Weather ballons

An Australasian gannet (Morus serrator) drowned in a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) radiosonde (i.e. weather balloon) on Brighton Beach (Victoria, Australia).
Found entangled with another gannet that had not yet drowned, this one was literally acting as a dead weight, whilst the other struggled to survived. Pulled from the water, people called the wonderful Zoos Victoria Marine Response Unit (MRU) who came and collected both. Sadly, the other gannet also didn't survive.
The BOM releases 56 such balloons each day to collect data, and hope to replace the material they make these from with more environmentally sustainable materials in 2022.
Photo by: @doug_gimesy
#animalwelfare #australia #conservationphotography #balloons #seabird #gannet #bird #plastic #australasiangannet #beachcleanup #northernbeachescleanupcrew #nbcuc