Shearwater Wreck

The Short-tailed Shearwater [Puffinus tenuirostris ] or mutton bird, has an amazing yearly migration, leaving our shore in autumn and flying to the waters off Siberia and Alaska before return to Australia in spring. Most of those coming along the beach at Venus Bay are returning to rockeries in Phillip Island, but there is also a big colony at Port Fairy. It is not uncommon for many of the birds to die of exhaustion during the migration, which leads to the phenomenon known as a shearwater wreck, where large numbers of dead birds are washed up on the beach.

A CALL FOR INFORMATION
The wreck of Short-tailed Shearwaters appears particularly abundant along the Australian coast this spring. The number of dead shearwaters lining the beaches seems to be higher and more widespread across the Australian coast, but unless we collect data and do this consistently, this is only an observation. With shearwaters representing the most globally abundant avian species, it becomes important to understand just how many die each season and what this means to overall numbers.
We would like to make a start toward greater understanding and to learn more about this year’s wreck in particular. It has been suggested that changes in food availability due to the warming of the oceans is taking its toll on these migratory seabirds.
As regular beach visitors, you can play a role in helping us learn more about this issue. Over time we can learn whether mortality rates vary from year to year and if these trends are consistent, and/or linked with any particular climatic events or food availability.
When you next take a walk on a beach (albeit to look for breeding resident shorebirds!), please record: date, time, beach name, location, distance walked (ideally the latitude and longitude of your starting and finishing point), number of dead and dying shearwaters.
Send this information in an email to: atlas@birdlife.org.au marked ‘shearwater wreck’ in the subject line.
…..  from a email request from Grainne Maguire, Birdlife Australia

First Feathers

There where a lots of black feathers on the beach today, but no mutton bird carcasses. This possibly marks the return of the migrating shearwater (mutton birds). Let’s hope not as many perish this year.

Something To Sing About

All the signs that Spring has arrived in Venus Bay abound. The melodious calls of birds proclaiming territory and breeding rights fill the bush, and one of the most musical is the Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis is hard for your ears to miss. (Male pictured above, females are duller and lack the black & white head markings).

The plants are also getting into the mood, with many beginning their flowering. The Running Postman Kennedia prostrata (above) delivers a crimson treat with its pea-like blooms. For keener eyes are the small Native Violets Viola hederacea (below) whose flower stalk stands only 10cms tall at most.

The Silky Guiana Flower Hibbertia sericea var. sericea (below).

What would Spring be without a Fungi responding to the rains and warmth? An Earth Star Geastrum sp. (right) adds yet another colour and texture to the community of life playing out the seasonal vocation of procreation.

Death on the Beach

The Life Cycles of the Natural world play out daily along the coast at Venus Bay. Sometime you are confronted by the site of dead birds, like the albatross below, penguins, seals, dolphins and even whale. Unfortunately such deaths happen, frequently related to storms at sea. If you come across such birds, particularly penguins, it is a good idea to check for leg bands, its is import to note which leg is banded and the order of colours and any letters or numbers. Also if the cause of death is clearly not natural (eg the bird, fish is tangled in a net, line) they probably should be recorded. We don't need to be forensic experts or act as" the wildlife police", but significant changes in our environment may be signaled by other species.

Even Natural deaths when in larger numbers are worth recorded, for example our site was probably the first to note the large number of mutton birds that died and washed up in beaches all along Australian beach last year.

BUT please inspect these animals and birds with respect, a very rare and endangered species may need to be the subject or further scientific study.

Mess Up Days

You may have noticed some of the Pacific Gulls (Larus pacificus) looking a bit messy, this is just the juvenile birds moulting into their distinct black & white adult plumage. It is not due to oil or other pollutants clogging their feathers, just typical adolescent attire.

The Hooded Plovers Web of Life

I found this wonderful illustration on the Culture Victoria website under stories/ Land & Ecology.

The first ring has all sorts of tiny crabs and critters that Hoodies like to eat. The second ring shows some of the birds that share the beaches with Hoodies - some that stay there all year round and others that fly long distances to spend summer on the beach in Australia. Most birds share the crabs and critters with the Hoodies, but others like to eat the Hoodies, and other birds!
These creatures are linked together because they need each other to survive. Of course, humans are part of this web of life, and we have an affect on how it works.

More details on the CV website

A good day for a walk

I hope those that braved the walk out around Point Symthe area had a great day. One of the highlights was seeing a pair of hooded plovers possibly at a new nesting site and some oyster catchers resting on the beach.

The experiments with trying to directly observe sand drift, where not totally conclusive (steve may have photos) but overall seemed to show more movement to the north west than south east. This corresponds with the direction obtained by reading the sand bars, which where attached to the beach at the south eastern end.

migration mishap

Now is the time of migration for many of the birds that nest along out coast. The shearwater [Puffinus tenuirostris] (more common knownly as the mutton birds) flies in from as far north as the Siberia, the Aleutian Islands and even the Californian coast. Unfortunately this year something happened and the beaches at Venus Bay are littered by hundreds of dead bird. Stormy weather probably isn’t to blame as most bird appear to have only recently died, a period of mild weather and calm seas and light sea fog. Presumably they died of exhaustion from their trip unable to summon the strength to continue to their nesting sites.

In 1798, Mathew Flinders recorded watching an almost continuous line for several hours of shearwater leaving the waters of northern Tasmanian and heading across bass straight on the start of their migration north.  He estimated that there were at least one hundred million birds within a single flock!

Beach-Nesting Birds Workshop & Beach Walk

Learn about Birds Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds project and how to safely monitor nesting
birds. All welcome!

Location: Venus Bay Surf Life Saving Club (Surf Drive)

Date: Saturday 6th November
Indoor presentation: 11:00 am -12:00 pm
Break for lunch 12:00 - 1:00pm
[Bring along your lunch; tea/coffee/juice and cake will be provided]

Beach walk*: 1:00pm departing Number one beach (end of Surf Drive), heading east along the beach. We will walk at least 1km and depending on your fitness, there is the option join us on a longer walk.



* For those going on the beach walk, please be prepared for the weather and bring along wet weather gear or sun protection as required. If you have binoculars, please bring these along. You might want to bring along a bottle of water to keep hydrated.