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LARGE AGGREGATIONS AND EVENING RAFTS OF POMARINE JAEGER Stercorarius pomarinus AT APOLLO BAY VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA


Observations during three summers of regular resting aggregations of Pomarine Jaegers Stercorarius pomarinus on inshore waters of western Victoria are described. The aggregations occur in the evening during both calm and rough conditions and sometimes during the afternoon during rough conditions. The numbers of birds involved (up to 450 in January 2003 and 150 in January 2005) are an order of magnitude larger than any previously reported group of Pomarine Jaegers in Bass Strait, and three to four times larger than the largest numbers previously reported in Australian waters. Their regularity diurnal pattern and size, make these resting aggregations unlike any previously reported behaviours of jaegers (genus Stercorarius).

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