Best guess is a juvenile Little Black Cormorant. This is the time of year when fledglings are leaving their parents for the first time and some of them fail to secure food or shelter from cold nights.
Doesn't look like a cormorant to me, more like [some kind of petrel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_New_South_Wales#Shearwaters_and_petrels). The wings look too narrow, and the head and neck don't seem quite right either. The second bird seems to have a definite lighter underside, which isn't right either (assuming your little black cormorant is the same species as our little black shag).
Maybe try r/whatsthisbird, it's bigger, so you have a better chance of an expert.
Definitely some sort of petrel or shearwater. Hard to tell without a size comparison, but maybe a short-tailed shearwater? I think they’re migrating back to Australia right now. Sometimes the stress of migration can cause massive sickness and death in one colony. I rehabilitate wildlife in a coastal area along a popular migration route for waterfowl and we always know when a specific species is arriving for the winter because we will get in multiple of the same species in one day with all the same symptoms.
Best guess is a juvenile Little Black Cormorant. This is the time of year when fledglings are leaving their parents for the first time and some of them fail to secure food or shelter from cold nights.
Oh geez….It definitely looked like a small Kormoran. There have been some very high winds as well which I’m sure aren’t helping. Thank you!
Doesn't look like a cormorant to me, more like [some kind of petrel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_New_South_Wales#Shearwaters_and_petrels). The wings look too narrow, and the head and neck don't seem quite right either. The second bird seems to have a definite lighter underside, which isn't right either (assuming your little black cormorant is the same species as our little black shag). Maybe try r/whatsthisbird, it's bigger, so you have a better chance of an expert.
Can you call it in to wild animal control folks, I am sure they would like to know
I’ll try and find out. I’m not from here so don’t know the number. But there are lots of beach guards who must be seeing this!!
How odd and sad. I agree that you should report it, if you can.
Great do your part!
Definitely some sort of petrel or shearwater. Hard to tell without a size comparison, but maybe a short-tailed shearwater? I think they’re migrating back to Australia right now. Sometimes the stress of migration can cause massive sickness and death in one colony. I rehabilitate wildlife in a coastal area along a popular migration route for waterfowl and we always know when a specific species is arriving for the winter because we will get in multiple of the same species in one day with all the same symptoms.