COASTAL SURVEY

Tern (Sterna fuscata). We eliminated Bulwer's in the dark-phasejaegers (Stercorarius, sp.) andBrown Noddy (Anous stolidus) from consideration.These two species are both larger with more direct flight and longer,slimmer bills. Other seabirdswe South Atlantic Bight eliminated as possibilitieswere Sooty Shearwater( griseus), and dark- phaseHerald Petrel (Pterodromaarmin- joniana), which are much larger, with some light-colored plumage normally Recent surveysin this area reveal unexpected present.The toweringflight of the Sooty frequenciesand seasonsof occurrencefor Shearwaterin moderateto high winds is distinctive.Lee (1979 and 1984)gave de- several eastern North Atlantic mileddescriptions of the flight behavior and appearanceof dark-phaseHerald Petrelsand they differ markedlyfrom the J. Christopher Haney and Sam C. Wainright observed. Haney had prior at-sea experiencewith field identificationfor eachof thesespecies elsewhere. We con- cluded that the bird we had observed was a Bulwer's Petrel ( bulwerii), son'• Storm-Petrel(Oceanites oceani- after consulting Tuck and Heinzel )an unfamiliarprocellariiform cus) was in view fewer than four meters (1980), Harrison (1983), and several standardNorth American field guides. •birdM^v while1,1984, censusing wE OBSERVEDseabirds from the unidentified procellariiform. The similar, largerlouanin's Petrel(Bul- in the SouthAtlantic Bight off the north- The latter bird was approximately50% weriafallax) is unlikely to wanderfrom easterncoast of Florida (Fig. I). At ap- larger and of very differentproportions, the western Indian Ocean into the North proximately3:35 p.m. EDT, an all dark, appearingmuch slimmer. with morean- Atlantic, althoughlong-distance vagran- storm-petrel-likebird flew acrossthe gled, narrowwings. cy hasbeen reported in thePacific (Harri- bow 100-200 metersfrom the ship, the The flight of the unidentifiedbird was son 1983). louanin's Petrel also has a RV CapeHatteras. A few momentslater unlikeany species previously seen in two higherflight typical of Pterodromapet- the bird reappearedand we watched it yearsof bi-monthlysurveys of seabirds rels (often 15-20 meters above the water continuallyfor a period of 60 to 90 in theregion. On threeor four occasions surface)at the wind speedswe witnessed seconds. the bird madeabrupt turns in its other- (tf. Harrison 1983). The following descriptionis basedon wise horizontallydirect flight, enabling We did not observe two additional field notes and sketches we made imme- us to view it from severalangles. It flew field marks characteristic of the Bulwer's diately after the observation.The bird with a few rapidwing beats followed by a Petrel.A paler diagonal,dorsal wingbar, was uniformlydark sooty- or blackish- longerglide, resultingin relativelylong, similarto thoseof severalstorm-, brown dorsally, without a white rump. shallowPterodroma-like arcs. The wings may be noticeableonly at close range, The ventral coloration was similar to that wereslightly bowed during the glidesand underbetter-than-average lighting condi- of the dorsalsurface. No evidenceof any weretilted toward the verticalplane dur- tions (Harrison 1983). The diagnostic light colorwas notedon the bird. The tail ingthe peak of the arc. At no time did we wedge-shapedtail is normally visible was quite long, giving the impression observethe bird flying more than two only briefly during flight maneuversor that the caudalportion of the body (be- metersfrom the water's surface.During whenthe observeris high abovethe bird hind the wings) was 1.5 to 2 times the this period,winds were southerlyat 15- (Alibone 1980; Gauntlett 1981; Harrison lengthof the cranialportion (in front of 18 knots and sun conditions consisted of 1983). The tail is usuallyfolded in a ta- thewings). The tail attenuateduniformly even lighting from high thin overcast peringpoint in flight. to a blunt point. The wings were long, skies. narrow, and angled at the carpal joint. Other speciesof seabirdsobserved in The bill was dark, stubby,and neitheras the vicinitybefore and after this sighting longas a smallshearwater's nor as thick included Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Band- as a gadfly petrel's. We did not see the rumped Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma legs. castro), Black-capped Petrel (Ptero- HEBULWER'S PETREL BREEDS ON The bird was seen as close as 50 meters droma hasitata), Audubon's Shearwater subtropicaland tropical oceanicis- from theship through 9 x 35 Bauschand (PuffinusIherminieri), PomarineJaeger lands in the eastern North Atlantic in the Lomb binoculars.At one point a Wil- (Stercorarius pomarinus), and Sooty Salvages,Porto Santo, Desertas. Canary,

