AAA News

• Adventures on Flinders Island

  Wednesday, 22 July 2009

  The warm summer sun is setting behind the peaks of what used to be a gigantic land-bridge spanning the entire Bass Strait and connecting Tasmania to the mainland. I am aboard a small game fishing vessel, the ‘Strait Lady’ captained by James Luddington as he navigates us through the archipelago of smaller islands off the coast of Flinders Island. Within moments he shuts down the power and we slow to a halt; he gestures towards the horizon: “There they are, looks like they are ready to go…”
  
  We are on an expedition cruise to witness approximately 3 million pairs of short-tailed shearwaters, or mutton birds as they are commonly known, transform the evening sky to black as they come home to their burrows. Pristine Flinders Island in Bass Strait is home to the largest known colony of these ocean-dwelling birds and to see them come in on sunset is really a sight to behold.
  
  James has been watching, counting and recording these birds for decades and he knows them better than anyone around. “Quite a remarkable bird really”, he says. “They spend our winter in the warmer, food rich waters north of Hokkaido before the equinox triggers their brain to migrate south to Australia to lay their eggs. They fly along in what pilots know as ground effect, using the wave energy to cruise efficiently for thousands of miles.”
  
  They used to be a staple food source in the colonies. Heavily cured in salt and tinned they were a high source of protein. I asked James how they taste? “Chicken poached in sardine oil”, was his reply. A good thing, I thought, because now they are only hunted by local aboriginals in the simple traditional method… put your hand down the burrow, if it squawks it’s a bird, if it bites, it’s a tiger snake.
  
  Adult birds have been known to live to 35 years, again quite remarkable as their initiation to life is somewhat challenging. The chick remains in the burrow until it becomes larger than its parents, the chick then makes its way down to the shoreline and tests out its wings. First takeoff, over water. First landing, in the water. If they haven’t lost enough of their juvenile down then they will be dragged down to the bottom of the ocean. If they have lost enough down, then their second takeoff is from the water.
  
  Remote Flinders Island is the largest landmass in the 72-strong archipelago in the Furneaux Group, Bass Strait. It is home to the largest known colony of these majestic oceanic wandering birds. This experience is a part of Air Adventure Australia’s 5 day Tasmania and Her Isles air tour. 2 seats are up for grabs in the Probus Photo Comp – get snapping!

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