DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS

It was distressing to see so many of them dead. They were afloat, but their usually perky heads hung under water; their bodies twisted and shapeless.  Their soft, chocolate-brown feathers which normally made them look quite cuddly were dull and sodden. 

Shearwaters (or mutton birds) are more finely built than seagulls and much more appealing. Their wing shape is sharply aero dynamic, and they glide over the waves, gracefully skimming the roughest water inches from the surface.  Are they really slip streaming our yacht, or is that just mutton-birdly curiosity?  They frequently settle on the water, popping their head under the surface for a look, and taking off again.  Every October, they arrive on our SE coast at the tail-end of their massive 32,000km round trip from Australia to Russia via NZ and Japan, then back again via Alaska, the west coat of North America and a Pacific crossing.  Marvellous.

What disaster could have killed so many?  Feral fishermen taking pot shots? Poisonous food?  An algal bloom? A bio- or chemo-hazard accident? 

A call to Michelle at the Ballina Seabird Rescue Organisation provided the answer. They were dying of exhaustion and starvation. Official theory blames the wild weather being experienced across eastern Australia this spring.  The unseasonal storms were just too much for the tiny shearwaters. A similar phenomenon was noted 5 years ago.

So, sadly, fewer Shearwaters will be returning to their habitual nests this year, and their life-long partners will need to re-partner to lay their eggs in November before they head off again in April to repeat their risky passage.