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3rd April 2009
The SeaWatch SW Annual Report 2008 is now available to download from the SeaWatch SW website: http://www.seawatch-sw.org. This fully illustrated 115-page report is essential reading for anyone interested in UK marine wildlife, especially those based in the southwest region or who are interested in migratory seabirds, marine mammals, Basking Sharks and Ocean Sunfish. A shorter summary version of the report is attached to this message. 9th November Latest Survey spells trouble for Seabirds - www.rspb.org.uk Analysis of this year's seabird breeding data on RSPB's coastal reserves shows that kittiwakes, Arctic terns and Arctic skuas have had a terrible season, with virtually no chicks reared to fledging in the far north of the UK. Changes in food supply, which may be linked to climate change, could threaten the future of these species in the UK. The RSPB is calling on all UK administrations to ensure that they put the environment central to the delivery of forthcoming Marine legislation in Westminster, Cardiff Bay, Holyrood and Stormont to ensure it makes a difference for marine wildlife. The UK is internationally important for seabirds; Scotland alone hosts over three million or 45 per cent of the populations nesting in the European Union. Earlier this year, the RSPB issued a grave prognosis for the breeding season, with many internationally-important colonies left with nests abandoned and empty cliffs which should have been teeming with tens of thousands of seabirds. Steep. Now the data and colony counts from RSPB reserves have been analysed, the results confirm that many species in the north have again suffered major collapses in breeding success. Worryingly, the evidence again suggests that repeated annual breeding failures are now substantially reducing populations of those species worst affected, with some cliffs that used to support huge colonies experiencing steep population declines in recent years.Kittiwake. This year kittiwakes have been hit very hard, particularly on Orkney. At RSPB's Copinsay reserve, a count of the whole colony found only 1881 pairs, a 57% decline on 1999 figures, and at North Hill they have declined by 89% in the same period, with just 14 pairs counted this year. On the Scottish mainland colony at Mull of Galloway, too, the situation for Kittiwakes is bleak, with a 50% reduction in the population since 2005 to just 65 pairs this year. Arctic skua. The graceful Arctic skua, a bird on the southern edge of its world range in Scotland, is faring no better. RSPB reserves on Shetland and Orkney have seen a 30% decline in nesting pairs in just one year to 65 pairs. Crucially though, these pairs only produced a dismal three chicks to the fledging stage. In ecological terms, this is equivalent to virtually no breeding success this year. Arctic tern. Arctic terns have also been hit hard, and are now showing evidence of long-term serious decline on reserves in the Northern Isles. On Orkney and Shetland, with just over 1000 nests across Mousa, North Hill and Copinsay abandoned early in the season, these colonies failed to produce any young. Reports from areas away from RSPB reserves suggest that virtually no young Arctic terns were fledged this year from Orkney or Shetland. Some other seabird species appear to be weathering the storm on RSPB reserves. Great skuas, gannets and cormorants have experienced modest increases in their numbers, while herring gulls have remained stable. Recent reports of significant declines in plankton biomass indicate major changes in the depths of Atlantic Ocean ecosystems, which could be affecting our seabirds. Disrupting. Although direct evidence is still lacking, increased winter sea surface temperatures disrupting the food chain are thought to be driving the declines. Temperatures tend to be higher in the northern North Sea in winter than further south. Such changes may be reducing the survival of sandeel larvae, ultimately reducing the abundance of this staple prey item for seabirds in the Northern Isles and chronically undermining their breeding success.Douglas Gilbert, an ecologist with RSPB Scotland, said: "RSPB Reserves are acting as an indicator of the wider fortunes of seabirds around our coasts. The outlook for some species such as Arctic skua, kittiwake and Arctic tern is dire, and there are problems with other species like guillemots and puffins in some areas too. Unless conditions change to allow these birds the chance of successful breeding, the long-term future for them is bleak. The evidence that this is linked to changes in sea surface temperatures is now growing.” 9th November Lundy wildlife thriving since rats removed November 2008. A project to remove rats from Lundy has seen numbers of burrow-nesting Manx shearwaters more than triple. 8th November From Tony Pym My website, 'Seabirds and Cetaceans', has been redesigned and now has a new address: 25th October From "Peter Lack" Peter.Lack@bto.org I am currently revising/updating the Checklist of African Birds for the
African Bird Club and intend that a revised version will be on the website 17th OctoberAmerican seabirds thrown a lifelinePresident George W. Bush has presented The Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) to the US Senate for approval. “I believe the Agreement to be fully in the U.S. interest”, wrote President Bush. ACAP is an international treaty between nations. “Its provisions advance the U.S. goals of protecting albatrosses and petrels. I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Agreement and give its advice and consent to accession”, stated President Bush. "Albatrosses and petrels are facing growing threats, but if we move quickly on the provisions contained in this treaty, they stand a chance for survival," said Betsy Loyless, Audubon's (BirdLife in America) Senior Vice President for Policy. "Seabirds tell us much about the health of the world's oceans and ACAP offers a united approach to seabird conservation. President Bush's recommendation for the United States to approve ACAP is welcome support for this urgent legislation", commented Dr Stephen Kress, Audubon's Vice President for Bird Conservation. The USA will join twelve countries which are currently parties of the treaty. These are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, Ecuador, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Republic of South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom. "I believe the Agreement to be fully in the U.S. interest. Its provisions advance the U.S. goals of protecting albatrosses and petrels” —George W. Bush, US President “Seabirds are among the most magnificent and threatened birds on earth, yet are often overlooked,” said George Fenwick, president of American Bird Conservancy. “We applaud the President for extending his support of migratory birds to this vulnerable group.” The next steps are for the U.S. Senate to ratifying the treaty, and produce laws which will implement the agreement. "We strongly urge the Senate to approve the treaty as quickly as possible", commented John Croxall, Chair of BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme. “U.S. participation in ACAP offers an important opportunity to engage other countries in the protection of seabirds when they range outside of U.S. waters”. The United States has been an active participant in the work of the Agreement, attending both preparatory meetings and subsequent meetings of ACAP’s Advisory Committee and Meeting of the Parties. “It has been, and continues to be, very influential in international efforts to conserve these magnificent global wanderers,” said Warren Papworth, ACAP Executive Secretary. “By joining the Agreement, the United States will send a clear message to the international community of its resolve to prevent the extinction of albatrosses and petrels.” Ten out of the 22 albatross species are Critically Endangered or Endangered, and another eight are considered to be Vulnerable to Extinction, according to the Red List of Threatened Birds – which BirdLife maintains on behalf of the IUCN. The most important threats to these species are accidental deaths in longline and trawl fisheries, and loss of eggs and chicks to introduced predators on breeding islands. Solving these problems requires coordinated efforts by governments, scientists, fishermen, and conservation organisations. “International coordination, such as that offered by ACAP, is the only way to ensure that our future generations will also be able to enjoy these birds” —Ben Sullivan, BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme Coordinator “Migratory species such as seabirds cannot be protected by the actions of one country alone”, added Ben Sullivan BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme Coordinator. “International coordination, such as that offered by ACAP, is the only way to ensure that our future generations will also be able to enjoy these birds.” BirdLife’s Albatross Task Force (ATF) is a major grass-roots contribution to meeting ACAP’s goals. The ATF is the world’s first international team of mitigation instructors working with fishermen on land and on deck, along with government agencies, to reduce seabird bycatch. ATF instructors routinely show that the adoption of conservation measures are both operationally and economically effective. 