June J Brush Island Revisited 5 1973 Brush Island Revisited By ALAN K. MORRIS, Old Toongabbie, New South Wales Lying some 15 miles south of Ullad ulla, on the south coast of New South Wales, and a bout half-a-mile off Murramurang Headland, is Brush Island. a Nature Reserve proclaimed under the Fauna Protec­ tion Act of that State. A description of the island was given by C. P. Humphries and S. G. Lane (Emu, 54 : 131-134) . T here are only a few visits recorded to this island, namely. that of A. F. Bassett Hull and Henry Grant in 1915 (Hull, Emu, 15 : 210-213) ; C. P. Hum­ phries in September 1953, and Humphries, Lane and others in November 1953 (foe. cit.), and a return trip in December 1961. by Lane (Emu, 62 : 181 -1 83.). The aim of this pa per is to summa rise an additional fou r trips to the island and to record in detail the changes that have taken place in the breeding shea rwater population since 1961. Brush Island would appear to contain the largest Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor, rookery in New South Wales, these birds nesting extensively over much of the island. The shea rwater breeding burrows are mainly confined to the southern and eastern sections of the island on a sandy ridge heavily covered by Irongrass, Larnonda longifolia. Bassett Hull in 1915 found onl y Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. Puffi­ nus pacificus, breeding on the island, but he did locate what he claimed to be a fresh egg of the Short-tailed Shearwater, P. tenuiros­ tris, although this was later considered by Humphries and Lane (1954) to be the egg of a Sooty Shearwater, P. J?riseus. On their visit to the island in November 1954, they found onl y one Wedged-tai led Shearwater in a burrow. but the visit was prior to the main egg laying period and most breeding birds would have been still at sea. Lane in December f961, examined 150 burrows and located 26 Short-tailed Shearwaters and 12 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, most of the birds brooding eggs. Although this was the fi rst time that Short­ tailed Shearwaters had been found breeding on the island, the estab­ lishment of the colony may have taken place some years before. Short-tailed Shearwaters were first discovered breeding on a New South Wales island in 1958, when S . .T . .T . Davies (1959, Emu, 59 : 287-288) discovered them on the Tollgates Islands. Nowadays they are known to breed on all the major islands as far north as the Broughton Island Group. R ecently Lane (1970, Emu, 70 : 141) re­ ported hearing them calling at night on Mutton-Bird Island some 270 miles further to the north. Recent visits to Solitary Island (Lane. in lift.) have revealed onl y Wedge-tailed Shearwaters breeding. Accompanied by H . Battam and others I visited Brush Island on December 1, 1967, staying overnight. The longer visit enabled exami­ nation of a la r[le number of shearwater burrows, 45 of which con­ tained Short-tail ed Shearwaters, each brooding an egg. The birds were banded with CSIRO bands. The remainder of the burrows were too long to be examined properly. Tn January 1969. T visited the island for several hours, and 14 6 MORRIS [ Bird Watcher Short-tailed Shearwaters were located brooding eggs. Two of these birds had been banded on a previous visit. On March 14, 1970, a party of five, including H . Battam, visited the island for an overnight stay. No Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were located either on the surface or in a burrow, but 22 Short-tailed Shearwater chicks were located in burrows and 48 adults (41 from the surface) were banded. On November 30, 197 1, Lane and myself had a two hour stay on the island and in that time located 12 Short-tailed Shearwaters and one Wedge-tailed Shearwater each brooding an egg. The latter bird was the first Wedge-tailed Shearwater recorded breeding on Brush Island for 10 yea rs. DISCUSSION In 196 1 Lane recorded finding a Wedge-tailed Shearwater brood­ ing an egg of the Short-tailed Shearwater, and stated that this could indicate strong competition for burrows and the possibility that the stronger Short-tailed Shearwater would eventually oust the Wedge­ ta iled Shearwater from the island. T his prediction appears to have ta ken place as no breeding Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were located on Brush Island in visits during 1967-1 970, despite intensive searches. T he finding of the one Wedge-tailed Shearwater in a burrow on the most recent trip may be significant, and