Kangaroo Island – Silver Gulls and Greater Crested Terns

Kangaroo Island is sometimes called Australia’s Galapagos. It was separated from Australia by the same climatic event which separated Ireland from Britain and Britain from mainland Europe; the end of the last Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago. It’s developed its own unique ecology, with different species and subspecies. It’s become a safe haven for many species which are endangered or become extinct on the mainland of Australia.

One of the unique subspecies is the Glossy Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus. I didn’t see one on my trip to Kangaroo Island. In 1995 there were only 158 birds left. Until last week there were 360 birds, despite an intensive decades-long conservation effort. Since the current bushfires destroyed a significant proportion of the island, there have been fears that all might have perished. A small flock of them has been sighted, so there is some small hope, but their food and their nesting sites are likely destroyed.

The birds I saw on my visit were both common species: the Greater Crested Tern and the Silver Gull. Here are Crested Terns, Thalasseus bergii, on the beach on Kangaroo Island:

The juveniles have wonderful uneven camouflage.

They are expert fliers:

Amongst them are Silver Gulls, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae. It was May when I visited and this pair were involved in a fascinating display:

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They are common, yet wonderful.

These birds have a choice of where to live, Glossy Black Cockatoos don’t.

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Please donate if you can to Nature Foundation SA, a South Australian conservation and wildlife charity, to save the remaining Glossy Black Cockatoos:
https://www.naturefoundation.org.au/support-us/kangaroo-island-conservation-programs

Thank you.

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