16th October Update from the Seawatch SW website by Dr Russell Wynn Send us your UK Balearic Shearwater sightings now! NEW Balearic Shearwaters push northwards during August! NEW SeaWatch SW survey 2008 enters its final fortnight! NEW SeaWatch SW observers record good numbers of scarce seabirds! NEW Basking Sharks arrive late for the second year running! NEW Land bird migration gets going, with a few rarities too! NEW Are Yelkouan Shearwaters visiting UK waters? NEW SeaWatch SW observers find Swinhoe’s Storm-petrel (but not in Cornwall)! NEW Balearic Shearwater observers off Gibraltar count 18,000 birds! NEW SeaWatch SW publications in the pipeline! 11th October International Gull Meeting, Scotland, February 2009: 11th October From Angus Wilson Mike Greenfelder, a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions, sent me three video grab images of a likely intermediate morph Trindade Petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana, taken last month off Brava in the Cape Verde Islands. http://oceanwanderersnews.blogspot.com/2008/10/probable-trindade-petrel-off-cape-verde.html 11th October 2°C is Too Much - Climate change may be devistating Penquin Colonies October 2008. Between 50-75% of major Antarctic penguin colonies face decline or extinction if global temperatures are allowed to climb by more than 2°C, according to WWF. A WWF report - 2°C is Too Much - shows that 50 per cent of the colonies iconic emperor penguins and 75 per cent of the Adélie penguin colonies are under threat. Climate change models forecast that a 2°C temperature rise above pre-industrial level could be a reality in less than 40 years, producing a strong reduction in the sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean which is an essential nesting and feeding ground for Emperor and Adélie penguins. A reduction in the sea ice is also likely to have a knock-on effect on the abundance of krill, which is a vital food source for penguins. Penguins ideally adapted to extreme cold A rise in global average temperatures of 2°C is widely regarded as a threshold level for unacceptable risks of dangerous climate change. Many recent climate models forecast likely temperatures rises in excess of this. 2°C is Too Much was launched at the IUCN World Conservation Congress taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain. The only way to significantly reduce the risks of climate change in Antarctica, as well as globally, is to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. WWF is calling for all nations to work together to agree on a new global deal that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol and tackle climate change beyond 2012. This should include an obligation on developed countries to cut 25-40 per cent of their emissions by 2020 and 80-90 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. Marine reserves Juan Casavelos said: "The predicted threat to Emperor and Adélie penguin populations is a clear incentive for the world to agree on a set of measures to reduce global emissions. It is imperative that the international community analyses all possible ways to limit climate change and improve the resilience of the penguin population." 28th August From Anne Blacklaws info@capevisits.com I am writing to briefly introduce our Pelagic Birding Trips that run from Simonstown Harbour which is a small attractive Navy town just south of Cape Town, South Africa. We take groups of up to 6 people down to the tuna fishing grounds approximately 16 nautical miles South of Cape Point, where the currents from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. The trip along the False Bay coastline is extremely scenic and we see many birds on the way, but when we reach the fishing areas the bird life is superb, winter and summer –there an amazing variety and number of birds! We also often see whales, seals, and dolphins. We use a brand new 8 metre twin hulled motor boat, “Destiny”. It has the latest safety equipment, marine maps, radar, on-board flush loo and small cabin. The twin 4 stroke motors provide a quiet, fast and environmentally friendly ride (no noise or air pollution!). The passengers stay dry and comfortable even while the boat is travelling. Our skipper, Alan Blacklaws is qualified and experienced, and well knows the winds and waters. We can also supply a experienced birding guide, and good food and drinks for the trip. I have attached a list of some of the more rare and interesting birds recently seen on pelagic trips: If members of the Royal Naval Birdwatching Society arrange birding trips with us, and quote their membership in your Society, we will offer them a fully inclusive and guaranteed price of £90 per person for the whole day trip, valid until March 2009. We can also arrange land tours, including a chance to watch the only colony of African (“Jackass”) Penguins, at Boulders Beach. We are launching a new website www.capeboatingcharters.com that will focus on the boating trips, but in the meantime can I direct you to the website of our sister company CAPE VISITS www.capevisits.com where we also offer other activities that can contribute to making a wonderful and varied holiday for any birders visiting Cape Town. CAPE VISITS can also arrange accommodation, airport transfers and all other necessary arrangements for overseas visitors. 2nd August From Angus Wilson On the OceanWanderers Bookshelf Blog, I've posted a detailed review of 'Petrels Night and Day: A Sound Approach Guide', a remarkable new book by Magnus Robb, Killian Mullarney and others. http://oceanwanderersbooks.blogspot.com/2008/07/petrels-night-and-day-sound-approach.html Using numerous sound recordings, color photographs, painted plates and maps, the authors take us on an extraordinary journey through the natural history of all of the gadfly petrels, shearwaters, fulmar and storm-petrels that nest or visit the Western Palearctic region on a regular basis. A number of new or recent splits are discussed and illustrated in considerable detail. Some may spark lively debate - hopefully on Seabird-News - and certainly cause pelagic veterans to look again at some familiar offshore species. With some glaring exceptions, all of the tubenoses found regularly off the east coast of North American are treated in full and readers on both sides of the pond, if not beyond, will find much of value in this book. 2nd August The Fiji Petrel Expedition 2008 by Tony Pym Most birders will know the story behind the enigmatic and near-mythical Fiji Petrel. Unrecorded from the type specimen taken in 1855 until 1984 when Dick Watling had the extraordinary experience, when spotlighting, of a bird crash-landing into his head! Breeding is suspected on the small island of Gau but detailed searching there has not found any birds. Some 10 though, mainly juveniles, have since crashed onto roofs and grounded in a local village there. One of these last year, 2007, having died, is now preserved as a study skin (the 1855 skin is at the BMNH and this second in Fiji). The biology of the species is completely unknown. The voyage had three main goals: 1. To learn the at-sea identification of the Fiji Petrel, observe behaviour if possible, and hopefully get an understanding of the likely numbers in the area. 2. To try to obtain photos of Fiji Petrel at sea, for use in both scientific and conservation/education publications to protect native Fijian birds. 