New England Seabirds

Reports 2007 BBC Extreme Pelagics For Other trip Reports from 2007  see Reports 2007 August 25 August 20 July 21 June 30

Macronesian Shearwater photographed by Scott Spangenberg and used with his permission.

Organizer

All trips on this page were organized by Ida Giriunas (left) and sponsored by the Brookline Bird Club.  These trips require an enormous amount of effort on the part of everyone involved.  Many thanks to Ida, Steve Mirick, Rick Heil, and the captain and crew of the HelenH.

August 25 BBC Extreme Pelagic to Vetch's and Hydrographer CanyonE (0400-2100 hrs.)
Weather: Mostly clear, morning and afternoon light to moderate fog, S-SW winds 5-10 mph, 62-75 F.  Seas: 3-5 feet. Visibility: Generally good, although only fair in light fog and haze at times.

  Every trip to these waters is an adventure into the last true frontier of New England ornithology.

 More than seventy-five participants plus the captain and crew of the Helen H departed Hyannis at 0400 hrs., crossing Nantucket Sound and this time exiting through Muskeget Channel en route to Veatch's Canyon where water temperatures reached 77 F.  We cruised down the center of the canyon and continued south well off the shelf edge into water more about 4000 feet deep before steaming east to Hydrographer Canyon where we worked back north, crossing the cold water Nantucket Shoals (53 F) to Nantucket  Sound, arriving back in port around 2100 hrs.

  The big event was the observation of a Macaronesian Shearwater (Puffinus baroli), formerly considered a subspecies of Little Shearwater (P. assimilis), which was photographed by perhaps a dozen photographers on board!  Photos will be presented soon.  There are two specimen records for baroli: one found dead Sable Island, NS, 1 Sep 1896 (AMNH ###; Tufts, R.W. 1986. Birds of Nova Scotia, 3rd ed. with revisions by I.A. McLaren and the Nova Scotia Bird Society. Nimbus Publishing Ltd. & The Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax, NS); one found dead Sullivan's Island, SC, Aug 1883 (MCZ #220051; Post, W. and S. A. Gauthreaux, Jr.1989.  Status and Distribution of South Carolina Birds.  The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC). There is one recent credible sight record of three birds: Bruce Mactavish saw one 23 Sep 2003 ~80 km sws. Sable Island, NS and two 80 km s. Sable I. 24 Sep (North Am. Birds 58(1):31)

Above map by Steve Mirick.

  Anyone with photos please send them to scottspangenberg(AT)mindspring.net and Jeremiah Trimble at jtrimble(AToeb.harvard.edu ; Scott will post the photos to his website www.scottspangenberg.com and Jeremiah will archive them for records committe review.

 

Cory's Shearwater (3): One definitive borealis photographed.
Greater Shearwater (41)
Sooty Shearwater (1-2): Nantucket Shoals.
Manx Shearwater (6)
Audubon's Shearwater (3): Vicinity Veatch's Canyon.
MACARONESIAN SHEARWATER, P. baroli (1): Pursued and photographed over prhaps a ten minute period in 70+ degree water approximately 18 miles norh of Veatch's Canyon at 40 18.2 N, 69 48.1 W.  Formerly considered a subspecies of Little Shearwater (P. assimilis).  Briefly, it was a very small shearwater with a rapid fluttery flight, exceptionally blackish upperparts, save for the notably pale wing panels and a thin white lines along the edge of the greater and median coverts.  The face was very extensively white, with the dark eye isolated in the white field.  The underwings appeared cleanly white, with narrow, well-defined dark borders, and the undertail coverts were extensively white as well. A careful review of full monitor photographs when they appear may fine tune some of these in the field' impressions.  This is the first photographically documented N. Am sight record (aside from two specimen records) and obviously a first Massachusetts record, if accepted.  

