News
AUSTRALIAN GANNET ON MALGAS ISLAND
Posted on the 8th December 2011Dear all,
While doing duty on Malgas, this little fellow rushed out of the crowd and said g'day to me.
How is that for luck?
The elusive Australasian Gannet residing among the Cape Gannets. If only she could tell us her story and I hope with all my heart that I have identified her correctly !!
Best regards
Heidi and Dave
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| Notice dark grey eye |
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| Notice short gular stripe |
COMMENTS
812Glad to hear he/she is still on the island. We were lucky enough to be on the island with Ralph on our last trip in 2009 and can confirm that Ozzi was there at that time.
Heidi, I know how excited you were to find the OZ Gannet and rightly so. Considering you had no clue where to look for it. A truely memorable moment for you; and for Heilie and I too.
It was a pleasure doing island duty with such a knowledgable person like yourself.
yes, bruce pointed her(?) out to us a year ago, but this year we failed to see her. Have a lovely photo showing her with her \"normal\" partner. Wonder whether they managed to breed successfully? Anyone seen a chick?\r\nNot only dark eye, but as well a much shorter black stripe under the chin.\r\n
She is a bautiful little thing, and I say this because she seems smaller overall than the Cape Gannet. Her head is a rich honey colour and to me it looks like her neck is shorter and thicker proportionally. I don\'t know that she is breeding, as she sits alone on the edge of the colony, fiddling with a little stick. I watched her/him snatching this little stick from a Capie. I also observerved very brief greeting rituals, just some beak rubbing and one or two neckings, but nobody stays with her. So lets hope she will find somebody to love soon !
Yes you have identified her correctly. Bruce the ornithologist was with on the island the previous week and he confirmed that she was an Australisian gannet!
delighted to get confirmation! I hear that Erna Rabie who went onto Malgas shift 10 today has also already seen it!