3. To survey other species of petrels in this area, on which limited information is currently available. The proposed expedition dates, at sea, were 17th-26th July. The seabird team aboard consisted of Hadoram Shirihai (Israel), Dick Watling (Fiji), Tony Pym (England), Patric Blomquist (Sweden), J örg Kretzschmar (Germany), Geoff Jones (Australia) and Dick Newell (England) 2008 report This year's mission to try and observe the Fiji Petrel at sea unfortunately had to be aborted after three days due to mechanical problems with the boat. Two chumming sessions on the journey to Gau, the island where birds have been grounded in the past, produced four Kermadec Petrels (only the second record for Fiji waters), a White-necked Petrel (though possibly a Vanuatu Petrel), 20+ Tahiti Petrels, four Collared Petrels and one probable, though brief, Providence Petrel. Of special note was a small 'Cookilaria-sized' dark petrel seen by three of the team, which flew under the Kermadec's giving a direct size comparison. On the second day at sea we chummed some 16 miles southeast of Gau. Two Polynesian Storm-petrels (the first confirmed in the Fiji and Samoa biogeographical region for 132 years) were observed plus two more Kermadecs. Tahiti Petrels numbered about 16 over a three-hour period and two Collared Petrels were distant. Once more, a small dark petrel was seen momentarily, only to fly into the sun's glare. We had two cetacean species; a pod of about 10 Pantropical Spotted Dolphins off Viti Levu and a Dwarf Minke Whale, feeding in the chum off Taveuni. It is evident, from the records above, the real possibilities for groundbreaking research in this marine area and it was most frustrating for us to have to leave the region prematurely. Indeed, for some species of seabirds our research, and discussions aboard - for example, on identification and taxonomic issues - raised many more questions than answers. Another sailing next year is already in the early planning stages, and most likely will be from mid to late July, with 10 days intended at sea – this time frame we believe the best for success with Fiji Petrel, based on ageing of the available specimens and grounded birds. We shall have the best type of boat for working these waters and have found a new chum mix that works extremely well with the tubenoses. Already Hadoram Shirihai and Dick Watling have confirmed they will again be on the voyage. We shall announce more over the coming months for those interested in joining us in 2009. Please monitor the seabird newsgroups or contact me direct (Tony_Pym@hotmail.com). Participants will share equally all onboard costs and NatureFiji-MareqetiViti (www.naturefiji.org) will support the expedition. This continuing seabird survey we believe will confirm yet more exciting species in the local seas and provide further insight on the mysterious Fiji Petrel itself.
18th June‘Alarming’ Decline in Nesting Seabirds at SandwoodThis year’s count of nesting fulmars on John Muir Trust’s Sandwood Bay estate has raised fears that 2008 could be another dire year for Scotland’s seabirds. Only 261 nesting pairs were counted on the cliffs that once supported over 700 pairs, representing a decline of around 60% in ten years.(1) The Trust has been counting breeding Fulmars, a key indicator species for the health of North Sea, on the same three mile stretch of cliffs between Sandwood Bay and Sheigra since 1997. “Our surveys in both 2008 and 2007 have recorded the lowest Fulmar counts since records began,” commented Cathel Morrison, Conservation Manager for Sandwood Estate. “It looks as though the Fulmar, one of our most common and resilient sea birds, is in as much trouble as other species such as puffins, kittiwakes, guillemots and arctic terns.” Related to the Albatross, the Fulmar looks superficially like a gull but is in fact a member of the petrel family. Superb gliders, they live much of their life out to sea and are the constant companion to fishing boats in the North Sea and Atlantic. They eat discards from fishing boats, as well as zooplankton and small fish under the ocean’s surface and can live for up to fifty years. The Trust’s Fulmar count mirrors annual research collated by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the Government’s advisor on nature conservation, into seabird numbers in Britain and Ireland.(2) Latest available figures for surveys in 2005 and 2006 show a decrease in Fulmars in western regions of Britain, combined with poor breeding success in the North of Scotland. There has been a downward trend in numbers across Britain since the late 1990s. Because Fulmars do not dive for sand eels like many other seabirds their population decline cannot be attributed to the disappearance - linked by many to climate change - of this single source of food. Fulmars could be suffering from a more general famine and are likely to have been affected by the dwindling whitefish fishing industry. Before the mid 18th century, Fulmars only bred in one or two colonies in Iceland and St Kilda. They were essential to the islanders of St Kilda, who harvested them for food and oil which they used to burn in their lamps.(3) The last 350 years has seen a spectacular expansion of Fulmar populations throughout NW Europe and across the Atlantic to Canada. “These survey results are alarming,” concluded Cathel. “If this rate of decline does not level off soon, we could be looking the collapse of our seabird breeding colony at Sandwood within the next few years.” ContactCommunications Officer Jamie Grant, T: 01796 484 936, M: 07979 575803, email: communications@jmt.org. Pictures of Fulmars and Cathel Morrison counting nesting Fulmars at Sandwood are available from Russel Cheyne, email: russel@russelcheyne.com Notes:Annual figures are a mean of between two and five counts carried out each breeding season538, 000 pairs were counted in the last UK and Ireland wide census in 1998 – 2002.Fulmars can vomit a foul smelling stomach oil up to two metres to repel unwanted visitors.The John Muir Trust is the UK’s leading wild land conservation charity. The Trust owns and safeguards eight iconic areas of wild land including parts of Ben Nevis, the Red Cuillin in Skye, Schiehallion, Quinag and Sandwood Bay. The Trust works closely with the communities on its own land and with the community bodies that own and manage land in Knoydart, North Harris and Assynt. For more information go to www.jmt.org.The John Muir Trust campaigns against threats to wild land and for wild places to be valued by society. The Trust believes that many of these areas are currently threatened by inappropriate development, particularly from badly sited, industrial scale wind power development proposals. The Trust believes that small-scale, sensitively sited energy projects with direct community benefits are the way forward in environmentally-sensitive areas.The John Muir Trust encourages people to experience wild places and to ‘put something back’ through the John Muir Award. For more information go to http://www.johnmuiraward.org/.The Trust takes its name from John Muir, the Scot who founded the modern conservation movement. Born in 1838 in Dunbar, East Lothian, John Muir emigrated as a child to America. He went on to find fame as a botanist, geologist, mountaineer and pioneer of what is now called ecology. During his explorations of the high Sierra and Alaska, Muir became aware of the threats to wild places and successfully campaigned for the establishment of National Parks to safeguard vast tracts of wild lands such as Yosemite Valley in California.13th June San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/15/SP1K118B94.DTL&hw=krill&sn=001&sc=1000 Krill, the small shrimp-like crustacean and a primary link in the marine food chain, have returned in huge numbers to the Bay Area coast and Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. This is also great news for marine birds, such as murres, and other fish that need krill to survive in large numbers. "The ocean is just loaded with krill, first time in three years," said Craig Stone, owner of Emeryville Sportfishing, which runs a fleet of boats for the ocean, bay and lower delta. "Everybody on the water is talking about it," said Stone, who met with the Pacific Fisheries Management Council last week. "It's probably the most important thing right now for the return of the salmon. Krill is a key to ocean abundance. We're all pretty elated for what this could mean." Three years ago, scientists identified a change in wind patterns across the ocean and predicted that a lack of krill would cause severe declines of salmon, along with other fish and marine birds that depend on krill for food in spring and early summer. That is exactly what transpired in the past two years and led to this year's complete shutdown of ocean salmon fishing. But in the past three months, howling winds out of the northwest returned to the central and northern California coasts, occasionally hitting 30 mph, as last week. "It's kept a lot of boats off the water, but it's just what the ocean needs," Stone said. The reason is, winds out of the northwest divert surface ocean currents by 90 degrees. In turn, deep, cold water rich in nutrients then rises to the surface to replace the surface water. This is called upwelling. When sunlight then penetrates the nutrient-rich water, it sets off plankton and krill, the foundation of the coast's marine food chain, and marine life can flourish. 12th JuneSeawatch SW update from Dr Russel Wynn www.seawatch-sw.orgSend us your UK Balearic Shearwater sightings now! NEW SeaWatch SW gears up for 2008 survey NEW Volunteer observers still required in Cornwall this summer NEW Unprecedented Balearic Shearwater influx in early 2008 NEW SeaWatch SW data contribute to conservation planning NEW SeaWatch SW and Cornwall Wildlife Trust join forces for Basking Shark survey NEW Ken Shaw joins up with SeaWatch SW for unique pelagic trip NEW SeaWatch SW project attracts more high-quality students!