onl y regula r monitoring of the breeding populations in future years will enable us to have a clear understanding as to the interaction between these two species. A total of 174 (22 chicks) Short-tailed Shearwaters and 14 Wedge­ ta il ed Shearwaters have now been banded, but no long term live recoveries have been made on the island. An adult Short-tailed Shearwater banded by Lane on December 3, 1961 , was recovered dead at Batehaven (1 8 miles S.W.) on November 10, 1962. NOTES ON OTHE R SPECIES No breeding burrows of the White-faced Storm-Petrel, Pelago­ drorna marina have been found on Brush Island. However, during the visit in 1967 several birds were attracted to the lantern at night near the no rthern end of the island. Sooty Oystercatchers, Haematopu:s fuliginosus breed on the island, and the greatest number seen was in December, 1967, when nine were present; five birds were to be found on two rocky points and a nest containing two eggs was located amongst the shingle on the eastern po int. A pair of Peregrine Falcons. Falco peregrinus, was present on the Island in December 1967. these birds had not previously been recor­ ded by Lane and Humphries. On the trip of November 30, 1971 , the remain s of a surf-washed Cape Petrel, Daption capensis, were found on the south side of the island. This bird had possibly been eaten by the same White-breasted Sea-eagle, Haliaetus leucogaster, which was observed that day to pluck a live Short-tailed Shearwater from the ocean not far from where the Cape Petrel was found. After flying for about 100 ya rd s the Eagle lost its grip and the Shearwater managed to esca pe. June ­] Crested Grebe Nesting in Tasmunio 7 IY73 T he 30 mile round trip to and from the Lsla nd on this latest visit was quite eventful. Wind and rains from the south combined with a south-east swell to make a very rough passage, so much so. that there was little opportunity to look at sea birds on the run south because it was essential to ma intain a secure gri p. Albatrosses were very common and countless thousands of Short-tail ed Shearwaters were seen. The Shearwaters were proba bl y part of a feed ing flock of non-breeding birds, although it no doubt conta ined foraging bird s from nea rby breeding islands. The return trip was made wi thout the rain and the wi nd had dropped, so the conditions for viewing sea birds were more ideal. A total of 34 Shy Albatross, Diomedea cauta, and nine Black-browed Albatross, D. melanophris, were counted, three of the latter having the white head, black brow, yellow bill and clearl y defi ned under wing pattern of the adult, while the other six having the dark head. dark bill and sooty under wings of the im mature plumage. In con­ trast most of the Shy Albatrosses would appear to have been adults. The seas being so rough the few Austra li an Gannets, Sula serrator, and Crested Terns, Sterna bergii, noted were to be onl y found in the lee of Brush Island o r within the ha rbour at Ollad ulla. Twelve F lut­ tering Shea rwaters, P. gavia, were observed amongst the Short-tai led Shearwaters at sea, and on the previous evening about 30 were noticed feeding at sea offshore from Bendalong, 12 miles north of Ulladulla. T his last trip was finished with a walk along Moll ymook Beach near Ulladulla, where the surf-washed remains of 11 Short-tailed and I Sooty Shea rwater were collected . I wish to express my thanks to S. G. Lane and H . Battam for their assistance in prepa ring this note, and to the Department of Shipping and Transport who provided transport on two of the recent trips. My visits were undertaken as part of my d uties as a R anger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Crested Grebe and Coot Nesting in Tasmania By J. R . NAPIER, St. Marys. Tasmania. The Crested Grebe, Podiceps crista/us, is in no way consid ered common in Tasmania, and up to December 1971, has not been re­ corded nesting in this state. M. S. R . Sharland ( 1958), in discussing this species, indicates th at in his experience it tends to prefer th e highland Jakes, and gives Great Lake and Interlaken as definite sightings. He also notes its occurrence in coastal areas in winter. P. Bolger (1 963), gives some in teresting figures in relation to one coastal area, P ittwater, drawing attention to an increase in the population over the winter period. H is records culminate in a count of 225 birds in J uly 1960. T he writer's only records prior to Decem­ ber, 1971 were for coastal areas, and then only an odd bird or two.