Surfcoast oil spill?

The Shearwater/Mutton Bird deaths are simply a case of natural selection.

They travel the huge migratory distance from the Bass Strait Islands to Alaska and back again, and some just don't have the energy to make it.

I've seen them washing up or sitting on the edge of the wave zone around Sydney the last month or so, but have heard reports that there are more dying this season compared to others.

Unbelievable the journey they make!!

For sure, that won't be helping their cause!

We've had hundreds and hundreds of them wash up on our beaches here in Nth NSW the past month or so. I was shocked at first before learning what it all was. Strange though, have NEVER seen them washed up before……….would the past month or so of full on Northerlies had anything to do with it this year?

There was an oil spill in Bass Straight a month or so ago. Don't know the details but I'd suspect that is your source.

The mutton birds themselves are pretty oily, their bodies go rancid in the sun.

tomdo wrote:

Even with persistent strong south easterlies in Vicco lately surely it's doubtful such a small leak could make it around Wilsons Prom and be seen in both Lorne and Torquay 10 weeks later? Unless of course it was a much larger spill than Exxon claim....

Your last line wouldn't surprise me. The other interesting point you made is the last couple of weeks of strong E-SE winds.

If there were any kind of leak still ongoing from any of the platforms in Bass Strait this would be the reason for all the build up around Lorne.

There's been no oil leaks on the east coast and we've had similar if not more sheerwaters turn up dead so I'd say that'd be no coincidence. As Craig said its just natural selection, the sick, weak etc don't make it. Although I'd have a sneaky feeling that our local crazy northerly winds may have had something to do with it considering I've never seen this phenomenon before. Either that or they change courses slightly from year to year?

Mutton birds regularly wash up exhausted, near dead or dead every spring, all along the East Coast and Vicco.
There was a major kill event in the year 2000.

What does seem unique about this event though is the extent to which the normal migration pattern seems to have been disrupted.
Normally the birds are just visible as the migrate south, with dead birds being washed ashore or seen in the nearshore zone.

This year, large numbers of birds have just been hanging around, still actively searching for food. Thats been observed off the Gold Coast and here in the Northern Rivers.

That raises questions about the adequacy of the food supply in the boreal summer feeding grounds off Kamchatka and the Aleutians. Which is where useful inquiry should be directed I reckon.

There's still large numbers of birds hanging around now, some searching for food, many others too exhausted to feed and slowly dying in the nearshore zone.

It might be fair to say these large kill events are natural but it is worth questioning the extent of this one and the causes behind it. It could be a symptom of larger ecosystem distress.

quite a few up here on Sunny Coast too, lived here all my life and don't recall them up here before, but did see large numbers in Yamba a few years back, maybe 2008/09

A regular cycle of nature, seen these guys on Flinders Is (Bass strait), and they are near suicidal when not in the air - so stupid they run into stuff and make really poor decisions about what is safe /not. Local indigenous kids pick em up like chooks at the processing factory, and take em' home for a quick snack. Got to make sure the grill is on low or ya end up with a fairly healthy blaze when the fat starts to run !!!

tomdo, that was the one I meant, I thought it was bigger.

There was someone knowledgable quoted a few weeks ago about the frequency and implications of these 'wrecks'. Here's the link
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/dead-birds-not-just-a-freak-ev...

Really poor article.

Quoting wind speeds in Melbourne when they are flying from North Pac and washing up all over East Coast beaches well before Melbourne pretty much sums up the level of understanding of the writer.

IE, not fucking much.

At least the quoted scientist questioned the conditions of the marine environment in the North Pac.

Still, no mention of the disrupted migration pattern.

i think its a sign of something more than a natural cycle singkenken and your on the money freeride the evidence seems to point towards a downturn in their food supply in the northern hemisphere. The birds are not building up the bodyfat needed for the migration. Obviously i cant say for sure whats happening on the other side of the world but i have heard first hand observations from friends on one of the bass strait islands where large numbers usually nest and breed. These guys have noticed that the condition of the birds who do make it is generally poorer. From what they have seen the number of birds nesting has dropped noticably in the last 10 years. The condition of the chicks is also a lot poorer than in the past and they are taking longer to mature so it seems they are also not finding as much food here in our southern waters to feed their young. These are observations of guys who have lived their lives on the island and have seen the natural seasonal fluctuations they think something is definately up and are worried about the future

The Maori folk love them, good eating, loads of fat.
http://muttonbirds.maori.nz/

so did the tasmanian aboriginals welly their decendants and the other islanders still hunt the semi mature chicks on the islands every season. They are not bad eating but its a love it or hate it food the old timers swear by the oil as a health supplement. The hunting is another pressure on the declining population im as guilty as anyone having eaten them somehow a balance must be found between conservation and culture so they are still around for future generations.

they'd be loaded with omega three and six fatty acids from the baitfish they eat.
never tried one but it would take about five minutes to collect a bagfull at the moment. They'd probs be poor eating due to their condition though.

they make a beautiful sight flying low and gliding in between the swells.

I think in Tassie you can still hunt/eat shearwaters (and maybe still buy) but in the rest of Oz its illegal even to collect dead or dying ones, don't know if its true but i heard fines up to $20,000.00.

Ive had them before in tassie cooked in a webber, very oily gamey flesh, personally id much rather chicken.

BTW. Down here (phillip island) i actually didn't think there was as many dead or dying ones around this year compared to the previous two years.

Got to agree. Over the years they tend to stop on the boat, generally overnight, for a rest and then clear off. This year I've gone up to the roof to find a few already dead.

Also heaps on the sand cays, but to be honest, that is pretty normal.

They make an awesome water repellant for boat windows, rub them all over a window and the water streaks straight off when it is rough. Lasts for days.
Also make great cray bait, all that oil sends the cockroaches crazy.

Oily is an understatment. Heard they were good eating and tried to take one home once but made a bit of a mess of the kitchen. Had another go outside in a fire pit and turned out good! Meat was a bit scarce