29th May By Hiraoka Takashi [hiraoka@yamashina.or.jp] On Mukojima Island, Ogasawara Islands, 350 km to the south of the
traditional breeding island of Torishima, all the ten chicks of the 2nd June Observations by Mike Prince I have now put a gallery of skua photos from this trip online at http://www.bubo.org/skuas There are a variety of difficult immature and non-breeding plumages pictured
but they do appear to be virtually all Pomarine (as to be expected from my
field views). However one bird, an extremely pale and small-looking
immature, I find especially difficult. Direct links to this bird are: 23rd April Seabird English Names by Bill Bourne In his discussion of seabird English names on 27 April and in his blog (http://oceanwanderersnews.blogspot.com/2008/04/name-game-quick-look-at-some-of-more.html ) Angus Wilson cites a lot of recent authors who all quote each other but makes little attempt to go back to the origin of the names. In 1993 the Royal Naval Bird-watching Society, who have been collecting seabird observations for over half a century, attempted a reasoned justification for the names they preferred (Sea Swallow 42: 16-27), which seems to have passed unnoticed. The situation is now critical because the "Birds of the World- recommended English names" produced by Frank Gill (a good seabirder) and Minturn Wright for the International Ornithological Congress in 2006 is likely to be adopted by all sorts of editors who know nothing about the subject, and imposed on us, and it seems time those who do know something made their views known. To go through some debatable cases in Gill & Wright:- P. 8 and 25. We prefer Storm-petrel for the family Hydrobatidae and Diving-petrel for the Pelecanoididae to distinguish them from other petrels. We do not favour capitals after hyphens. P. 22. The Little Penguin is no fairy (and not blue either). P. 23. We do not favour the political reclassification of albatrosses in an unrefereed work of uncertain date, which leads to a lot of vague reports of forms inseparable at sea. P. 24. Beck's Petrel has now of course been resurrected. Newell's Shearwater seems osteologically rather distinct, with a projecting keel of the sternum, and may deserve specific status. The Christmas Shearwater is osteologically similar to the Manx group of shearwaters. On the other hand the molecular differences between the small shearwaters seem greater than their physical ones, possibly due to the amount of isolation, and they may now be over-split. Some of the critical ones such as Heinroth's and Bannerman's were not included in the investigations. P. 28. Current tropicbird names are unsatisfactory. They have traditionally been Red- and Yellow-billed in the Atlantic and Red- and White-tailed in the Indo-Pacific. Both lepturus and aethereus have more or less white tails, so Yellow-billed seems more distinct for the former. Both aethereus and rubricauda also have red bills, but there is no obvious way out of that. P. 29-30. The shagmorants present a problem. We use cormorant for the more terrestrial and shag for the more marine species. P. 41. We feel Yellow-billed Sheathbill is more distinctive- they are all snowy. P. 45. Mew Gull is a tautomer (mew in English, mowe in German, meeuw in Dutch, mage in Danish, make in Norwegian, mas in Swedish, mafur in Icelandic, mews in Polish and mouette in French are general names for gull). We prefer Common Gull. P. 46. The Yellow-legged Gull is now usually L. michahellis, the Caspian Gull L. cachinnans, Heuglin's Gull L. heuglini (possibly intergrading with armenicus?), which are rather distinct entities. We loathe "Common Black-headed Gull, never used where is common, and are not attached to "Great Black-headed Gull", for which "Pallas's Gull" seems to be coming into use. Is there any need for "Chinese Crested Tern" when "Chines Tern" would do? P. 47. The names "Sooty Noddy" for the Lesser Noddy and "Angel Tern" for the White Tern seem no improvement. I prefer McCormick's to the South Polar Skua (after all, he found it), but this seems a lost cause. How did jaegers get among the skuas- it is a German word not even used in Germany? Murre like Loon is English while Guillemot is French. It is confusing to have the last alternating between Uria and Cepphus, where the NW European name for the latter is Tystie. And some names discussed by Angus, who quotes a lot of recent authors who are all quoting each other, but few older ones:- Personally I do not favour such extensive splitting of the great albatrosses (Gerfaut 79: l05-ll6); if it is accepted, antipodensis is not characteristic of New Zealand. Steller had a hard time discovering his albatross among other things. He deserves to be remembered, "short-tailed" does not. When John Warham and I originall separated the giant petrels (Ardea 54: 45- 67) we called them Northern and Southern. We do not consider the alternatives an improvement. It has always proved an uphill struggle to get people to spell "Trindade" properly. Personally I can see little difference from the Herald Petrel and prefer that earlier name. There were still hundreds of De Fillippi's petrels on the outliers of Robinson Crusoe, but none on the main island, 25 years ago. When I first split the Soft-plumaged-type petrels (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. l03: 52-58) I followed Bob Murphy in preferring local names (Gon-gon is Portuguese Creole), but other people again knew better. After these I prefer the names of the people who discovered the northern ones, Fea and Zino, to Cape Verde and Madeira, devised in American arm-chairs and liable to lead to confusion with other species. We have always referred to Great Shearwaters, Storm-petrel names were fairly stable until about half a century ago other arm-chair Americans (perhaps especially Gene Eisenmann?) decided to replace eponyms often involving English admirals with more descriptive names- we started complaining ineffectually long ago (see below). These merely seem to have caused confusion, as in the Tower of Babel, It is not clear who originally suggested the name British for what we once called the Storm Petrel (particularly annoying to the Irish, who have more of them)- it may have been W,B. Alexander. European does seem more appropriate. The trouble with the long-eastablished name White-throated Storm-petrel is that some are dark (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 77: 40-42). Polynesian Storm-petrel is another recent American innovation but also seems appropriate. "Ringed" does not seem such an appropriate name for O. hornbyi, but as already remarked a protest has had no effect (Condor 70: 283). It seems time it was accepted that it is not respectable to muck about with nomenclature, and more creditable to conserve it. People who do not know much about it should lay off it. 23rd April By Russ Wanless The latest round of the IUCN Red Listing has been completed. Bad news for the Tristan Albatross (essentially endemic to Gough Island, South Several other seabird spp have also been upgraded, including the Atlantic Petrel (also endemic to Gough). 