
Residents and visitors have been left shocked after more than 50 shearwater birds were found deceased at Port Fairy on Sunday morning.
The shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family and about 50 bodies were found near the walkway to Port Fairy's Griffiths Island.
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Although the cause of the deaths remains a mystery it is suspected that foxes or dogs may be involved, as some birds appeared to have their heads bitten off.
The carcasses were found scattered across a large area early Sunday morning.
A Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning spokeswoman said on Sunday young short-tailed shearwaters were preparing to leave for the northern hemisphere by mid this month.
She said the adult birds arrived at their colony in Port Fairy during September last year for the breeding season.
Chicks hatched in mid-January with parents feeding the chicks for three months before returning to feeding grounds, leaving chicks to fend for themselves for a few weeks.
"Some of the young birds may not be fit enough to undertake the migration. Any foxes present will take advantage of the young weak birds" she said.

"We will have officers collect a sample of the birds to ensure that there's nothing else untoward happening.
"The shearwaters breed in the southern hemisphere and then migrate north to Russia, Asia and North America to their feeding grounds.
"The adults leave several weeks before the chicks. Hunger eventually forces the chicks to follow.
"The mature birds have already left and the young birds may have been heading off," she said.
Hunger, poor weather and artificial lighting can all affect the juvenile birds' ability to successfully migrate.
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Andrew Thomson
Long-time senior journalist
Long-time senior journalist