WESTEt BIP,DS

Volume 30, Number 4, 1999

SEABIRDS CARRr INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA

ROY M. JONES, 2237 North SunsetDrive, Tempe, 85281

Everyyear about15 cyclonesform off the southwestcoast of Mexicoor regeneratethere from Caribbean storms that have crossed ; about half of these become hurricanes.Prior to the 1970s, these storms were thoughtto have no effect on weatherin the .Court (1980) broughta new perspectiveto easternPacific cyclones when he showedthat 40 stormsoccurring between 1904 and 1980 hadaffected the . It shouldsurprise no one then that with so few tropicalstorms reaching North America from the Pacific much is left to be learned about their effects on birdsand the potentialfor unusualdisplacements, especially of coastal and pelagicspecies inland. In 1976, TropicalStorm Kathleengave orni- thologistsa glimpseof sucheffects when it strandedhundreds of seabirdsin the desertsouthwest, primarily at the SaltonSea (Kaufman1977, McCaskie 1977). TropicalStorm Nora providedanother opportunity for studywith an unprecedentednumber of seabirdsfound in Arizona along the Riverand, to a lesserdegree, at the SaltonSea.

TROPICAL STORM NORA

Nora formedlate on 15 September1997, roughly480 km southwestof Acapulcoin a largearea of disturbedweather that was likelyrelated to a tropicalwave (a disturbanceor troughof low pressurethat movesfrom east to westthrough the tropics,generally creating only a shiftin windsand rain but often associatedwith with the developmentof cyclones)that crossed from into the Atlantichurricane basin in late August.The southern part of thiswave crossedthe CaribbeanSea and northernSouth America, arrivingin the easternPacific 12 September.Nora reachedtropical storm statuson 16 Septemberand becamea hurricanewith a largeill-defined on 18 September.Traveling parallel to the west coast of , the hurricanepassed over the RevillagigedoIslands with a verybroad eye (92 km

WesternBirds 30:185-192, 1999 185 SEABIRDS CARRIED INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA wide)on 22 September.Moving west of Baja ,Nora cameunder the effectsof a low-pressuretrough to the northwest,which steeredit northward.Nora madea directhit on PuntaEugenia, Sur, 24 Septemberand brought floodwaters to itssecond landfall about 95 km south of San Fernando,forcing 350 to 400 peoplefrom their homes (Rappaport 1997). Acceleratingoverland, Nora crossed the BajaCalifornia peninsula, skirted the western shoreline of the and entered the United States, as a tropicalstorm, along the Arizona-Californiaborder. Further weakeningensued, and by 1700 on 25 SeptemberNora was a tropical depressionnear Rice Valley, California,with winds of 48 km/hr. Yuma receiveda peak wind gust of 75 km/hr and 8.9 cm of rain. The storm dissipatedover the next two days while moving northeastwardthrough Arizona, , Colorado,, and (Rappaport 1997). For birders,the timing of the storm as it hit the Lower ColoradoRiver valleywas rather unfortunate, allowing only a few hoursfor lookingfor birds beforedarkness fell. Interestingly, though, during the heightof the wind(56 to 72 km/hr) gullsand terns at Lake Havasuwere unfazed.They were activelyfeeding over the water,fighting and chasingeach other vigorously for foodthat hadeither welled up fromlower depths or wasswept down with the runofffrom higherground. Followingthe stormon the morningof 26 Septemberbirders were out in force;Arizona and southernCalifornia were well covered,and, once word got out of the storm-petrelsat Lake Havasuand the SaltonSea, people continuedreporting for weeks.Observers as far awayfrom the stormtrack as Willcoxand PicachoReservoir in easternand centralArizona reported theirsightings: they had anticipated the possibilityof unusualbirds. This level of reportingcontributed greater detail on the activitiesof storm-drivenbirds than was providedin the early days after Kathleen,which floodedand washedout many accessroads.