22nd April By Angus Wilson I noticed a short note to the letter page of Birdwatch magazine (June 2008 issue) from Steve Wood (New Zealand) drawing attention to a gadfly petrel he'd photographed in March 2006 near the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, that is suggestive of Vanuatu Petrel Pterodroma occulta. The photo is reproduced on the Wrybill Birding Tours web site <http://www.wrybill-tours.com/idproblems/pterodroma1.htm>. It is not clear if there is a series of photographs and whether the bird struck him as unusual (e.g. small) in the field. This very poorly known seabird was first described by Imber and Tennyson in 2001. Six specimens were obtained by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Whitney South Sea Expedition in January 1927, near the Banks Islands but until more recently, not recognized as different from the very similar White-necked Petrel P. cervicalis. In 1983, an additional specimen was taken in northern New South Wales, Australia. They are significantly smaller than White-necked and show a more expansive area of gray on the underside of the primaries and a broader dark leading edge to the underwing. White-necked Petrels typically show a less dark underprimaries (e.g. photo (Fig. 15) by Chris Collins on OceanWanderers <http://www.oceanwanderers.com/WPO.html> taken on the 2006 WPO recce). However, a number of seasoned field observers have commented that the presence of darker primaries is not unique to the smaller form, a point that is also made from analysis of specimens in the Imber and Tennyson paper. Indeed, check out this wonderful shot <http:// www.aviceda.org/abid/birdimages.php?action=birdimage&bid=686&fid=56&p=7&pagesize=1> One interesting but tangential point is the repeated occurrence of pairs of very similar looking seabirds (often found together at sea) that differ markedly in size (Tahiti/Beck's, Fea's/Zino, Greater/ Lesser Snow Petrel). What's up with that? Some authors (e.g. Michael Brooke 2004) treat Vanuatu and White-necked as conspecific, at least until more is known, but the split has been acknowledged in the new Australian Checklist (Christidis and Boles 2008). An alternative name in the literature is Falla's Petrel in honor of the renowned ornithologist Sir Robert Alexander Falla. Obviously, seabirders in Australia and New Zealand are looking carefully at 'White-necked/Vanuatu' Petrels and I imagine more information will emerge, especially from birders visiting the waters around the Vanuatu islands. A dedicated chumming expedition, mirroring Hadoram Shirihai's rediscovery of Beck's Petrel in the Bismark Archipelago off Papua New Guinea, may be highly rewarding. I've seen it rumored on the web that Hadoram has photographed candidate Vanuatu's Petrels but have no other information. Perhaps he can chime in here? The location of Wood's new sighting seems puzzling. The Kermadec Islands (specifically Macauley Island) are the world stronghold for White-necked Petrel with 50,000 nesting pairs, and relatively distant from the locations of the Vanuatuan and Australian specimens. Onley and Scofield (2007) speculate that the birds might breed on Mera Lava (where the types were collected in 1927) and other islands in the northern part of the Vanuatu archipelago. Mere Lava (sometimes spelled Mera Lava) is a small volcanic island 52 km southeast of Gaua in the Banks Group (-14.4629°, 168.042°). Literature Citations: Christidis, L. and Walter E Boles (2008) Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing. Imber, M. J. and A.J.D. Tennyson (2001) A new petrel species Wood, S. (2008) Another 'lost' petrel found? Birdwatch June 2008 Issue 192, p21. Cheers, Angus Wilson 22nd May Wildwings trip report from Chris Collins www.wildwings.co.uk Recently back home after leading the latest West Pacific Odyssey for Wildwings. As John Brodie-good has been posting regular updates to this newsgroup, I won't list all sightings but here are a few more details on some of our more significant sightings: Beck's petrel: following inconclusive views off Bougainville of a bird believed to be this species on last year's voyage (and Hadoram Shirhai's subsequent paper in Bull BOC documenting his sightings), all the group enjoyed prolonged views of Beck's petrel this year. The first confirmed sighting was very close to where last year's bird was seen and up to three definite Beck's petrels showed very well on our oil/chum slick for c1 hour on the morning of 19 April. We then sailed over to New Ireland and as we cruised north up the eastern side of the island in the late afternoon of the same day, we logged another eight birds. Not bad for a species which hadn’t been seen for so many years !! As noted in my emails to John (which were summarised to this list), those on board felt that Beck’s petrel is even more distinctive than described in HS's paper with size, flight/manovarability and the way the bird holds its head being the three most significant features. Whilst judging size at sea is never easy, Beck's petrel is noticeably smaller when compared with Tahiti petrel, although assessing this on a lone bird would inevitably be somewhat challenging. During the hour or so we watched the birds in the morning of 19 April, we had 1+ flying in close proximity to several Wilson's storm-petrels and whilst it was (obviously) considerably larger than the storm-petrels, comparing it size-wise to this species seemed almost valid (ie wingspan was c3 times greater), whereas this is a comparison one would not even consider making with a Tahiti petrel !! To see this for yourself, please visit www.wildwings.co.uk/wposhipsightings.html where we have posted a photograph of a Beck's petrel flying close to several Wilson's storm-petrels. Being cookaleria size, Beck's petrel seems to be far more manoeuvrable than a Tahiti petrel and the birds we watched had a faster flight than the latter species. They also made far tighter turns (eg when ‘wheeling’ over a chum slick) than I have seen from any of many hundreds/thousands of Tahiti petrels I have watched over recent years. Based on our observations, however, probably the key feature to focus on for anyone looking at/photographing a potential vagrant Beck's petrel is the head. A number of the group commented on how comparatively small this appeared (ie compared to a Tahiti) and the birds were variously described as 'chicken-headed' or 'like a [European] honey-buzzard'. Beck’s petrel can also appear disproportionately long necked (when compared with a Tahiti) and again this can be seen in some of the photos which have been posted on the Wildwings website. Polynesian Storm-petrel - there was only one confirmed sighting of this species on this year's voyage compared with a minimum of eleven birds in 2007. What made this year's bird significant, however, was that it was found over a seamount just within Australian territorial waters north of Norfolk Island and as far as I am aware it will be the first record for Australia. An article on the sighting has been written by the finder, Bob Flood, for a forthcoming issue of Birding World, however, the record will also be submitted to the Birds Australia Records Committee (BARC). To see a photograph of this bird, again please refer to the Wildwings website at the address mentioned above. Collared petrel - as on last year's voyage, a number of Collared petrels were seen including several birds which