small shearwater sp. (1)
Wilson's Storm-Petrel (415)
BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL (1): Sitting with a Greater Shearwater off the shelf at 40 07.6 N, 69 05.6 W, flushed and closely observed and photographed in flight.  About the sixth MA record, and only the second or third photographed.
Northern Gannet (2 sub-ads.) =

Hudsonian Godwit (40): A very remarkable sighting of a migrating flock southbound late in the afternoon low over the water over Nantucket Shoals Next landfall Argentina?
Ruddy Turnstone (1): Circling the boat along the shelf edge.
Red-necked Phalarope (3+)
Red Phalarope (8)
phalarope sp. (8+)
Herring Gull (1 juv.)
Great Black-backed Gull (1)
Common Tern (4 ads.)
Pomarine Jaeger (1 ad./near ad.): South of Muskeget Channel.
Tree Swallow (3): Vicinity Veatch's Canyon.

Fin Whale (8+)
Humpbacked Whale (3+)
Gray Grampus (170+): Warm water canyons and slope.
SPERM WHALE (1): In 4000 ft deep water over Veatch's Canyon.
Common (Saddleback) Dolphin (40+): s. Nantucket Shoals.
Bottlenosed Dolphin (35+): warm water canyons and slope.
dolphin sp. (50+)

Hammerhead Shark sp. (1)
shark sp. (2)
Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola (2)
Manta Ray (1): =

Green Darner, Anax junius (1): Along shelf edge.

Many thanks again to Ida Giriunas for organizing these trips and to the =
Brookline Bird Club for including them in their program, to all of the p=
articipants who make them possible by signing up, and to Marshall Iliff =
and Steve Mirick for their informative and insightful commentary and exp=
ertise during the cruise. Thanks to to Captain Joe Huckameyer (and crew)=
 of the Helen H.  The captain was exceptional and indeed instramental in=
 the chase of the Macaronesian Shearwater which permitted us to document=
 it so well. The next trip is scheduled for November 17.  If interested =
contact Ida at Ida8(AT)verizon.net.

Note:  The above list is a summary list for the day, but totals were kept in more detailed half-hour increments. If you'd like those more detailed notes, Marshall Iliff has offered to upload those detailed notes to anyone's eBird account. Mapping features within eBird will allow you to see the exact route of the Helen H as well as the location of the Macaronesian Shearwater, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, and other species. If you have an eBird account write Marshall ( miliff(AT)aol.com) and express interes=
t in the detailed notes; if you don't have one, signing up is easy at ww=
w.ebird.org."

Richard S. Heil
S. Peabody, MA
rsheil(AT)juno.com =
 

BROOKLINE BIRD CLUB 'Extreme Pelagic' from HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS to HYDROGRAPHER CANYON SUNDAY, 19 AUGUST 2007: Weather: Partly to mostly cloudy, N-NE winds 5-10 mph turning SW 10 mph in the PM, 59-72 F. Seas: 2-4 feet. Visibility: Generally very good to excellent, although glare a problem at times.

Every trip to these waters is an adventure into the last true frontier of New England ornithology. Nearly seventy participants plus the captain and crew of the Helen H departed Hyannis at 0400 hrs., crossing Nantucket Shoals (sea surface temperature as low as 52 F) en route to the warm deep waters around Hydrographer Canyon. We cruised down the center of the canyon and continued south well off the shelf edge into water more about 8000 feet deep and 75 degrees before returning back north, recrossing the continental shelf edge and the cold water Nantucket Shoals to Nantucket Sound, arriving back in port around 2130 hrs.