BIRDS ASSOCIATED WITH NORA

At the north end of Lake Havasu,Mohave Co., Steve Ganley,Charles Babbitt, and I observedan apparent Black-ventedShearwater (Puffinus opistl•omelas)on 26 September.Jim Burns and Bud Johnsonsaw two followinga boat the next day at the same location.The originalwritten descriptionsare on file with the ArizonaBird Committeeat the Universityof Arizonabird collection (no photographwas taken nor specimencollected). Only one shearwaterhad been seen in Arizona prior to Nora, a Sooty Shearwater(Puffinus griseus) found dead near Wellton,Yuma Co., on 6 June 1971 (Quigley1973, Univ. Ariz. 10316). Inlandsouthern California recordsinclude a Wedge-tailedShearwater (Puffinus pacificus) at the Salton Sea, RiversideCo., 31 July 1988 (McCaskieand Webster 1990) and a Buller'sShearwater (Puffinus bulleri) at the same locationon 6 August 1966 (AudubonField Notes 20:599, specimenin the San Bernardino CountyMuseum). There have also been eight records of the SootyShearwa- ter from Imperial and Riversidecounties, all betweenApril and August (Patten and Minnich 1997). None of the region'sprevious records are

186 SEABIRDS CARRIED INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA thought to be storm related (Patten and Minnich 1997). The Black-vented and Sooty are the most commonshearwaters of the northerngulf, and it seems reasonable to infer that the Lake Havasu birds came from there. However remotethe chancethat a bird couldsurvive in the eye longenough to make a trip from RevillagigedoIslands, it may be difficultto rule out Townsend'sShearwater (Puffinus auricularis auricularis) entirely. Two birdsreported as Leach'sStorm-Petrels (Oceanodroma leu½orhoa), onedark-rumped and one white-rumped, were briefly observed by BillHowe at the north end of Lake Havasuon 26 September.The originalwritten descriptionis on file at the Universityof Arizona.There are no accepted recordsfor Arizona.In southernCalifornia, Kathleen was responsiblefor a dark-rumpedindividual at the SaltonSea on 15 September1976 (McCaskie 1977), and a white-rumpedindividual was at the mouth of the Whitewater River 30 June-21 July 1984 (McCaskie1984). Approximately 40 Black Storm-Petrels(Oceanodrorna rnelania) were seenand photographedat Lake Havasuon 26 and 27 September(Figure 1). Reportswere from the mouth of Bill Williamsdelta, Takeoff Point, Cattail Cove, the north end, and from the California side in San Bernardino Co. (manyobservers). The lastrepor! wasof eightbirds on 30 Septemberby E. A. Cardiffand Dori Myers.At the southend of the SaltonSea, J. Coatsworth reportedthree or four birdson 27 September.The numberthere fluctuated with a high of 17 on 11 October(M. A. Patten).The last report was on 9 November(H. King). There were no previousrecords for Arizona. Inland records in southern California are from the north end of the Salton Sea, RiversideCo., 21 September1986 (McCaskie1987) and King's Canyon NationalPark, Tulare Co., 5 October 1994 (Yeeet al. 1995). Althoughthe

Figure 1. BlackStorm-Petrels, Lake Havasu,26 September1997. Photo by William Grossi

187 SEABIRDS CARRIED INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA bird at the SaltonSea was not storm related,the one at King'sCanyon was thoughtto be associatedwith a nontropicalPacific storm. Between 100 and 200 Least Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma microsoma) were seen and photographedat Lake Havasu on 26 September(many observers).The numberwent down to 40 to 60 the next day, and from 28 Septemberto 1 Octoberonly one to sixbirds were reported.The birdswere seen at the mouth of the Bill Williams delta, Takeoff Point, Cattail Cove, the north end, and from San Bernardino Co. in California. Two dead Least Storm-Petrelswere picked up at Lake Havasu. one 26 September (C. Tomoff, Univ. Ariz. 17724; Figure 2), the other 3 October(D. Stejskal, Univ. Ariz. 17817). At the south end of the Salton Sea three birds were found 27 September(D. K. Adams),with one stillpresent 20 October(G. McCaskie). Kathleen brought three individualsto Arizona, two at Lake Mohave, Mohave Co., 12 September 1976 and one at Davies Dam, Mohave Co., 17 September1976 (Monsonand Phillips1981). The only other Arizona record, related to the remnants of Hurricane Lester, is of a bird at PatagoniaLake, Santa Cruz Co., 24 August-5 September1992 (Rosenbergand Stejskal1993). In California,Kathleen brought 500-1000 birds to the Salton Sea (McCaskie 1977). Another was found at the WhitewaterRiver delta 10 July 1993, the onlyinterior California record not associatedwith Kathleen or Nora (Patten and Minnich 1997). Blackand Leaststorm-petrels are commonin both the northerngulf and alongthe northernend of Nora's track in the Pacific,making their origin