were observed within Australian territorial waters north of Norfolk Island. As with Polynesian Storm-petrel, it is my understanding that this species is not yet on the official Australian list, however, based on two voyages I have made through these waters, it would seem that this species is actually not uncommon at least in March/April. Again a submission will be made to BARC in due course, although there is clearly now a question mark as to whether this species should really be considered an Australian vagrant. Heinroth's shearwater - another WPO speciality and this year we logged eleven individuals off Central Bougainville. Interestingly none were seen off Southern Bougainville and the most reliable area seems to be over some underwater features we have identified a little further north up the coast. Interestingly, Bob Flood and Bryan Thomas (WPO Wildwings tour participants) also saw this species off Kolombangara on a ‘mini-pelagic’ whilst the main group were ashore looking for land birds, although no shearwaters were seen as we cruised away from Kolombangara in the late afternoon of 17 April. Short-tailed albatross – unlike last year, we were able to take the ship close in to Torishima and enjoyed a spectacular morning with 40+ STAs seen. Within three miles or so of the island, we found that this species was reasonably numerous and we had almost all plumages scrapping for squid a matter of metres off the ship – definitely one of the highlights of the voyage !!! Photos will shortly be posted on the Wildwings website. New Zealand storm-petrel – great views of this species were enjoyed by the entire group in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand and as we cruised north on the afternoon of 3 April, a minimum of seven individuals were logged. By dripping oil from the back of the ship, we had NZSPs following the ship for most of the afternoon of that day with some of the birds well north of the ‘traditional’ areas where birders generally go to see this species. As John mentioned in one of his postings to this newsgroup, we then encountered a bird which was presumably an NZSP on an oil slick not far off the coast of New Caledonia. An article by Steve Howell and myself about this sighting has been prepared for Birding World, although for now we are treating the records as possible/presumed NZSP. The reasons for this approach will be discussed in the article, although in all probability the bird was a wintering/wandering NZSP. Tristram’s storm-petrel – another wanted species for many seabirders and on the afternoon of 30 April we had several hundred off the Bonin Islands (Japan). Small numbers were then seen on the following two days, with large numbers then encountered again off Miyake-jima on 3 May, a island about 80 nautical miles south of Tokyo/Yokohama. Matsudaira’s storm-petrel – frequently encountered from four days south of the Bonin Islands with birds regularly following the ship. Japanese murrelet – having struggled to find this species off Ko-jima (albeit we were in a force 8-9 storm all day !!!), all onboard enjoyed great views of this rare alcide around some islets which are c5 nautical miles off Miyake-jima. A new seabird for just about everyone on the ship and a great end to a fantastic voyage !! A full report and species list will be available shortly and this will details of all the species (seabirds and landbirds) seen which also included Laysan albatross, Bannerman’s shearwater, Kermadec petrel, White-necked petrel, Gould’s petrel, Bonin petrel, Black-winged petrel, Bulwer’s petrel, Streaked shearwater, Flesh-footed shearwater, Wedge-tailed shearwater, Short-tailed shearwater, Little shearwater, Tropical shearwater, White-faced storm-petrel, Leach’s storm-petrel, Red-tailed and White-tailed tropicbirds, Black-naped tern, Grey-backed tern, Grey ternlet etc !!! 25th April Alaska to New Zealand—A Non-Stop Journey A female Bar-tailed Godwit, a large, streamlined shorebird, has touched down in New Zealand following an epic, 18,000-mile-long (29,000 km) series of flights tracked by satellite, including the longest non-stop flight recorded for a land bird. The U.S. Geological Survey's Alaska Science Center tracked the odyssey of the bird as part of an ongoing collaborative effort with colleagues in California and New Zealand. The scientists were hoping to better understand potential transmission of avian influenza by migratory birds. The bird, dubbed "E7" after the tag on its upper leg, was captured along with 15 other godwits in New Zealand in early February 2007. There each bird was fitted with a small, battery-powered satellite transmitter. USGS scientists hoped the transmitters' batteries would last long enough to track the birds' northward migration to Alaska. On March 17, E7 departed Miranda on the North Island of New Zealand and flew non-stop to Yalu Jiang, China, completing the 6,300-mile-long flight in about eight days. There she settled in for a 5-week-long layover before departing for the breeding grounds. On the evening of May 1, she headed east out over the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific, eventually turning northeast towards Alaska, crossing the end of the Alaska Peninsula en route to her eventual nesting area on the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta in western Alaska. This flight was also accomplished non-stop, covering some 4,500 miles in five days. E7 was then tracked to the coast of the Yukon Delta where she joined other godwits preparing for their return flight to New Zealand. On the early morning of August 29, she took off southeast back across the Alaska Peninsula, went out over the vast North Pacific and headed towards the Hawaiian Islands. When less than a day's flight from the main Hawaiian Islands, she turned southwest, crossing the Hawaiian Archipelago over open ocean 125 miles west of Kauai, heading towards Fiji. She crossed the dateline about 300 miles north-northeast of Fiji, and then appeared to fly directly over or slightly west of Fiji, continuing south towards New Zealand.
The last leg of E7's journey is the most extraordinary, entailing a non-stop flight of more than eight days and a distance of 7,200 miles, the equivalent of making a roundtrip flight between New York and San Francisco, and then flying back again to San Francisco without ever touching down. Since they are land birds, godwits like E7 can't stop to eat or drink while flying over open-ocean. The constant flight speeds at which E7 was tracked by satellite indicate that she did not stop on land. Godwits do not become adults until their 3rd or 4th year and many live beyond 20 years of age. If 18,000 miles is an average annual flight distance, then an adult godwit would fly some 288,000 miles in a lifetime. The study that recorded E7's epic flight is a collaborative effort led jointly by USGS and Point Reyes Conservation Science, with cooperators from Massey University and Miranda Shorebird Centre, New Zealand, and The Global Flyway Network. The project is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the USGS, Alaska Science Center, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For more information, or to track E7, the Bar-tailed Godwit, visit the Shorebird Research Web site.