868 American , Winter 1985 Cape Verde, and Berlengasislands, and formerlyin the Azores(Cramp and Sim- mons 1977). The post-breeding,at-sea d•stribution of Bulwer's Petrel is not well Cope known(Clappet al. 1982). It is thought Hotteras to dispersesouthwest to tropicalseas be- tween 20øW and 50øW in winter, and re- turn to breedingcolonies in April and 35N May. Vagrantshave appearedin Ireland ... Cape andEngland and a few havebeen record- Fear / ed west to the SargassoSea and Lesser / Antilles(Cramp and Simmons1977). In the western North Atlantic, the oc- Charleston currence of Bulwer's Petrel has been doc- umentedconclusively on only one occa- sion A dead bird was found on Soldado Rock off Trinidad, West Indies, January 23, 1961 (firerich 1963). Taylor (1972) observedthis speciesMay 14, 1969, be- tweenKey West and the Dry Tortugas, Florida, and David S. Lee (pers. comm.) statesthat he'briefly observeda bird fit- 5O tingthe description of thisspecies off North Carolina. Additionalrecent sight records of Bulwer's Petrel also exist for the southeast Caribbean and Netherlands Antdies (Ruud van Halewijn, pers. comm.). We made our observationat 30ø15'N, .i'::' '• Canaveral 79ø37'W, 98 statutemiles from nearest land (AnastasiaIsland, Florida), and 102 statutemiles east of JacksonvilleBeach, Duval County, Florida (Fig. 1). This po- sition is on the Blake Plateau near the centralaxis of the Gulf Streamat a depth of 830 meters.Water surfacetemperature was25.8øC. The bathymetryof thisarea northto 32øNis distinctive and unique for the Blake Plateau,an intermediatetop- ographicalfeature between the continen- tal shelfand slope.A seriesof subterra- nean ridges, mesas, and bowls traverse theregion. Relief of 100-200meters over o o shortdistances in concertwith the strong Gulf Stream current contribute to vertical transportin the water column. Surface Figure1. Mapof theSouth Atlantic Bight with the •' showinglocation of Bulwer' s Petrelsighting turbulenceis oftenapparent at theseloca- Depth contoursare shownby dashedlines. tions Concurrentoceanographic and sea- bird studiesconducted during 1983 and bird distribution in the western North At- Booby (Sula dactylatra), Black-capped 1984 revealedhigher densitiesof sea- lantic. This is particularlytrue of the ex- Petrel, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, as birds here relative to other Gulf Stream tensivetropical, deep water areas east of well as others. locations(Haney et al., in prep.). the continentalshelf between Cape Hat- Severalseabird species breeding in the The significanceof recordsfor vagrant teras,North Carolina, and Cape Canav- easternNorth Atlantic disperseto west- seabirds is often difficult to ascertain. eral, Florida. Seldom have observers ern North Atlantic waters unassistedby When the total sourcepopulation of a venturedinto really deep water zonesin hurricanes or other weather disturbances particularspecies is small, if the species any area off the southeasternUnited The Cory'sShearwater (Calonectris dio- is solitaryin its habits,or if a regionhas States coast, especiallyduring winter medea), is a notable example, but this beenlittle studied,the difficultyin inter- when post-breedingBulwer's Petrels patternis exhibitedalso by White-faced pretlngvagrant records is compounded. may dispersefrom the easternAtlantic. Storm-Petrels (Pelagodroma marina), All of the precedingfactors are relevant Recent surveys conductedsince 1982 and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels (Lee here TheSouth Atlantic Bight has been a haverevealed previously unexpected fre- andBooth 1979; Lee 1984;Haney 1983) majorhiatus in ourunderstanding of sea- quenciesand seasonalityfor Masked Additionally,som• North American rec-

Volume 39, Number 5 869 ords of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus Universityof Georgia Departmentof the continentalshelf of GeorgiaßOriole puffinus)may be of individualsbreeding Zoologyand NSF grantOCE81-10707 to 48(2,3): 21-32ß in the easternAtlantic. The recentsight L. R. Pomeroy(JCH andSCW), and the HARRISON, P. 1983. Seabirds:an identi- recordof Soft-plumagedPetrel (Ptero- Bufieigh-StoddardFund (JCH). ficationguideß Houghton-Mifflin Co., Bos- droma mollis), off North Carolina (Lee ton. 448 pp. 1984) and the Bulwer's Petrel reported LEE, D. S. 1979. Second record of the here, suggestthat otherspecies may be LITERATURE CITED SouthTrinidad Petrel (Pterodromaarmin- involved as well. Whether the Bulwer's ALlBONE, M. R. 1980. Bulwer's Petrel in joniana)for North AmericaßAm. Birds 33: 715-721ß Petrelactually follows the pattern of oth- CountyCork. Brit. Birds 73: 217-218. -- and I. BOOTH. 1979. Seasonal distri- er easternNorth Atlantic seabirdsmay CLAPP, R. B., R. C. BANKS, D. MOR- remaina mysteryuntil temporaland spa- GAN-JACOBS, and W. A. HOFFMAN. bution of offshore and pelagic birds in North Carolina watersß Am. Birds 33:715- tial coverageof pelagic waters off the 1982ß Marine birds of the southeastern 721. southeastern United States is increased. United States and Gulf of Mexico. Part 1. Gaviiformesthrough Pelacaniformes. U.S. ß 1984. Petrelsand storm-petrelsin North Carolina watersß Am. Birds 38: 151- Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Bio- 163. logical Services, Washington, D.C. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TAYLOR, J. W. 1972. Probable Bulwer's FWS/OBS-82/01.637 pp. We wish to thank the crew of the R/V CRAMP, S. and K. E. I. SIMMONS. Petreloff Key West, Florida. WilsonBull. 84: 198. CapeHatteras for theirassistance and L. (eds.). 1977. The birds of the westernPa- TUCK, G. S. and H. HEINZEL. 1980. A R. Pomeroy,principal investigator for learctic, Vol. 1. Oxford. cruiseCH-07-84, for grantingpermission FFRENCH, R. 1963. Bulwer's Petrel (Bul- field guideto the seabirdsof Australiaand to participatein the survey.W. R. P. weria bulwerii) in Trinidad, West Indies. the world. Collins. Londonß276 pp. Bourne,J. Farrand, R. van Halewijn, H. Auk 80: 379. E. LeGrand Jr., D. R. Jacobson,D. S. GAUNTLETT, F. M. 1981.Tail shapeof Lee and an anonymousreviewer com- Bulwer's Petrol. Brit. Birds 74: 188. mented on earlier drafts of this note. Fi- HANEY, J. C. 1983. Previouslyunrecord- --Department of Zoology,Universit). , nancialsupport was receivedfrom the ed and hypotheticalspecies of seabirdson of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602

Sanderlings(Calidris alba). Illustration,'GeorgesDremeau_r

870 American Birds, Winter 1985