A lone black-headed gull has caused a stir in Australia's birdwatching community after landing on the Western Australian coast, thousands of kilometres off its usual migratory flight path. The bird, which typically migrates between Europe and Asia, was spotted in the coastal city of Geraldton.
First Sighting in Decades
The gull was first reported last Tuesday by a local Facebook group, following a severe storm front that battered south-west Western Australia. According to Steve Pidgeon, a Geraldton local of 42 years and member of Birdlife Midwest-Geraldton, this is the first reported sighting of the species in Australia since 1991. 'The birds migrate from Asia to Europe, so it is a long way from where it should be,' Pidgeon said.
Unusual Journey South
While weather events frequently blow birds outside their normal territory, experts say this arrival is unusual due to how far south the gull travelled. The closest regular populations of the black-headed gull are in India, Japan and the Philippines. Tegan Douglas of Birdlife Australia explained: 'We quite often see rare or vagrant species turn up after severe weather events. The thing that makes it a little bit unusual with the black-headed gull is that this storm front mostly came from the south-west, and this observation is already at the extreme southern end of its distribution.' The previous southernmost record in Australia was in Broome, about 1,500 km north-east of Geraldton, 35 years ago.
Twitchers in Action
The arrival of such a rare bird has triggered a phenomenon among birdwatching enthusiasts known as 'twitchers'. Douglas described it as 'the extreme end of enjoying birdwatching as a hobby'. She added: 'There are people who are so competitive about having the most number of birds on their list that they will drop everything, feign sickness to get off work, book flights, and drop a whole heap of cash.' At least one twitcher has travelled from the east coast to catch a glimpse of the avian visitor.
Douglas herself embarked on the longest twitch of her life, coordinating with a friend to carpool the four-hour, almost 400 km drive from Perth to Geraldton. The journey was made easier by a collaborative network of local birdwatchers using WhatsApp chat groups to track the bird's movements in real-time. 'There was someone who flew over from the east coast, and people here were offering them a lift to get up to Geraldton to try and cut costs,' Douglas said. 'The birdwatching community is really supportive of each other.'
Living an Ordinary Life
Despite being far from home, the black-headed gull is living a remarkably ordinary life on the Geraldton foreshore. Douglas observed it blending in with flocks of local silver gulls, 'fossicking for chips' and 'just doing regular seagull things'. Pidgeon, who photographed the rare visitor for his Instagram, noted that many birdwatchers have travelled from across the state and Australia to see it. The gull seems unfazed by human presence, sitting happily on the beach just 10 to 15 metres away from people.
How Long Will It Stay?
How long the rogue traveller decides to stay on the coast of midwest WA remains a mystery. Because it is in an unfamiliar environment, it doesn't know local threats or predators. However, Douglas says the 'rockstar' is 'pretty lucky because it's landed in with a bunch of cousins'. She emphasised that respectful behaviour around wildlife helps rare birds stay longer, but with this gull, 'There's no need for that. It will sit quite happily on the beach.'
