Brown skuas and giant petrels rarely make landfall. When they were found in WA, scientists feared ‘bad news’ for wildlife

The giant petrel that was found sick on Wylie Bay beach near Esperance in Western Australia. Photograph: Lori-Ann Shibish/Esperance Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary.

Brown skuas and giant petrels are a common sight offshore in southern Australian waters in the winter months, but they will rarely risk venturing on to land.

So when two of these birds were discovered sick – on beaches a few kilometres apart on Western Australia’s southern coastline – it was a sign something might be wrong.