{"id":190718,"date":"2026-07-02T10:16:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=190718"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:17:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:17:18","slug":"committee-for-lorne-feathers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/committee-for-lorne-feathers\/","title":{"rendered":"Committee for Lorne: Feathers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clive rang one day in the middle of May to ask, \u201c… why are there so many small white feathers stranded at the tide line?<\/em>\u201d \u00a0I replied that I, too, had been pondering the long ribbons of white lacing the shores of Eastern View, the George, and North Lorne.<\/p>\n

Indeed, on the very morning of his call, I had spotted a very dishevelled gannet squatting in the lee of a rock at Spout Creek while walking Blighty. \u00a0I had wondered whether the bird was injured or simply old and dying a lonely death at the edge of its ocean, its feathers literally falling off, but as it had gone without a trace on my return leg, I thought no more of it.<\/p>\n

Had there been some cataclysmic seabird battle beyond the horizon?\u00a0 Perhaps it was a harbinger of some horrible gull \u2018die-off\u2019!\u00a0 Thinking there must be a more plausible explanation and deciding that a natural seasonal moult-a-thon ticked all the boxes, I sought the basis for moulting.<\/p>\n

All birds fully moult once a year\u2014indeed, some species even undergo a second, partial moult as they replace their old feathers with new, snuggly ones. \u00a0The timing of this annual [or bi-annual] moult varies subtly between species and between land and sea birds, with land birds typically moulting in late summer, while many seabird species take a later cue and moult as autumn wanes into winter.<\/p>\n

My guess, Clive\u2014and it is<\/u> only a guess\u2014is that this year\u2019s sudden flurry of seabird feathers at the tideline suggests the gulls may have been caught on the hop by this year\u2019s long, warm \u2018Indian summer\u2019.\u00a0 Then, facing a \u2018whoopsie moment\u2019 when the first Antarctic blast hit late in May, they shared a mass \u2018shed-a-thon\u2019 as they scrambled to play \u2018catch up\u2019 and prepare for winter.<\/p>\n

Unlike during the breeding season, when they are tied to nesting colonies on land, many seabirds spend the non-breeding season entirely on the open ocean, where they undergo the energy-sapping process of replacing old feathers with new, healthy ones.\u00a0 Made of keratin [like human hair and nails], feathers slowly degrade due to sun, weather, and daily preening and must be shed and replaced.\u00a0 This process provides warmer, more colourful plumage that helps maintain efficient flight and proper insulation and restores their vibrant breeding colours.<\/p>\n

Feathers are usually shed in mirrored pairs, with matching feathers dropping in unison from both the left and right wings, body, and tail.\u00a0 During peak moulting, birds may look patchy, unkempt, and bald around the head, and may seem slightly irritable and fatigued from the stress of the process.<\/p>\n

Feathers are a creation of sublime beauty, their evolutionary design blending aesthetic brilliance with practical function.\u00a0 Each feather is an engineering masterpiece\u2014lightweight yet strong, providing a smooth, wind-resistant surface for flight, a waterproof barrier against the elements, and help in regulating body temperature.<\/p>\n

The beauty of feathers spans a multitude of human dimensions, from art and creativity to the identification of groups, clans, and tribes.\u00a0 Their almost limitless colours and hues are used by different societies to denote purity, peace, and angelic presence [white], strength, protection, and inner wisdom [black], happiness, joy, and prosperity [yellow], or passion, vitality, and courage [red]\u2014the colours often carrying different meanings for differing cultures and acquiring deep spiritual significance.<\/p>\n

Feather colour depends on two characteristics: pigment and structure.\u00a0 Melanin, a pigment that provides earthy browns and blacks [as in human skin], also increases structural strength, while carotenoids [think carrots] produce vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows.\u00a0 Colour also depends on the feather\u2019s microscopic structure, which bends and refracts light like a prism, and produces the shimmering hues we see in lyrebird or peacock plumage.<\/p>\n

Evolution has resulted in several specific feather \u2018designs\u2019:<\/p>\n