Hi Paul

 >  Not sure what sort of foreign
 > birds would be migrating through Australia though.  On their
 > way to where?!  Antarctica?  BFN.  Paul.

The Shearwater (forget which type) migrate from Siberia to Tasmania and
back every year using a figure 8 migration path.  They come to Tas, mainly
the islands in Bass Strait, to breed.

These birds live and raise their chicks in burrows, usually dug on the side
of a steep bank facing the water, as they have difficulty taking off. The
weirdest thing about them is that they fly very close to the water
(actually in the trough between the waves) and when they sight a fish they
dive and will chase the fish underwater using their wings as the means of
propulsion.  People don't believe it when they are told that the birds
"fly" underwater, but they do and they can move very fast too.

The common name in Tassie for them is mutton-birds and a short season is
open each year for people to catch them. The flesh is very oily and to
anyone not used to them, the meat "stinks".
They are a delicacy that you definitley need an acquired taste for.

Kind Regards
Niels Petersen

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