Friday 17 June 2011

Pelican enjoys a can of coke?

Here is a great example why we should not litter and remember to put our rubbish in the bin. Fortunately an Australian Seabird Rescue member was there to take this can away from the pelican and put it in the bin before an injury occurred. We don't want wildlife to suffer from our mistakes. Look after our environment and our wildlife. This pelican is healthy and enjoying his life now.

Pelican plays with a coke can; fortunately can was removed before an injury occurred.

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Breaking news - repeat offender!


Today Bill and Rhonda were called to the Northern Break wall of Port Kembla Harbour. There they found a very sorry young juvenile pelican begging for fish from a fisherman. He had a graze on his wing and was very dirty and undernourished. When they looked at him they noticed he had a number on his wing which Australian Seabird Rescue had marked on him 5 weeks ago when he was first found huddled up beside a dead adult pelican that had hit powerlines and died. This adult could have been his parent and the juvenile on his first flight from the island off  Port Kembla where he hatched. After rehydration and feeding, he was released into a group of older pelicans. He had been doing well and learning to catch fish himself until one day, when we checked on him, he had flown away.

But today we were reunited with him! He has been rehydrated and fed again and released with the older birds. We will regularly check on his progress, but who knows when we may meet again.

Monday 13 June 2011

Penguins - favourite birds to have in care!


Earlier this season 2 penguins in different stages of moult came into care. One was found on the beach at North Cronulla and taken to Caringbah Vet. The other was found off the islands at Port Kembla, struggling in the rough seas and Australian Seabird Rescue was called to help. Both birds were found undernourished and beginning to moult. If a penguin doesn't store enough body mass before moulting it will it will not survive as they are not waterproof and can't catch fish during this period. Usually they stay in their burrows until their moult is over which takes about 17 days or more. Both of these gorgeous birds were fully rehabilitated and released where they were found.

Penguins looking a little miserable during their moult!

New feathers and feeling good!




Tuesday 7 June 2011

Rescue of the Ducklings!

One of ASR's regular activities is to go on "Southern Patrols"  where we visit a number of locations between Shellharbour and Georges Bay. This is to check on the health of the birds and catch any problems if we see them. On our March patrol we had a surprise rescue at Greenwell Point. People swimming in the public pool called us over and asked if we could help. Six tiny ducklings were trapped in the pool. They were too young to fly and the water level was too low for them to scramble out. Mr and Mrs Duck were very distressed and attacking anyone who tried to come near their babies. Out came the long handled net, and with the assistance of the kids in the pool, the ducklings were herded into the net. They were released back to mum and dad who with much quacking, took off with their brood as fast as they could waddle!

Friday 3 June 2011

Sanctuary Pt Rescue

We received a call from Sanctuary Pt today. The fishermen down there had noticed a pelican with a float tangled around his wing, a couple of weeks ago, but we only heard about it today. After the long drive down we found the pelican at the first boatramp we went to. Betty first tried throwing some fish out to see how close he would come but although he was hungry, he was a little shy. So we set the noose up and Kathryn had her first go at using it. The noose is set just above the water line and fish are thrown in front with the idea that the pelican will walk through the noose to get to the fish. Sometimes it goes to plan but other times every other pelican except the one you are trying to catch comes up. Today all went well and the pelican we wanted came straight up. He must've been really hungry. He had no hooks and was easy to untangle, so was soon off feeling a lot more comfortable.

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Hooked pelican at Lake Conjola


Recently a distressed pelican was finally caught at Lake Conjola. This bird had a large lure with hooks on both ends stuck on his neck and back. The fishing line went over his head and around his wings. This was preventing him from eating but unfortunately not from flying. ASR was originally called on Good Friday but with so many people around, after driving the 2 hours to get there, the bird was nowhere in sight. Many people had seen the pelican and were very upset. Rhonda and Bill went back a few days later, but were not able to catch it. The following weekend Rhonda said "We're going down again and I'm not coming back without helping this bird!" So they booked into a cabin at the local caravan park.  No luck that evening but the next day, finally success! The pelican was in a bad way but they were able to untangle it and treat the hook wounds. It was such a relief even though it was exhausting. It takes a lot of time to make these long trips and of course costs a lot in petrol. At this stage we don't have any ASR members in the Lake Conjola area but would welcome new members anywhere along our coastline.