(Puffinus ternuirostris)
Muttonbirds and the history of Flinders Island go hand in hand.
Some of the first shipwreck survivors from the Sydney Cove lived on mutton birds until they were rescued. From that day mutton birds have been an important food and income source for the early settlers of the Furneaux group, with mutton birds being harvested as chicks. Every part of the mutton bird was utilised, the feathers and down were sold to make pillows and quilts, the oil from the stomach was use in medicinal products and the meat is sold fresh or salted in barrels. During and after World War 2, mutton birds were canned and sold as (squab in aspic). Today the mutton birding industry is of a lot smaller scale and importance that it was in past decades, when more than 500 people were involved in the mutton bird industry and it was one of the major sources of income for Island residents. Today mutton birding is mainly continued as a cultural practice of the descendants of the Tasmanian Aborigines.
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Habits
There is approximately 23 million mutton birds that breed in 280 colonies around south eastern Australia. The largest of these colonies is on Babel Island (approximately 3 million) on the eastern side of Flinders Island.
The mutton bird is one of the worlds greatest travellers with the migration taking it from southern Australia up the western side of the Pacific Ocean to the Artic region, where it spends the northern summer and then returns southwards through the centre of the ocean. This remarkable bird covers 15,000 kilometres in each direction annually. Along this journey the mutton birds feed upon krill, squid and fish. Their main methods of feeding are plunging into the water, pursuing underwater, surface seizing, scavenging, hydroplaning and bottom feeding. During the breeding season the adults feed in the locality of the breeding colonies, where they return on dusk to feed the young chicks.
Breeding Cycle
On their arrival at the breeding colonies in September-October the birds meet with their chosen mates and renovate their old burrows. The birds don’t breed until they are 5 years old, when they pair, they usually pair for life and nest in the same burrow every year. They then leave the colony and spend time feeding to return in late November to lay a single white egg.
The young chicks hatch in January. Both parents participate in feeding the chick. The chick quickly puts on weight and before the departure of the parent, is almost twice the weight of an adult. The adults depart from early April leaving behind the young birds still covered in down. From this time until early May the chicks do not eat at all. They rapidly lose weight and acquire their flight feathers. Two to three weeks after the parents have left, the young birds begin their migratory flight unassisted by experienced birds. Natural mortality occurs mainly during the first migration due to exhaustion and starvation. The average lifespan is 15-19 years but birds can live up to 38 years.
The Parks and Wildlife Service has erected a viewing platform at the rookery on Settlement Point. This overlooks the nesting sites of the mutton birds, where the adults can be observed at dusk returning to feed their young. The best time to see this amazing event is from late January until late March. The viewing platform is only a short walk from the car parking area and people are reminded not to disturb the mutton birds. Alternately mutton birds can be viewed by contacting one of the charter operators that conduct mutton bird tours.
