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Re: Offshore birding on headboat 4-21



Nate,

I don't agree with that assessment at all. This time of year I'd be
willing to bet they were Black-capped Petrels.  The flight varies with
conditions.  In low wind they often make shallow arcs.  Also in early
spring, we routinely see BCP's on the shelf, sometimes in 90-100 FEET of
water.  I've probably spent more time offshore during these months, if
you were fishing mostly during your school years, so there is a good
chance you misssed out on this spring inshore influx.   It definitely
seems that they wander inshore more between about March and May than
later in the summer.  Lastly, it's about a month early for Greater and
Cory's Shearwaters, neither of which show what I would call a
conspicuous white rump patch.  In a brief view the black cap could have
gone unnoticed, and the white collar is a highly variable feature, the
absence of which does not rule against Black-capped Petrel.

Brian Patteson
Hatteras, NC
brian@patteson.com



Nathan Dias wrote:

> Jack Peachy wrote:
> -----------------------------
> ... out to about 35 miles.
> Shearwater or Gadfly Petrel-two different sightings
> that may have involved one or two birds.  Both
> sightings involved birds flying low over the water
> short glides punctuated by deep flapping. Both times
> the birds were uniform dark gray or black dorsally
> and had a conspicuous white oval rump patch much
> more conspicous than most Greater Shearwater
> but there was no white collar or noticeable black
> cap.  Could not get a look at the ventral pattern
> or get a handle on the size of the bill.
> Any ideas?  Neither sighting lasted all that long
> maybe 10 seconds or so.
> -----------------------------
>
> Here's my two cents' worth:
>
> The flight pattern you describe suggests a Shearwater
> - "...flying low over the water short glides
> punctuated by deep flapping."  That certainly doesn't
> sound like a Pterodroma, which has a roller-coaster
> flight path involving lots of high soaring (not low
> glides with periodic deep flapping).  The bird you
> describe doesn't sound like the strong dashing flier
> that all Peterodromas are.
>
> Also, it would be pretty shocking to find a non
> storm-blown Peterodroma in water as shallow (and
> dirty) as is found 35 mi. off Murrell's Inlet.  If
> memory serves, that's around 140 feet of water
> (certainly well under 200 feet).  I've been on
> hundreds of offshore trips off SC (In H.S. and College
> I used to crew on a Tuna/Marlin sportfishing charter
> boat) and I've never seen a gadfly petrel that close
> in.
>
> Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC / San Francisco, CA
>