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:02 PM, robert morris
<>wrote:

> Perhaps Chris meant Skuas? (e.g. Brown Skua.). Skua and jaeger are
> sometimes used interchangeably.
>
> May be the Pacific Gulls are Black-browed Albatrosses or another
> dark-backed Albie?
>
>
> Rob Morris
>
> Brisbane, Australia
>
>
> > Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:20:26 -0700
> > From:
> > To: ;
> > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Seabirds off Hampton Beach, VIC
>
> >
> > Hi Chris,
> >
> > Although jaegers have commenced their southbound migration from the
> Arctic, they should not arrive here before September/October.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Nikolas
> >
> > ----------------
> > Nikolas Haass
> >
> > Sydney, NSW
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Chris Watson <>
> > To:
> > Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 1:06 PM
> > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Seabirds off Hampton Beach, VIC
> >
> > G'day everyone,
> >
> > I'm in Alice Springs, but I just got off the phone with Mum and Dad who
> > went down to check on the congregation of seabirds off Hampton Beach,
> > reported on Birdline Vic by Sean Dooley a couple of days back.
> >
> > The olds aren't exactly hardcore birders but they were very impressed by
> > the numbers of gannets and terns (dad's words - there are thousands, not
> > hundreds). They also mentioned a few larger birds around that dad
> initially
> > thought might have been Pacific Gulls, but on closer inspection he
> decided
> > they weren't this species and relegated them to the too hard basket.
> Sounds
> > interesting though - jaegers perhaps?
> >
> > Anyway, just thought it might be of interest to anyone in the
> > neighbourhood. Sounds like it might be worth a look.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Chris Watson
> >
> > --
> > *BIRDS CENTRAL AUSTRALIA*
> > *Central Australian birding resource*
> > *Guiding, writing, and the latest site information*
> > *from Alice Springs*
> > www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com
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--
*BIRDS CENTRAL AUSTRALIA*
*Central Australian birding resource*
*Guiding, writing, and the latest site information*
*from Alice Springs*
www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com
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