Dr Jenn Lavers has invited me along today to film the necropsy of some Short Tailed Shearwater chicks, known locally as mutton birds. There is a very good chance these Short Tailed Shearwater chicks will sadly be full of plastic pollution. There will be another photographer in attendance as well as some year twelve science students and the lab will be quite crowded. I will be filming the process as well as taking photos. There are a number of birds to be dissected so I should be able to get some workable vision.
As a Tasmanian woman Mutton birds featured prominently in my childhood as we always made the annual trek to Bruny island in mutton bird season to capture as many of these fat little birds as our licences would allow.
I can remember being awestruck as a child when at dusk the sky was filled with massive great flocks of adult Shearwaters returning to their burrows to feed their young.
As the great rookeries were depleted by the annual slaughter, the mutton birds dug deeper burrows in an attempt to protect their chicks and the fisheries dept. closed a lot of the popular rookeries due to over hunting. We stopped going “down to Bruny” when I was about twelve years old and sadly I know that I will never see the sky filled with as many Shearwaters ever again.
I am a bit nervous about todays project, which falls squarely in the category of, “I have no idea what I am doing but I have to be doing something and something is much better than nothing.” I think it is probably because this project is important to me. Plastic pollution and the effect our plastic waste has on the marine environment, especially seabirds is one of the major recurring themes in my work and I can see that from todays filming I will have enough material to keep me busy for quite some time.
If you are interested here is Dr Jenn Lavers website.
Here is a link to the dead albatross bowls I have made in response to the plastic pollution in the Pacific Gyre.
Here is the link the Oiled bird bowls I made in response to the BP’s oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
Here is a link to a quick little sketch I made on Saturday as well.
And finally a link to some work in progress using samples plastic pollution recovered from the stomachs of dead seabirds.
Phew.
Wish me luck and good filming.
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A wonderful cause. Good luck. And i am so with you about plastic pollution.
Good luck, I think it’s a great cause.
Looking forward to seeing what you film. You are going to make a film of it, aren’t you? 😉
Oh Yes, But I am not sure exactly what sort of film. I will have to let the vision swim around inside my head for a while first. I think that is why I am nervous because I don’t have a plan.
Good luck – although I’m not at all sure I want to see the finished film . . . .
I hope you get lots of useable footage. I heard of mutton birds when I was little, but I never knew they had another name. Are they ducks or gulls or something else?
Good luck, I hope it goes well. Or went well.
I had to Google the birds to see what they look like. Too cute, so count me out on viewing the necropsy footage. Please keep in mind I called in sick at school when we had to dissect the worm and fetal pig. Good luck though and I know you will do a marvelous job!!