Illustration of Earth showing the 18,000 mile round-trip flight path from New Zealand of the Bar-tailed Godwait dubbed "E7." 15th April From Tony Pym There has been interesting debate, and correspondence, concerning an albatross seen and photographed well off Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia two weeks back. The bird would appear to show mixed characters. Originally thought to be an odd Buller’s, others thought a Grey-headed, it is now being mooted as a hybrid (yes, that dreaded word!) The excellent photos by Rohan Clarke can be found here: http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/port_fairy_albatross You will see that the bird on the water looks round-headed, short-billed and without an obvious jowl, features that fit Grey-headed Albatross. The bill plates, both the culminicorn and the latericorn, though rule out Grey-headed. Comment is invited. Please copy Rohan Clarke in any posting at diomedeaimages@hotmail.com 13th April From Bruce Mactavish I am currently on a seismic ship acting as a marine mammal monitor working off the Pacific coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. This is Day 23 of a 27 day cruise. Most of the work occurs 50-250 km (up to 350km) from shore, often along the continental shelf edge. The seabirding has been good every day especially for someone from the NW Atlantic. I did only basic research on the range of birds before I came here and on board the ship have only the new Albatrosses, Petrels & Shearwaters of the World (Onley and Scofield 2007) and the ancient photographic guide by Harrison. I have a couple questions on the status of birds in this area that maybe someone out there has knowledge of. I have seen and photographed five Swallow-tailed Gulls - three off Costa Rica and two off Nicaragua. Four were adults in breeding plumage, one adult like but white head. Four fed around the ship at night for several hours each, and one flew around the ship one time in broad daylight. I believe the first Swallow-tailed Gull for Costa Rica was in 2006 (Mike Mulligan et al.). Being so rare in Costa Rica I wonder if it has previously been recorded in Nicaragua. Considering the time I've spent out here and how few and far between the five individuals were, the species could be regular in small numbers without previously being detected, especially if you weren't looking at night! I haven't seen any other species that I think are rare. Seven White Terns off Northern Costa Rica might be unusual. My next question concerns Wedge-tailed Shearwater. According to Onley and Scofield
(2007) the species doesn't reach Nicaragua and Costa Rica. But it is illustrated in the 'Birds of Costa Rica'. In fact it has been the most numerous species at sea in both Costa Rican and Nicaraguan waters. Largest concentrations being at shelf edges, up to low thousands per day with one unusually large flock of 1500 resting on the water. The water temperatures here are normal for the time of year 28-29C. P.S. Currently 175 km west of Nicaragua headed in toward the shelf edge. Should be good birding territory by morning. Today a sudden influx of Pink-footed Shearwater (1200+) and five Parkinson's Petrels with them. 10th April From Angus Wilson You can view an illustrated version of this post on my new blog here: In two recent issues of Dutch Birding (see citations below), Pierre- André Crochet and Marcel Haas published short articles arguing for (declaring?) for the removal of White-bellied Storm-Petrel (Fregetta grallaria) and Cape Gannet (Morus capensis) from the Western Palearctic list. It isn't clear to me whether these pronouncements come in an official capacity (as the article titles would suggest) or merely recommendations of concerned members of the ornithological community. Regardless, both cases are compelling and the story of the Cape Gannet provides a particularly interesting lesson in retrospective interpretation of specimen data. White-bellied Storm-Petrel: The addition of White-bellied Storm-Petrel is based on a sight report made at sea (23.48 N, 22.01 W, 17 Aug 1986) between the Canary and Cape Verde Islands. Expert evaluation of the description by Mike Imber, Tony Palliser and Paul Scofield concluded that the description is not sufficient to rigorously exclude Black- bellied Storm-Petrel (F. tropica). As an interesting aside, Crochet and Haas mention a 'white-bellied' population of Black-bellied Storm- Petrels nesting on Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. Tristan da Cunha seems a reasonable point of origin for non-breeding birds venturing into the North Atlantic but the taxonomic status of these populations seems confusing and ultimately might impact future records. In Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World (2007 Helm/A&C Black/Princeton UP), Derek Onley and Paul Scofield state that both Black-bellied (F. t. melanoleuca) and White-bellied Storm-Petrel (F. g. leucogaster) nest in the archipelago and that the latter are morphometrically closer to Black-bellied than other populations. I would be interested to hear more about these birds and whether there are any DNA studies that might address their affinities. Photographs of either species taken at sea near the islands might also be interesting. Getting back to the main thread, another concern with the Western Palearctic sighting is the fact that two unambiguous Black- bellied Storm-Petrels have been now been photo-documented off North Carolina USA (31 May 2004 & 23 June 2007), further reinforcing the necessity for a water-tight description or better still photographs or specimen to document occurrence in the WP. Cape Gannet: Inclusion of Cape Gannet is based on a single ring (band) return with a wonderfully convoluted back story. The ring information was transmitted by the Moscow Ringing Center to SAFRING in Cape Town stating the ring number, 30 May 1966 recovery date and recovery locality "21:40 N, 13:55 E". In the SARING records, '17deg 00, Western Sahara' was hand written over the locality information, the reason being that 21:40 N, 13:55 E is in the desert of northern Chad! Crochet and Haas consider it likely that a Russian fisherman submitted the original ring information to the MRC, as there was an extensive Soviet fishing fleet operating off Africa. They are troubled, however, by the fact that the original coordinates were most likely wrong. Rather than making up new coordinates (as appears to have been done by anonymous author of the hand written note) they considered the common mistake of mixing up N and S or E and W. Swapping E & W puts the gannet much further into the desert but changing the N/S coordinate to 21:40 S, 13:55 E places the bird a few miles off the coast of Namibia where Cape Gannet is abundant. Indeed the MRC has many Cape Gannet ring recoveries from this area made by Soviet trawlers. They quote Terry Oatley of SAFRING "It is far more likely that the Russian Ringing Center mislabelled the latitudinal co-ordinates N out of force of habit (since the vast majority of recoveries processed by them are from the northern hemisphere, and the same error was finding its way into the Euring data band when I visited it in 1994)". This strikes me as an elegant piece of detective work and provides the simplest reinterpretation of the original coordinates. Apparently there are no other credible reports of Cape Gannet from the Western Palearctic but I recall an article in BIRDWATCH magazine some years back discussing sightings of candidates from southern Spain. What's the story there? Like many seabird enthusiasts on the eastern seaboard of the United States, I keep an eye on migrating Northern Gannets in hopes of finding a Cape. Given the movement of both species towards the tropics, vagrancy would not seem impossible. Crochet, P-A. and Haas, M. (2008) Western Palearctic list update: Crochet, P-A. and Haas, M. (2008) Western Palearctic list update: 8th April From Western Pacific Odyssey
