A Record of the Cape Petrel Daption Capense at Broome, Western Australia

VOL. 18 (5) MARCH2000 199 AUSTRALIAN BIRD WATCHER 2000, 18, 199-201 A Record of the Cape Petrel Daption capense at Broome, Western Australia by PETER COLLINS!, ROSALIND JESSOP1 and CHRIS HASSELU 1 Phillip Island Nature Park, P.O. Box 97, Cowes, Victoria 3922 2 P.O. Box 3089, Broome, WA. 6725 Introduction The Cape Petrel Daption capense breeds in Antarctica and on subantarctic islands. Its summer range is circumpolar and generally restricted to waters south of 51-63°S (Marchant & Higgins 1990). Extensive dispersal begins in March, and Cape Petrels reach their northern limit in Australian waters in August/ September. It is regarded as a common visitor to coastal areas of Western Australia, south of 21 os, and uncommon to moderately common elsewhere (Johnstone & Storr 1998). In the mid Indian Ocean (at longitudes 80°E, 76°E, 70°E) Cape Petrels have been seen as far north as 18° to 24°S (Chapman 1982, 1987). The sighting On 10 September 1997, CH (the warden of Broome Bird Observatory) received a report from the Broome office of the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) of an unidentified seabird. The bird had been found swimming in a rock pool at Willy Creek, 20 km north of the township of Broome Cape Petrel Daption capense, Broome, W.A. Plate 56 Photo: R.E. Jessop & P. Collins AUSTRALIAN 200 COLLINS, JESSOP & HASSELL BIRD WATCHER (17°58'S, l22°14'E). The bird was tentatively identified as a Cape Petrel the following day after a further telephone call. The authors, accompanied by Janet Sparrow and Mavis Russell, went to the CALM office to verify the identification and advise on rehabilitation methods. On arrival at the CALM office we were met by Rod O'Donnell, the local CALM officer, and shown the bird which proved to be correctly identified as a Cape Petrel. Photographs were taken of the back, head and stretched wing (Plate 56). The bird was extremely weak and, although it had attempted to feed, was too exhausted to keep its head above the water in which it had been placed. It died the following day and is lodged in the Western Australian Museum. The distinctive black-and-white plumage of the Cape Petrel makes it unlikely to be confused with any other species. Marchant & Higgins (1990) suggested that it is not possible to determine subspecies of the Cape Petrel away from the breeding grounds. However, the Broome specimen exhibited large patches of white on the wings, and the upper surfaces were only lightly mottled black (Plate 56), suggesting that it may have been of the nominate subspecies capense. Discussion Seabirds, apart from Brown Boobies Sula leucogaster and a variety of tern species, are rare in coastal waters around Broome (Blakers et al. 1984, Collins 1995). Wilson's Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus, and Short-tailed Puffinus tenuirostris and Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas are recorded regularly off the continental shelf but large petrels have not been reported from inshore waters (Blakers et al. 1984). The Cape Petrel had not previously been recorded in the coastal areas of Western Australia north of 21°S (Blakers et al. 1984, Johnstone & Storr 1998). However, there had been gale-force winds farther south, perhaps assisting the passage of the bird north. Although Cape Petrels are known to follow ships (Johnstone & Storr 1998) and the possibility of a ship-assisted passage cannot be ruled out, no ships from farther south berthed at the Port of Broome during the week 3 to 10 September. However, there are many ships that pass the Broome coast much farther out to sea and it is conceivable that the bird was picked up either accidentally or as a hitchhiker on one of these vessels. The bird's plumage was in very good condition. The primary feathers appeared to have been recently replaced, and there was very little sign of wear. Most of the secondaries were also new, and only one or two of the tertial feathers were brown showing that these were worn and about to be replaced. Most of the feather tracts on the head and body were also new and little body moult was in evidence. Marchant & Higgins (1990) stated that adult birds undergo body moult during August and start primary wing moult (which takes about 85 days) in February; however, there is some suggestion that juvenile birds may have a different moult regime. The recent completion of primary moult, and nearly complete secondary and tertial moult in the Broome bird suggests that it was not adult. Although it was not weighed (to avoid undue stress) at the time we made our observations, the prominence of the breastbone suggested that the bird was thin and emaciated. [At publication, the bird had not been processed at the Western Australian Museum, so its true age has not yet been ascertained (R.E. Johnstone pers. comm.).] VOL. 18 (5) MARCH2000 Cape Petrel, Broome, WA. 201 Acknowledgements We wish to thank Janet Sparrow and Mavis Russell, who accompanied us to the Broome CALM office, and Rod O'Donnell for bringing the bird to our attention. We also thank Peter Dann for constructive comments on a draft of this paper. References Blakers, M., Davies, S.J.J.F. & Reilly, P.N. (1984), The Atlas of Australian Birds, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. Chapman, S.E. (1982), 'Notes on seabird reports received 1980-81', Sea Swallow 31, 5-25. -- (1987), 'Notes on seabird reports received 1986', Sea Swallow 36, 33-49. Collins, P. (1995), The Birds of Broome - An Annotated List, Broome Bird Observatory, Broome. Johnstone, R.E. & Storr, G.M. (1998), Handbook of Wt?stern Australian Birds, vol. 1, Western Australian Museum, Perth. Marchant, S. & Higgins, P.J. (Eds) (1990), Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, vol. 1, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Received 25 May 1999 • .

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