Figure2. LeastStorm-Petrel, Lake Havasu,26 September1997. Photo by Troy Corman

188 SEABIRDS CARRIED INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA difficultto assess.The mountainsof Baja California,however, should have blockedthe arrivalof a large numberof birdsat Lake Havasufrom the Pacific.It seemsmore plausiblethat the majorityof Nora's storm-petrels (includingLeach's) were sweptinto the storm from the gulf. Some of the storm-petrelreports from the SaltonSea were probablyof birdsfrom Lake Havasuthat had foundtheir way to this inlandsea rather than to the gulf (McCaskie1998). Some storm-petrelsat Lake Havasuon 26 September were reportedas weak and tiredwhile many othersappeared to be fine. One observercommented that someprobably did not survivefor too long after they were seen. An adultRed-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) was found by Pamela Bearein ImperialCounty, California, on 27 September.The birdwas picked up on Highway78 betweenPalo Verde and MidwayWell and taken to Sea World, where it died later that day ( Natural History Museum 49913). A Kathleen-relatedbird in MorongoValley on 11 September1976 (McCaskie1977, San BernardinoCounty Museum) provides the only other inlandrecord for southernCalifornia. Arizona has six tropicbird records; only one, the state'slone White-tailedTropicbird (Phaethon lepturus), was storm related. It was picked up in Scottsdale,Maricopa Co., 22 August 1980 (Monsonand Phillips1981, Smithsonian)and wasthought to be associated with a tropicaldepression that movedinto the statefrom the Gulf of Mexico. Lin Piestsaw 21 frigatebirdsahead of the stormat TelegraphPass east of Yuma, Yuma Co., on 25 September.It is very likelythese birds were all MagnificentFrigatebirds (Fregata magnificens),common in the northern Gulfof California.With no physicaldocumentation, however, ruling out the Great Frigatebird(Fregata minor) entirely may be difficult.Aside from a flockof 22 at the north end of the SaltonSea in 1979, thoseat Telegraph Passrepresent the largestflock for the interior southwest(Patten 1998, Mlodinow1998) and by far the highestnumber ever for Arizona. An immatureBlue-looted Booby (Sula nebouxii)at the north end of the SaltonSea 28 September-6October may havebeen storm related, but this specieswanders north from the gulf sporadicallyat this time of the year (McCaskie 1970, Garrett and Dunn 1981). In Arizona, there are 12 acceptedrecords (Monson and Phillips 1981, Rosenbergand Witzeman 1998) from the central and western parts of the state, all of birds that wanderedfrom the gulfin fall. Two LeastTerns (Sterna antillarum) were seenon 26 September,one at Lake Havasu(W. Grossi),the other at the Ajo sewageponds, Maricopa Co. (D. Tiller).This species has been seen in Arizonain increasingfrequency the past several years, primarily as a late spring or early summer visitor (Rosenbergand Witzeman 1998). At the Salton Sea, it is regularin small numbersfrom late April throughmid-July. The late date of thoseseen 26 September1997 seemsto supporttheir associationwith Nora. A BlackSkimmer (Rynchops niger) was seenat Lake Havasuon 26 and 28 September(B. Raulston,J. Burns). There are fewer than 10 Arizona records(Rosenberg and Witzeman 1998). At the Salton Sea hundredsof pairs nest annually.Because Nora's track probablywould have blockeda birdfrom wandering to LakeHavasu from the SaltonSea, it islikely this bird wasdriven from the gulf.