 Blue-winged Teal (4): Unexpected sighting over Southern Nantucket Shoals
Common Eider (3): Nantucket Shoals
 Common Loon (7): Nantucket Shoals
Cory's Shearwater (3): Surprisingly rare today; one definitive C. d. borealis
Greater Shearwater (83): Most over colder Nantucket Shoals waters.<br>
Manx Shearwater (12): Most over Nantucket Shoals. A few in warmer waters south of the shoals. One in the company of an Audubon's provided for an excellent side by side comparison on the water and in flight of these two similar species. Puffinus sp. [Manx/Audubon's] (3+)
AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER (17): All in warmer seventy degree waters south of Nantucket Shoals, especially over Hydrographer Canyon. Majority apparently freshly plumaged juveniles, while others were adults with obvious signs of wing molt. New Massachusetts high count slightly eclipsing the previous record of fifteen.
Wilson's Storm-Petrel (415; Most numerous at the entrance to Hydrographer Canyon. Many adults still in active wing molt.
WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL (1): Over Hydrographer Canyon at 39 55.8 N, 69 04.3 W. Unfortunately (for some) seen by only one observer (me) on a boat load of birders. Sparsely distributed but regular in these warm waters with recent records including: 2-8/27/01 and 3-8/26/06.
Northern Gannet (1-sub ad.): Nantucket Shoals.
 Black-bellied Plover (1)
Solitary Sandpiper (1): South of Nantucket Shoals.
Red-necked Phalarope (140+): Several large mixed species flocks encountered on Nantucket Shoals.
 Red Phalarope (75+)
phalarope sp. (5+)
Herring Gull (9+)
Great Black-backed Gull (6+)
 Black Tern (3): Including two (one aged as juvenile) over Hydrographer Canyon along Sargassum weed lines.
Common Tern (17): Mostly ads., but several juvs.- Shoals to Hydro.
Sterna sp. (3+)
 LONG-TAILED JAEGER (1 juvenile): Nantucket Shoals; intermediate morph. jaeger sp. (2): One sub-adult on Nantucket shoals subject of much discussion, with some in Long-tailed camp, others Parasitic. Photos to be reviewed. One other jaeger distant over Hydrographer.
Tree Swallow (1 juv.): South of Nantucket Shoals.
 Cedar Waxwing (1 ad.): Nantucket Shoals.<br> passerine sp. (3)

Fin Whale (3+): Distant tall narrow spouts were believed emanating from this species. Entrance to Hydrographer Canyon.
 Gray Grampus (90+): Virtually all in the vicinity of Hydrographer Canyon.
Long-finned Pilot Whale (20): Hydrographer Canyon.
SPERM WHALE (5+): All in the very deep waters (4000-8000 feet) at the center and mouth of Hydrographer Canyon. We noted obvious forward blows and motored over, obtaining killer looks at resting individuals breathing at the surface right beside the boat. Scar marks from the tentacles of Giant Squid were seen and photographed on one individual. Eventually, a sounding dive provided a nice display of the tail flukes.
 BEAKED WHALE sp. (2): Quickly showed three times at the surface before disappearing. Possibly Cuvier's Beaked Whale or Mesoplodon sp.
 Atlantic White-sided Dolphin (8+)
 Common (Saddleback) Dolphin (5+)
Bottlenosed Dolphin (55+) dolphin sp. (20+)
Harbor Seal (1): Nantucket Shoals.
 bat sp. (1): S. of Nantucket Shoals.
Blue Shark (3)
shark sp. (2)
flying fish sp.: Several noted in warm waters.
tuna sp.: Several large individuals in full breach.
Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola (1): Surprisingly rare today.
Atlantic Leatherback (2): One carcass floating over N. Nantucket Shoals, one very much alive providing excellent views right beside the boat over Hydrographer Canyon.
Monarch Butterfly (6+): Several south to Hydro. moth sp. (100's): All day.
 

Leatherback Turtle photographed on the August 19,2007 pelagic by  Scott Spangenberg (scottspangenberg@mindspring.com ) who retains all rights.

7/21/2007

BROOKLINE BIRD CLUB 'Extreme Pelagic' from HYANNIS, MA to VEATCH'S &
HYDROGRAPHER CANYON
Weather: Mostly overcast, N-NNW winds 5-10 knots, a few showers, 59-65 F.
Seas: 3-6 feet in AM, subsiding to 2-4 feet in PM.
Visibility: Generally good to excellent.

   Every trip to these waters is an adventure into the last true frontier of
New England ornithology.

