Mystery shearwater on the web (1 Viewer)

[foxsparrow]

The mystery: Sooty Shearwater ?

http://www.shearwater.com/images/shearwater.jpg

Cheers

Menotti Passarella
Italy

 

[Ashley beolens]

I'd have said yes its sooty, not sure about that pale trailing edge to the wing though, I've never seen that before.

 

[foxsparrow]

Thanks Ashley; the mystety was finally a Short-tailed Shearwater:

http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/s...irds/flash_cards/short_tailed_shearwater.html

Sooty (Puffinus griseus) and Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) are closely related species that one may often see while surveying the southern ocean.


Cheers

Menotti Passarella
Italy

 

[Ashley beolens]

I have to be honest I have never heard of Short-tailed shearwater. When you say they are closely related does that mean Sub species or just like baleric and manx are closely related?

Have you seen one of these birds and do they come to Europe?

all these questions.

 

[MikeMules]

I watched about 5 million Short-tailed Shearwaters stream past the horizon about 2 months ago. Around 20 million+ breed on or around Phillip Island, on the east coast of Victoria. They went past for hours! It was simply magnificent.

 

[HH75]

Hi Ashley,
They are a Pacific species,so unlikely to occur here.Of course,the odd bird could enter the Atlantic and migrate north....
(has been at least 1 claim in the UK)
Harry

 

[Ashley beolens]

I claim mental ineptitude on this one, I didn't even look at where they were from (even though the website is Alaskan), I have no Idea what happened to my brain at that point.

I would guess that the claim was either Irish (I know what you irish are like with sea watching) or a stringy report from off flambrough!! 8-P

To be honest though, If it came close enough to see that flash of white even I might panic!:t:

 

[HH75]

Hi Ashley,
"I would guess that the claim was either Irish (I know what you irish are like with sea watching)"
Are you insinuating that we're brilliant at it or that we're stringing?;-)
BTW,FAR more British birders have "soft-plumaged"(presumably Fea's)Petrel in Ireland than Irish birders:certainly 20 at most have it here,and 40 Brits had one off the Bridges last year on the SAME DAY!!!You wouldn't mind,but I spent a lot of time seawatching last autumn!Maybe this year...?(please!)
Think that the S-t Shear was claimed from Flamborough OK...;-)
Harry

 

[Ashley beolens]

Its little shearwaters that all Irish birders have isn't it? ;o)

I'm not the biggest seawatching fan, I prefer to be proactive in my birding, searching, bushes etc. sitting still for hours, gets v.v.boring IMHO. Unless there is a huge movement or the birds are close in.

 

[HH75]

"Its little shearwaters that all Irish birders have isn't it? ;o)"
NO!!!!Even less birders here have that!While we admit that 99% of "soft-plumaged" claimed by visiting birders are probably genuine,it can be hard to know what to make of the annual Little Shear claims if the birders involved aren't known here(but that's a problem for the IRBC,not for me)
I used to hate seawatching,but when you live in Ireland(where a day flogging a headland can result in 1 Chiffchaff and many common British birds would be "megas"(GS Woodpecker,anyone?)),it pays to spend time on the headlands looking out to sea.I firmly believe that I'll get Fea's some day:have seen video of the 2001 Scillonian bird lately and that strengthened my resolve to see one.
Also spend a lot of time looking for passerines,waders etc.
Harry

 

[Ashley beolens]

Its really strange what doesn't turn up in places like Ireland, Scilly and the other western Islands, I know on scilly last year the Magpie was one of the main attractions, and a red-throated diver (found by me) was one persons 280th bird? even Lee Evans hadn't seen one since 1970something. And Ireland gets birds like yellow warbler and struggles for Gr Spot? Still I suppose thats what makes birding interesting, you never know what will turn up.

Good luck with the Feas petrel hunt.

 

[HH75]

Hi Ashley,
"And Ireland gets birds like yellow warbler "
Yes,but before I started twitching!Seriously,we don't get half the American passerines that you lot get:I'm convinced that the main reason for this is lack of coverage,there are very few birders here.
RT Diver as someone's 280th?At least mine was something good like Forster's Tern!;-)
Hoping to finally catch up with BW Stilt here this spring(only 1 since 1995,and that was a fly-over),also any from Purple Heron,RR Swallow(have dipped on the sp.),Squacco,Black Kite(a mega here),Western Bonelli's,Sardinian,Fan-tailed(a real mega),Rock Thrush(ditto) etc.......getting excited now!!!
Usually,spring is poor here,but managed to get GS Cuckoo(1st twitchable bird ever here),Golden O,Woodlark(a mega here!),White Stork(1st twitchable since 1980!) and Alpine Swift(5 self-found in Cork city centre!!).Can only keep looking and hoping...
All the best,Harry