Snow's Guillemot (1 Viewer)

[John Cantelo]

I've just returned from Hokkaido, Japan, where I managed to obtain several good clear 'scope views of a Snow's Guillemot Cepphus [columba] snowii which, to my surprise, was in summer plumage. Is this somewhat early? I also saw several auks that didn't seem to fit anything in Mark Brazil's excellent & indispensable field guide. However, checking in 'Oceanic Birds of the World - A Photo Guide' on my return home I find non-breeding Snow's Guillemot (contra Brazil) a good match. I then remembered reading a recent paper on this species which, as I recall, describes unfamiliar plumages of this little known species but which I now cannot locate. Can anyone remind me where I saw it or am I dreaming?

 

[stuartelsom]

Can't find any further refs in a quick look this morning. I only wish we had laid eyes on one John, and very envious of your albatross haul too.

Good to see you, albeit briefly at T5.

Regards
Stu

 

[John Cantelo]

Yes, good to see you too - a pity we didn't have time to chat. The ferry crossing to Hokkaido was just about the most amazing bout of seawatching that I've ever experienced. To see one albatross was a dream come true but to see 600+ Laysan, 17 Short-tailed and 7 Black-footed (plus 2,000+ shearwaters) was staggering. We had 50 more Laysan's the following morning plus 2 Fork-tailed Petrels in the harbour when we docked Mark Finn, our guide, has done the crossing twenty-odd times and has never seen anything remotely like it (generally getting fewer than 20 albatrosses and not always more than 2 species). The seawatch off Cape Nosappu, where I had the Snow's, was pretty damn good too. We ended up smashing Mark's best ever February bird tally (175) with 180 species (I think, I keep making it a couple more!). How many species did your trip manage? I think you may have gone to a couple of sites we omitted.

 

[Andrea Collins]

I'm not personally familiar with this particular species but the auks volume in the OUP Bird Families of the World series says Feb to April for definitive pre-alternate moult. It also says moulting birds can have a peculiar piebald appearance. Maybe that accounts for some of your birds that didn't seem to fit anything?

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

Some useful images here John http://birdingkyoto.blogspot.com/2018/02/pigeon-guillemot-columba-and-snowi.html

Grahame

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Some useful images here John http://birdingkyoto.blogspot.com/2018/02/pigeon-guillemot-columba-and-snowi.html

Grahame

Thanks for this link Grahame. Here's a bird I photographed in Habomai in December. I assumed it was snowi because of the limited white in the coverts. Interesting to read about the head pattern.

 

[rollie_nl]

I've just returned from Hokkaido, Japan, where I managed to obtain several good clear 'scope views of a Snow's Guillemot Cepphus [columba] snowii which, to my surprise, was in summer plumage. Is this somewhat early? I also saw several auks that didn't seem to fit anything in Mark Brazil's excellent & indispensable field guide. However, checking in 'Oceanic Birds of the World - A Photo Guide' on my return home I find non-breeding Snow's Guillemot (contra Brazil) a good match. I then remembered reading a recent paper on this species which, as I recall, describes unfamiliar plumages of this little known species but which I now cannot locate. Can anyone remind me where I saw it or am I dreaming?

It was the second Dutch Birding-issue in 2017, pages 87-88