Benzeenees Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I was fishing off Moruya Heads on Monday. Very quiet, almost no wind. No real action. But there were hundreds of the smaller species of mutton bird out looking for food. There is clearly not much around as there were dozens of dead birds on the water. And the live ones were really hungry. I threw a large chunk of fish to one. Usually they are not interested in big pieces, but it started tearing into the fish. Then a war erupted as about ten more joined in. And then, quite quietly, a sea eagle moved in. After an exploratory pass, it swooped low and grabbed a mutton bird and flew off slowly, passing just in front of me. An I had no camera with me! Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paikea Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 What a shame, a once in a lifetime shot and no camera. But you have a great memory of a unique moment in nature. Don't you just love the things that fishos get to see, proof that it ain't just about fishing. Cheers Paikea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisherman Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Definetly would have been cool to see... I was near the golf course at la perouse when I saw a hawk swoop down on an unsuspecting rodent which I didn't even notice until the hawk was about 2 m away from it. Definetly a national geographic moment. Harry If it's to good to be true, it usually is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krause Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 The mutton birds are miagrating the the moment. Ive been told they come from south africa/america (I cant quite remember which, but its a long way for a small bird to fly) and they travel to tasmania to breed. My family tried to save a dieing one and rang wires (where this info came from) and they sadi that they just drop from exaustion. hence the beaches are covered in them. Ive been fishing the south beaches this week and have picked up about a dozen birds that were stuggling in the break. Just put them down the beach were there is less sevre break so they can swim back out. As for the eagles, they are waesome. Not long ago i stayed at port stephens. After a hot tailor session we filleted about a dozen fish, and discarded the carcases out the back of the house, and through them in the shallow sand flats at corrlete. Then proceded to watch a breeding pair of white creasted sea eagles, swoop down and take all the carcases, carry three or more at the same time, picking one up per fly by. Awesome animals, and you dont get an idea of their size untill they are near something for a scale of reference. Awesome stuff. What a shame, a once in a lifetime shot and no camera.But you have a great memory of a unique moment in nature. Don't you just love the things that fishos get to see, proof that it ain't just about fishing.CheersPaikea Very true indeed, Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Does anyone know when the migration finishes? I'm sort of over my wife having to rescue everyone of these birds she can! I know they are exhausted but so am I from all the car trips to the vet! Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krause Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 No real idea. What does the vet do with them. Because wires says not to interact with them. I pull them from the surf non the less because they just get smashed. Histerically I put the first one in the sand behind me, only to have it run past an hour later and continue to drown in the break.... hence I now move them near areas with less severe shore dump and they get back out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 (edited) No real idea. What does the vet do with them. Because wires says not to interact with them. I pull them from the surf non the less because they just get smashed. Histerically I put the first one in the sand behind me, only to have it run past an hour later and continue to drown in the break.... hence I now move them near areas with less severe shore dump and they get back out.Hey Krause,As we know the birds are exhausted and basically die for this reason. The vet said that the re-hydrate the birds and release them after 24hrs. It was interesting to find out that they can not take flight from land. So if you do try rescuing, what you did was fine. Find a shallow non flowing water area and that will give them their best chance to rest and survive. There must be millions of them as there attrition rate is shocking! Cheers scratchie!!! Edited November 1, 2013 by Scratchie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krause Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Hey Krause, As we know the birds are exhausted and basically die for this reason. The vet said that the re-hydrate the birds and release them after 24hrs. It was interesting to find out that they can not take flight from land. So if you do try rescuing, what you did was fine. Find a shallow non flowing water area and that will give them their best chance to rest and survive. There must be millions of them as there attrition rate is shocking! Cheers scratchie!!! Cool, good to know that i was somewhere close to correct in my actions. And I agree with your statement about numbers, because their are carcases all over beaches from nelson bay to gerringong which is close to 300-350km of coast line. Poor things, came all the way from another continent to kick the bucket so close to their goal...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now