birding-aus

Eastern Grass Owl on French Island, Victoria

To: "'Nikolas Haass'" <>, "'Mike Carter'" <>
Subject: Eastern Grass Owl on French Island, Victoria
From: "Paul Dodd" <>
Date: Sun, 7 Jul 2013 20:53:16 +1000
Nikolas, you could well be right. As I said my initial impression was a bird
larger than a Silver Gull - towards Kelp Gull size. Unfortunately it was as
the bird passed over and us and started heading away that I noticed that it
wasn't one of "our gulls" - I got the distinct sense of a red or reddish
bill, but didn't really get a sense of the size. Stony Point jetty is fenced
for pedestrians, so we couldn't chase it - and we had already packed our
cameras away to offer them some protection from the rain. Once we got to our
car, the bird had vanished, but on driving out we kept an eye open for it,
without luck.

 

The plumage was very crisp and clean - no mottling, and the cap was full and
dark. As for the tips of the tail feathers, my impression was that the tips
were white and the top of the tail became darker (or perhaps had a dark
band), but the view we had was not for any great length of time and I could
easily have been tricked by the light.

 

Paul Dodd

Docklands, Victoria

 

From: Nikolas Haass  
Sent: Sunday, 7 July 2013 7:47 PM
To: Paul Dodd; 'Mike Carter'
Cc: 
Subject: Eastern Grass Owl on French Island, Victoria

 

Hi Paul,

 

What do you mean with 'white tips to the tail' in a bird with a white tail?
Was this a typo and you were referring to white mirrors in the primary tips?

Otherwise, why wasn't it a Laughing Gull, which would also fit the size
impression better? What bout the size and shape of the bill? 

 

Cheers,

 

Nikolas

 

----------------
Nikolas Haass

Brisbane, QLD

  _____  

From: Paul Dodd <>
To: 'Mike Carter' <> 
Cc:  
Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 7:33 PM
Subject: Eastern Grass Owl on French Island, Victoria


Just an update to this. We caught the ferry from French Island around 4:30pm
as the weather was turning. We arrived at Stony Point jetty around 5:00pm
and were walking slowly along the jetty to our car when a gull flew over -
heading north towards Hastings. The gull had a full black hood, reddish
colour to the bill and what appeared to be white tips to the tail. My
initial impression was that it was larger than a Silver Gull - heading
towards Kelp Gull size - but I could easily have been mistaken about the
size as the gull was flying alone. On reviewing the images of Franklin's
Gull in "Gulls of the Americas" and also by doing a Google search, I am
positive that the gull was a full adult - probably in or near breeding
plumage - Franklin's Gull. If anyone is in the area it may pay to have a bit
of a look for it.

Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Dodd  
Sent: Sunday, 7 July 2013 4:13 PM
To: Mike Carter
Cc: <>
Subject: Eastern Grass Owl on French Island, Victoria

Mike and others,

Ruth and I have spent most of the day at Tortoise Head, but no luck.
Tortoise Head is a wonderful place and we've had no shortage of
Black-shouldered Kites, Nankeen Kestrels, Wedge-tailed Eagles and
White-bellied Sea Eagles. There were a few waders - RM Stints, RC Plovers
and a pair of Double-banded Plovers. A lovely day but we were ultimately
defeated by rain and mosquitos!

Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria


Sent from my iPhone

On 07/07/2013, at 10:45 AM, "Mike Carter" <> wrote:

> Around midday yesterday an Eastern Grass Owl was watched quartering over
the tussock grassland on Tortoise Head, French Island, which is in
Westernport Bay, Victoria, by Ken Harris and his survey team. For more
information phone Chris Chandler on 0407 705450.
> 
> Mike Carter
> 30 Canadian Bay Road
> Mount Eliza  VIC 3930
> Tel  (03) 9787 7136
> ===============================
> 
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