Hatteras Pelagics - June 5-7, 2015

Just wrapped up a three-day weekend of pelagics with Brian Patteson and Kate Sutherland out of Hatteras, NC (AKA Pterodroma Alley). We had a really fun three days at sea, starting somewhat slowly on Friday followed by a great Saturday and Sunday. It was windy on all three days, which is generally great for seabirds but poor for spotting cetaceans; this held true for us.

Seabird list:
TRINDADE PETREL (dark morph)
Black-capped Petrel (dark-faced and white-faced types)
Cory's Shearwater (including several "Scopoli's" Shearwaters)
Great Shearwater
Audubon's Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Leach's Storm-Petrel
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (molting and non-molting individuals)
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Bridled Tern
Arctic Tern

Cetaceans were represented only by Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins.

Trindade Petrel (dark morph)

Trindade Petrel (dark morph)

Trindade Petrel (dark morph)

Black-capped Petrel

Black-capped Petrel

Black-capped Petrel

Black-capped Petrel

Black-capped Petrel

Black-capped Petrel

"Scopoli's" Cory's Shearwater

"Scopoli's" Cory's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater

Wilson's Storm-Petrel

Leach's Storm-Petrel

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (non-molting adult)

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (molting)

Pomarine Jaeger

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

 - NB

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Warblers in Flight: A Photographic Collection

While active migration has always been my favorite bird behavior to observe, my interest in the phenomenon called “morning flight” of nocturnal migrants had been minimal due to the unfortunate reality that I lived well over an hour’s drive from the nearest known reliable observation site, Bluff Point State Park in Groton, CT. In autumn 2020, thanks to improved public access to Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT, I began to explore the northern tip of Willard’s Island as a morning flight viewpoint and was pleased to find that under the right conditions a reliable flight could be observed there. The volume of birds passing through is not large (a small fraction of what passes through Bluff Point), but the flight line is consistent and can be observed under good lighting conditions. Between autumns 2020-22 I visited the site 20 times in total and recorded 27 warbler species in morning flight. All but a few of these have been photographed, often poorly! I immediately found mysel...
Read more

Guest Post by Tim Spahr: Finding Connecticut Warblers in Fall Migration

Image
In recent years, thanks to good old fashioned field work, Tim Spahr of Massachusetts has developed a knack for finding Connecticut Warblers in southern New England during autumn migration. He is kind enough to share his secrets with us here. Thank you, Tim! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright Tim Spahr Finding Connecticut Warblers in Fall Migration by Tim Spahr Connecticut Warblers are sought-after species due their shy and retiring nature, elusiveness, and overall rarity. Northeastern United States birders are fortunate to get a shot at these birds during the fall migration period, as they often stop in our area to refuel ahead of their long, overwater flight to South America. The sheer difficulty of locating one of these gems in migration can also make finding one a satisfying conclusion to any fall birding outing. Copyright Tim Spahr General information: Connecticut Warblers breed from Western Quebec westward across the b...
Read more

Iceland in April

Image
April is an exciting time for the nature enthusiast to visit Iceland. While the weather can still be quite cold and snowy, winter's grip is loosening and signs of spring abound. Several minutes of daylight are gained each day, but there is still enough nighttime darkness to observe the aurora borealis through at least mid-month. It turns out that early spring is also an excellent time for whale watching, particularly if you are keen to find Orcas. Spring migrants are beginning to arrive, including flocks of European Golden Plovers and the first Atlantic Puffins of the year. Given all that, it made sense to consider a long weekend visit to Iceland in mid-April, especially since it is a direct 5-6 hour flight from the northeast USA. Known appropriately as an expensive destination to visit, costs can be considerably reduced by hiring a campervan. Being a super popular mode of transport + lodging in Iceland, there are plenty of companies to choose from. During this shoulder season, I r...
Read more