189 SEABIRDS CARRIED INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA

I saw two Sabine'sGulls (Xema sabini) duringthe storm from Kiwanis Park at Lake Havasuon 25 Septemberand countedeight at the northend of LakeHavasu the followingday, the largestconcentration ever reported in Arizona. Sabine'sGulls were reportedthrough 28 September.At both the SaltonSea and in Arizona,this species is foundin verysmall numbers during fall migration.Therefore, the high numberof individualsinvolved makes it more likelythe birdswere carried north from the gulfrather than slowedon their southwardmigration. Charles Babbitt, Steve Ganley, and I noted two Parasitic Jaegers (Stercorariusparasiticus), one immatureand one adult,at the northend of LakeHavasu on 26 September.There are fiveaccepted records for Arizona (Rosenbergand Witzeman 1998). Thesebirds could have been carried north from the gulf,where they are probablycommon at thistime of year,or they may havebeen moving southward during their normalmigration.

DISCUSSION

Most of what is known about bird movementsand tropical storms has beenlearned from cyclonesin the Atlantic,Caribbean, and Gulfof Mexico. The mostpowerful of thesestorms has stranded birds more than 1600 km fromtheir normal range and as far northas NovaScotia and Newfoundland. These stormsare also notoriousfor transportingotherwise strictly pelagic speciesgreat distancesinland, sometimes over obstacleslike the Appala- chian Mountains.With satelliteimagery and advancedwarning systems, birdersin the easternU.S. are ableto anticipatewith surprising accuracy the timesand places where one mightfind birds following such storms (Kaufman 1977, Elkins1988, Brinkley 1997, 1999). When pelagicbirds were carriedinland by Kathleenthe questionwas whether they were broughtashore from the Pacificby the relativecalm in the eye or from the gulfby the windscontained in the outerbands of the storm, rotatingcounterclockwise (Kaufman 1977). With birdersproviding earlypost-storm reports from manylocations in Arizona,some ideas of how Nora broughtseabirds ashore can be formed. Becausethe low-pressure center passedjust west and north of Lake Havasu, where the largest concentrationwas found,the birdswere likelybrought ashore in the eye. If the outer windshad been more importantbirds would be expectedall over westernArizona where the windswere the strongestand not in a single location so close to the storm track. Places like Painted Rock Reservoir to the south and lakes Mohave and Mead to the north were checked but no storm-drivenbirds were found.Another point is the relativelymoderate wind speed of the storm once it entered the U.S. (56 to 72 km/hr). It seems unlikelythat these winds alone were powerful enough to force a large number of birds such a distance inland. The finalfate of thesebirds is opento debate.Many peoplefeel that they perishedover land, at LakeHavasu, or at the SaltonSea, unable to findtheir way to the gulf.The two deadstorm-petrels at Lake Havasu,the tropicbird in California,and reports of weakand tired birds after the stormsupport this hypothesis.It ispossible, though, that manyof thesebirds survived. In 1968, HurricaneGladys transported tens of thousandsof LaughingGulls and Black

190 SEABIRDS CARRIED INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA

Skimmerssome 1900 km from their normal range; it was thoughtthat the majorityof thesebirds returned south (Elkins 1988). Nora transportedbirds roughly300 km. At Lake Havasuthe seabirdsdispersed within days.The numberof LeastStorm-Petrels in particularwent down more than 50% after the firstday, and within three days the numberof all storm-petrelswas less than 10% of what it wasimmediately after the storm.This rapiddeparture wouldgive the birdsthe bestchance of findingtheir way to the gulf.If some of the birdsat the SaltonSea foundtheir way fromLake Havasu then clearly they couldfind their way acrossthe desert.In addition,the smallnumber of dead storm-petrelsfound seems low for any massdie-off, especiallywhen the number of birders in the field after the storm is considered.

