Port Fairy’s migratory short-tailed shearwaters rally after mass deaths halve colony

A bird colony that migrates from Alaska to south-west Victoria to breed, appears to have overcome the challenges of climate change — after tens of thousands of birds died last season, halving the colony.

The wellbeing of Port Fairy’s migratory short-tailed shearwater population has been of great concern to birdwatchers since the start of the 2019 breeding season.

The colony, which flies more than 16,000 kilometres from the Northern Hemisphere to Griffiths Island, arriving like clockwork within 48 hours of September 22, usually has about 40,000 members.

But in the past two seasons, the colony straggled in over several weeks in greatly reduced numbers.

Last season, only half the population arrived, and many were so malnourished…