Shearwater records and the Avendex program

["Eric Dean" <deangld@icomnet.com>]

Having seen both Sooty and Manx Shearwaters along the Outer Banks this past
weekend, it was nice to be able to compare records of occurrence with the
Avendex program after I got home. We all talked about the Sooty Shearwater
being "early" and the Manx in general, but really had no idea about notable
sightings from shore. Avendex showed that there have been 39 records of
Sooty Shearwater from shore in NC, most in the usual May-June time frame.
But there have been 2 winter records of this species, both in Jan. Carl
Carlson had one from Pea Island Jan 8, 1972 and Ricky Davis had a bird from
Wrightsville Beach Jan 3, 1997. So our report will be the first from
February. As far as the Manx, I knew there had been several reports this
year from the Banks, having read about them in the Pea Island log. (I even
had one the weekend before about 5 miles south of Salvo). Avendex showed
that there have been 16 records from shore in NC, but only 3 during the
winter. All were from the Outer Banks. The only multiple records before this
year were from 1993 (3) and 1996 (5). It was nice to see how our birds fit
in with these occurrences. Russ Tyndall has put a lot of time and effort
into this program. It should prove very useful to anyone interested in
distributions of North and South Carolina avifauna.
Oh, and one other thing. We saw a woodchuck cross the road near Elizabeth
City this weekend. I thought they were a mountain-western piedmont species.
Never expected to see one here!

Eric & Celia Dean
112 Armstrong Dr
Goldsboro NC  27530
919-736-7264 (home)
919-920-1542 (mobile)
deangld@icomnet.com