SUMMARY

Tropical Storm Nora gave ornithologiststhe opportunityto studythe effectsthat Pacific cycloneshave on seabirdsand their movements.This stormbrought hundreds of storm-petrelsand other pelagic species inland to Arizona and California.It can safelybe assumedthat cyclonesfrom the easternPacific or the Gulfof Californiawill transport pelagic species inland, sometimesgreat distances. Birders can add significantly to ourknowledge of the effectsthese storms have on birdsby visitingbodies of wateralong the path of the storm'scenter as quicklyas possibleafter the storm'spassage and reportingtheir discoveriesimmediately.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanksto the followingpeople for their prompt reportsand muchdiscussion on Nora: Donald K. Adams, CharlesBabbitt, Chris Benesh,Jim Burns,Joshua Burns, Pam Beare,Eugene A. Cardiff,James Coatsworth, Troy Corman,Salome Demaree, RichardDitch, SteveGanley, William Grossi, Stuart Healy, ElizabethHatcher, Bill Howe, Bud Johnson,Howard King, Guy McCaskie,Norma Miller, Dori Myers, MichaelA. Patten,Lin Piest,Barbara Raulston, Richard Rowlett, Gary Rosenberg, RichardP. Saval, David Stejskal,Mark Stevenson,Jay Taylor, Donald Tiller, Carl Tomoff,Anita Van Auken,Jay Withgott,and Robert and Janet Witzeman. Thanks to Troy Corman, Steve Ganley, Jill Jones, Guy McCaskie, and Gary Rosenbergfor commentingon early draftsof this paper. Tim Manolis, Michael Patten, and Janet Witzemancontributed greatly to the improvementof the manuscript.Thanks to Tom HueIsfor informationfrom the Universityof Arizonacollection.

LITERATURE CITED

Brinkley,E., Hass,T., and Lockyer,J. 1997. The stormsof '96. FieldNotes 51:819. Brinkley,E. 1999. Changingseasons. N. Am. Birds.53:12-16. Court, A. 1980. Tropicalcyclone effects on California.NOAA Tech. Memorandum NWS WR-159. Elkins,N. 1988. Weatherand Bird Behaviour.T. & A.D. Poyser,Calton, England. Garrett, K. L., and Dunn, J. 1981. Birds of Southern California. Los Angeles AudubonSoc., Los Angeles. Kaufman,K. 1977. The changingseasons. Am. Birds31:142-152.

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McCaskie, G. 1970. The occurrencesof four speciesof Pelecaniformesin the southwestern United States. Calif. Birds. 1:117-142 McCaskie,G. 1977. The autumnmigration. Southern Pacific Coast region.Am. Birds 31:221-225. McCaskie,G. 1984. The nestingseason. Southern Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 38:1060-1063. McCaskie,G. 1987. The autumnmigration. Southern Pacific Coast region.Am. Birds 41:142-147. McCaskie,G. 1998. The regionalreports. Southern Pacific Coast region. Field Notes 52:124-129. McCaskie,G., and Webster,R. E. 1990. A secondWedge-tailed Shearwater in California. W. Birds 21:139-140 Mlodinow,S. 1998. The MagnificentFrigatebird in westernNorth America. Field Notes 52:413-419. Monson,G., and Phillips,A. R. 1981. AnnotatedChecklist of the Birdsof Arizona. Univ. Ariz. Press,Tucson. Patten,M. A., and Minnich,R. 1997. Procel]ariiformesoccurrence at the SaltonSea and Sonoran Desert. Southwestern Nat. 42:302-311. Patten,M. A. 1998. Changingseasons. Field Notes 52:14-15. Quigley,R. J. 1973. First recordof Sooty Shearwaterfor Arizona. Auk 90:677. Rappaport,E. 1997. PreliminaryReport HurricaneNora. NationalHurricane Cen- ter. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1997nora.html. Rosenberg,G. H., and Stejskal,D. 1993. The autumnmigration. Southwest region: Arizona. Am. Birds 47:127-130. Rosenberg,G. H., and Witzeman,J. 1998. Arizona Bird CommitteeReport, 1974- 1996. W. Birds 29:199-224. Yee, D., Bailey,S., Fix, D. and Singer,D. 1995. The regionalreports: Fall season. MiddlePacific Coast region. Field Notes 49:95-99.

Accepted 24 September 1999

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