    Roughly seventy-seven participants plus the captain and crew of the
"Helen H" departed Hyannis at 0400 hrs., crossing Nantucket Shoals (sea
surface temperatures of 58 F) en route to the warm deep waters around
Veatch's and Hydrographer Canyons.  We cruised the east side of Veatch's and
continued southeast well off the shelf edge into water more than 5000 feet
deep and 75 degrees F for a couple of hours before working northeast
recrossing the continental shelf edge to Hydrographer Canyon, then back NNW
across Nantucket Shoals to Nantucket Sound, arriving back in port around
2115 hrs.

Map by Steve Mirick.

   Try as we might we did not come up with a Pterodroma or any rare
storm-petrels ... this time, but we did encounter many of the expected warm
water seabirds species, highlighted by three (!) Bridled Terns, tying the
state single day high count for the species
(from Martha's Vineyard during Hurricane Bob in 1991).  We also enjoyed an
outstanding cetacean show with no less than six species of whales and
dolphins encountered.

Common Loon (9): Nantucket Shoals.
Cory's Shearwater (30): Southern Nantucket Shoals.
'SCOPOLI'S SHEARWATER', C. d. diomedea (2-3): Southern edge Nantucket
Shoals; smaller Mediterranean race of Cory's; mixed in roosting flocks of
bulkier, bigger billed borealis Cory's; probably not rare in these waters as
we are coming to realize.  Smaller size, shorter and more slender bill, and
white projecting onto underside of primaries (noted on at least one
individual).
Greater Shearwater (110): Shoals and deep shelf/canyon waters.
Sooty Shearwater (28): All Nantucket Shoals.
Manx Shearwater (4+): Nantucket Shoals.
Puffinus sp. (Manx/Audubon's) (2-3): A couple sitting (and flying) with
Cory's on the southern shoals left some observers
(including me) uncertain, while other observers thought them rather obvious
Manx.
AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER (3+): Shelf waters, vicinity Hydrographer Canyon; not
at all rare here but is a specialty of these warm New England shelf waters.
Wilson's Storm-Petrel (850): Roughly 90% molting adults, 10% 'clean'
first-winter birds.
Leach's Storm-Petrel (1): Noted astern by a few experienced observers.
Otherwise curiously absent; likely more numerous here in August.
Northern Gannet (2 sub-ads.): N. Nantucket Shoals.
Least Sandpiper (2): Nantucket Shoals.
Laughing Gull (15+): Nantucket Shoals.
Common Tern (20+): Nantucket Shoals.
BRIDLED TERN (3): One 1st-year west of Hydrographer Canyon at 40 09 N, 69 11
W, then later two (one adult or near adult, one 1st-yr.) together much
farther north at the southern edge of Nantucket Shoals at 40 31 N, 69 18 W.
The latter two were located roosting on a floating log and we were able to
approach very closely for some great views and hopefully some nice
photographs by those with cameras.  The young bird appeared momentarily to
be food begging from the adult.  We last encountered this species here in
August of 2004 and it probably occurs regularly in these waters in late
summer and early fall, July through September.

Bridled Terns photographed by Bruce Larson and used with his permission. Notice bird on the left has more cap than the bird on the right. A total of 3 were seen on the trip.

LONG-TAILED JAEGER (1-1S): Southern Nanucket Shoals.  Also not rare here and
seems to be the default jaeger in late summer far offshore from the
mid-shoals south.
Brown-headed Cowbird (1): One flew along with us for a time early morning
near the exit of Nantucket Sound.
...............................................................
Most all of the marine mammals were in warmer waters from the southern edge
of the shoals south:

Fin Whale (4)
Humpback Whale (4)
Long-finned Pilot Whale (15)
Gray Grampus (6)
Common (Saddleback) Dolphin (50)
Bottlenose Dolphin (110)
dolphin sp. (20+)
seal sp. (1): southern Nantucket Shoals.
 