Pictures at http://www.wildwings.co.uk/wposhipsightings.html 28 Mar 08 Bermuda Petrel returns to Nonsuch Island (Bermuda) after 400 years Three Endangered Bermuda Petrels (Pterodroma cahow – also known as the Cahow), translocated to Nonsuch Island before fledging in 2005, have returned to the island, and been observed entering artificial nesting burrows constructed for them.Bermuda Petrel was thought extinct for almost three centuries. In 1951, 18 pairs were rediscovered breeding on sub-optimal rocky islets in Castle Harbour, Bermuda. The birds began to be moved to Nonsuch, in the entrance to Castle Harbour, after Hurricane Fabian (2003) caused the flooding and partial collapse of the islets, which contained the entire known breeding population. In the last four years, a total of 81 chicks have been translocated, of which 79 have fledged successfully. The 6.5 hectare (15.5 acre) Nonsuch Island Nature Reserve has potential nesting habitat which is elevated enough to be safe from hurricane flooding and erosion. The present nesting islets total less than one hectare (2.4 acres). http://www.surfbirds.com/sbirdsnews/archives/2008/03/bermuda_petrel.html 28 Mar 08 Short-tailed Albatross chicks moved out of the shadow of the volcano 17 Mar 08 Maintenance work on the SMP Website for recording whole colony seabird counts 6 Mar 08 Beck’s Petrel flies back from extinction! http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/03/becks_petrel_rediscovery_ns.html 26 Feb 08 Penguin Systematics I had to write a summary (as part of a Newsletter) and thought the following sections would be of interest. Also, I have taken some of that below from an explanatory note by Paul Scofield: (1) Snares, Fiordland and Royal, Macaroni Penguins The recently published ‘Australian Checklist’ (Christidis, Les and Walter E. Boles. Systematics and taxonomy of Australian birds) has now lumped Snares Penguin with Fiordland Penguin, based on DNA sequence data published by Ritchie (2001) and Baker (2005). As expected, Royal and Macaroni are still lumped together. Note Scientific names/English names: Here’s the relevant section from Christidis and Boles. The variances are from sequences of the hypervariable region of the mitochondrial control region (which generally evolves 4-10 times faster than the cytochrome b gene) ‘Within Eudyptes, the two lowest divergence recorded were between chrysolophus and schlegeli (4%) and pachyrhynchus and robustus (6.5%). Divergences for all other species comparisons ranged 10.7% to 15.3%. Of particular note were the divergences between sclateri and pachyrhynchus (12.0%) and between sclateri and robustus (12.9%). The DNA data outlined above, in conjunction with previous taxonomic assessments based on plumage and soft-part patterns, indicate that schlegeli Finsch, 1876 should continue to be treated as a subspecies of Eudyptes chrysolophus Brandt, 1837, with Macaroni Penguin retained as the English name. This maintains the treatment in Christidis and Boles (1994). Baker et al. (2005) found the level of genetic divergence between pachyrhynchus and robustus to be comparable to that between schlegeli and chrysolophus. Together with other molecular studies, this indicates that robustus Oliver, 1953, should be included as a subspecies of Eudyptes pachyrhynchus Gray, 1845 (with Fiordland Penguin retained as the English name), while E. sclateri should be retained as a separate species. These actions are incorporated here.’ (2) Rockhopper Penguins Jouventin (1982) split moseleyi (= Northern Rockhopper Penguin) on differences in vocalisations. Another paper by the same author and others (2006) added DNA sequences (the ND2 gene and mitochondrial control region), vocalisations, head ornamentation and the timing of breeding for concluding that moseleyi warranted species recognition. (3) Humboldt and Galapagos Penguins "Levels of DNA sequence divergence found by Ritchie (2001) in Eudyptes were similar to those between species of Spheniscus found in the same study (9.9-13.8%), with the exception of S. humboldti (Humboldt Penguin) and S. mendiculus (Galapagos Penguin), which differed by 4.2%. An extension of taxonomic decisions in Eudyptes is that Spheniscus mendiculus might be best regarded as a subspecies of S. humboldti (Ritchie 2001)" The suggestion by Ritchie is to lump Galapagos with Humboldt Penguin. (4) Fairy/Little/Blue Penguin Relevant to continuing discussions on White-flippered Penguin (albosignata) "Phylogenetic analyses revealed two distinct clades: (1)novaehollandiae and minor and (2)iredalei, variabilis, albosignata and chathamensis. Genetic divergences between these two clades were 2.6% (12S rRNA), 4.0% (cytochrome b) and 11.8% (control region). Baker et al. (2005) obtained differences between minor and albosignata that were at similar levels to those between the Eudyptes populations treated as conspecific (schlegeli-chrysolophus and pachyrhynchus-robustus; as above). On this basis White-flippered would be retained as a race of Little Penguin. Tony Pym 25 Feb 08 Dutch Birding Association have decided to recognise three splits to Western Palaearctic seabird taxa: Pterodroma feae deserta becomes P. deserta - 'Desertas Petrel'. Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis becomes H. melitensis - 'Mediterranean Storm Petrel'. Oceanodroma castro 'jabejabe' becomes O. jabejabe - 'Cape Verde Storm Petrel'. These tubenose splits have been based on vocalisations; reference Robb, Mullarney & The Sound Approach 2008. Petrels night and day: a Sound Approach guide. (Also timing of breeding, male/female sizes and life-history trajectories has been debated recently for these taxa). The at-sea separation of Zino’s and Fea’s is not easy, indeed problematical, now this may be broadened with consideration of Desertas Petrel? Quoting Birds of the Western Palaearctic: ‘the subspecies 'Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis' is no longer recognised as 'differences from British birds too small to warrant subspecies recognition". melitensis is said to be ' darker and larger, but that the claimed larger size of bills from Maltese birds may not be real’ (through the shrinkage of skins & the vagaries of accurate measuring). Re. 'Cape Verde Storm Petrel' (Oceanodroma [castro] jabejabe) BWP comments "several subspecies described ... but much overlap and differences not statistically significant". Putting it mildly….these looks like real challenges to future field identification!! 7 Feb 08 SeaWatch SW Project 4 Feb 08 The *Report 8 of RAM* (Iberian Seawatching Network of Seabirds and 14 Dec 08 Wings of the Albatross http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-12/albatross/safina-text.html
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In the early afternoon of September 7th she passed just offshore of North Cape, New Zealand, and then turned back southeast, making landfall in the late evening at the mouth of a small river, eight miles east of where she had been captured seven months earlier. 
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