Welcome sighting of a relative newcomer

THE kelp gull (pictured) is one of three species of this group of seabirds to be found locally.

It is also the least common, so the sighting of at least two at Thirteenth Beach recently is a noteworthy record.

The bird most closely resembles the Pacific gull which has always been a part of our local birdlife. Often it is the dark brown Pacific that we see, less often the beautiful black and white adult.

By contrast, the kelp gull is a relative newcomer with the first noted by the late Perc Wood in 1954. Writing in the Geelong Advertiser on April 10 of that year, he noted: “Last year, when taking a census of the Silver Gull, I saw what seemed to be a Pacific. It had come ashore near the yacht club property. Something about its appearance caught my eye ... the beak was lemon yellow tipped with blood red, and the legs, of lime colour, had a lighter shade than those of the Pacific.”

This was not the first Australian record, but it certainly was the first for our region.

The bird was at that time called the Dominican gull, and it was known from South Africa and some other parts the sub-Antarctic islands.

For some reason, in the decades following the 1950s, the kelp gull began to disperse and colonise various parts of coastal southern Australia.

It established small breeding colonies on several offshore islands, notably Seal Rocks at Phillip Island and several islands offshore from NSW.

The largest colony formed on islands south of Hobart where there are at least 200 pairs. Ironically, it is here that they are in direct competition with the Pacific gull, displacing them from their traditional lands. How serious a threat they are to their cousins is not known, but it seems likely that there is competition for suitable breeding places.

With more competent bird observers now than ever before, we realise that other species of gulls turn up unexpectedly.

The Australian list now includes black-tailed, blackheaded, Franklin’s, laughing and Sabine’s gulls, all as what we call “vagrants”. Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@gmail.com