Loggerhead Turtle photographed by Steve Mirick and used with his permission.  Not the first Loggerhead to be seen on a pelagic trip, but certainly the first to be photographed. This turtle was unusually cooperative swimming close to the boat on both sides.  Not a good sign.  Smart sea turtles stay away from boats.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (1): Great views alongside the boat.
sea turtle sp. (1)
Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola (6)
tuna sp. (6+): Seen jumping.
Mako Shark (2)
.................................................................
   We encountered two inflated, drifting rubber/plastic rafts off the
continental shelf edge, and recovered both - no bodies.  One had a 'perfect'
cut-out from a shark bite out of the floor.
...................................................................
  Thanks as always to Ida Giriunas who does the real work in organizing
these trips, and to Steve Mirick, who despite a serious bought of 'mal de
mer' man'd up and did the usual yeomans job on the microphone.

Richard S. Heil
S. Peabody, MA
rsheil(AT)juno.com

 

June 30 BBC Pelagic from Hyannis to Nantucket Shoals and
         20 miles E. of Chatham, Cape Cod

The first in a summer series of pelagic boat trips of the Brookline
Bird Club.
Weather: Mostly clear, SW 10-15 mph, becoming variable SE/W 5-10 mph, 60-72
F; Water T: 59-68 F.; Seas: 1-3' ; Visibility: excellent.

     We sailed under very pleasant skies and sea conditions, and once out
into the open Atlantic soon encountered very good numbers of tubenoses
around several fishing boats.  Many shearwaters were subsequently observed
in large rafts resting upon the water, allowing for close approach and fine
views and photographic oportunities.  The highlights were the comparatively
large numbers of Northern Fulmars (for nearly July), and Manx Shearwaters
(15+ sitting on the water at one site).  The most bizarre observation was of
a female Common Yellowthroat circling and eventually landing (albeit
briefly) on the boat, some twenty miles offshore.  Marine mammals included a
couple of very active Humpack Whales (breaching and lobtailing) and a
somewhat distant pod of dolphins, likely Atlantic White-sided.  Finally,
many hundreds of Red Admiral Butterflies were noted far offshore throughout
the day, highlighting the role of migration and dispersal in this species
biology.

Northern Fulmar photographed by Ian Davis and used with his permission.

    Many thanks to Ida Giriunas for organizing these trips, to Marshall
Iliff who provided an excellent and informative narration, to the Captain
and crew of the 'Helen H', and to all the participants who make these trips
possible.

'At sea' observations:

Common Eider (70): Mostly 1S males, along South Monomoy.
Common Loon (5)
Northern Fulmar (22): 2 dark, 20 light.
Cory's Shearwater (1)
Greater Shearwater (500): Many showing indications of wing molt.
Sooty Shearwater (850): A very small minority showing molt.
Manx Shearwater (39): 15+ roosting in one area.
Wilson's Storm-Petrel (1000)
Northern Gannet (12 imms.)
Laughing Gull (60+): All inshore.
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1-2S/3S): 15 miles offshore.
Great Black-backed Gull
Roseate Tern (3 ads.)-Off South Beach/Monomoy.
Common Tern (500)-Inshore.
Least Tern (6+)-Monomoy Pt.
jaeger sp. (1)-Off South Monomoy.
Common Yellowthroat (1f.)-20 miles E. of Chatham.: The presence of this bird
along with reports of a Northern Waterthrush and a Black-and-white Warbler
on Plum Island yesterday (where neither breeds) I think indicates some very
early post-breeding dispersal/migration following the arrival of the recent
cold front.
...........................................................................
.
Humpback Whale (16+)
Minke Whale (3)
probable Atlantic White-sided Dolphin (20)
Gray Seal (20+)-S. Monomoy.
...........................................................................
.
Red Admiral (500+)
Question Mark (1)
Clouded Sulphur (1)

 

Manx Shearwater photographed by Ian Davis and used with his permission.

Richard S. Heil
S. Peabody, MA
rsheil(AT)juno.com