Pacific Gull feeding on Periwinkles

Due to lack of wind our sea-watch trip on Monday to Point Lonsdale at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay was decidedly short of albatross and other ocean birds. When the tide fell and submerged reefs started to appear birding improved though as Black-faced Cormorants, Crested Terns, Silver Gulls and Pacific Gulls arrayed on the reefs in front of us.

One particular Pacific Gull put on a wonderful show for us. He/she would fly out to a partially submerged reef and collect a large periwinkle, then carry it back to shore, rise up on the wind, then drop it to smash on the rock platform below. He/she did this about six times and there was a distinct pattern that ran; collect periwinkle, fly to shore and drop it on rock platform, eat contents, wash bill in shallow pool, return to reef for another periwinkle.

Collecting periwinkle from partially submerged reef.

Collecting the periwinkle had to be timed between waves

Pacific Gull and periwinkle

Dropping the periwinkle .....

that sometimes required a second drop to break the shell

Eating one of the six or more periwinkles .....

followed by a good face wash before flying off for another periwinkle.