Birds
...of the feather type, sorry! I'm absolutely clueless at identifying birds but I saw something out of Ocean Reef today (aboaut 7nm out, 30m depth) that was a first for me. We got our berley trail going and in no time at all a single Albatross was hanging around very close to the boat and a bit further back about 6 brown (Petrels I think they are) fairly large birds, not like the Mutton birds that steal our mulies at the FADS.
A short while later there were a few small birds that never actually landed on the water but just hovered above the surface picking bits to feed on. The next thing one of the brown Petrels snapped a small bird straight out of the air and ate it! My mate and I were not quite sure if what we thought we'd seen was happening but during the course of the morning we saw 2 more get taken. One was stunned and lay half dead before being gulped down and the third one caused a bitof s stir when the attacking bird dropped it and it was a free for all.
I've never seen this before and would be keen to hear from others of they can identify the types of birds and if this is common?
thanks
tim-o
Posts: 4657
Date Joined: 24/05/11
Haha, Id say the big birds
Haha, Id say the big birds came to your boat hungry hopin for food and so did the little birds, and, well, if ya dont eat, ya dont shit, and if ya dont shit, ya die.....
I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.
Seafari
Posts: 116
Date Joined: 17/03/12
LMAO tim-o, that's about the
LMAO tim-o, that's about the extent of my understanding of what went on today.
Seafari
Posts: 116
Date Joined: 17/03/12
this looks like the type
this looks like the type (model and make) of small bird that was eaten
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
jesus birds are the little
jesus birds are the little ones, walking on water.
I think the big brown ones referred to are beanie snatchers
Long ago when I was a cray decky we were setting pots mid winter, boring as bat poo standing at the rail going in circles when my beanie was ripped off!
One of those brown birds had it, flew about 30 meters and landed. Pecked it a few times then flew off.
Later I was talking to a decky mate and said "guess what one of those f-ing brown ducks did?"
"oh the beany snatchers" he says
If you hold a mulie up in the air sometimes they will fly over and grab it from you.
I doubt it was an actual albatross you saw, you would know as they are HUGE, not just big and unmistakeably majestic.
In all the years of longlining I dont recall seeing them within maybe 100 miles plus of land, and fairly rarely over about 7 years.
One flew into our radar scanner and crashed to the deck-took ages he get him going again and he wasnt to grateful...
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
southcity104
Posts: 1659
Date Joined: 27/01/09
I recon i know what you saw
I had one today on the transom. Big black albatross looking bird but jet black. The other birds out there were staying well clear of it. But the Turns were occasionally harassing it. I photographed it as id never seen one out there. Searching on the net I recon its a Southern giant petrel.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIddcgI4WB0/TdG7a3u2mfI/AAAAAAAAUKI/6karpGMNc6o/s1600/_MG_9037.JPG
"Its a life style job"
southcity104
Posts: 1659
Date Joined: 27/01/09
This bird?
"Its a life style job"
Terry
Posts: 458
Date Joined: 04/12/05
Petrel
It's a Black Petrel, I believe
Seafari
Posts: 116
Date Joined: 17/03/12
the bird that we saw looked
the bird that we saw looked VERY much like this one (pic from internet). Same stunning features and very clean, perfect specimen. Since we were not catching any fish (stoey of my life) I gave it a feed of mulies.I've made a note to take a decent camera on the boat and keepit ready for action.
Alan James
Posts: 2207
Date Joined: 30/06/09
Must be stressful being a bird
this pic was taken of the stomach contents of a 37kg YTK
Geoff78
Posts: 324
Date Joined: 05/03/13
That would have smelt nice.
That would have smelt nice.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Mutton birds and tigers
When pro shark fishing up north , every big tiger had mutton bird feathers in them. Not hard to see why when the birds would all mob together in flocks of hundreds sitting on the water just waiting to be snatched form below.
axey45
Posts: 1758
Date Joined: 26/11/13
Jesus bird, European storm
Jesus bird, European storm petrel, just found out.
Sand_whiting
Posts: 90
Date Joined: 21/07/12
We had a albatross fly into
We had a albatross fly into the side in the boat, they get very friendly sometimes.
Early to bed ... early to rise ... fish all day... this is our lives.
thebmac
Posts: 51
Date Joined: 15/12/12
we had one of those black
we had one of those black birds in one of the pics swim up to the back of the boat and start biting everything. outboard, leads, or bloody fishing fishing rods. then it sat there with its neck siting against the ladder. push it away with the gaff and all it does is try and bite it. got so annoying we had to move
Beats working!!!!!!