Sunday June 2, 2019 - Life & Death in the Deep Blue - by Kate Sutherland

Each day in the Gulf Stream is unlike the previous and will be unlike the following.  The 2019 Spring Blitz illustrated this point quite well, and the final day was quite unlike the previous which featured wind, large seas, and birds flying fast and arcing high!  The seas were fairly calm on our ride out to the shelf break this morning and we ran past the break before we found conditions that looked suitable to begin chumming.  Winds were light from the west, shifting around to the south and southwest over the course of the day...but they were light.  Birds were flying low, if at all, and visibility was excellent.  Audubon's Shearwaters were around in nice numbers and we approached small groups on the water first thing in the morning! (photo Kate Sutherland)

Black-capped Petrels were flying lazily along, low over the water, but were not nearly as interested in the chum as yesterday.  As we searched for a Band-rumped Storm-Petrel in the slick, a Fea's Petrel flew in from the glare!  This bird flew in low and fast and did not linger, but it came close to the boat and everyone aboard was able to see it!  For those who were with us yesterday, it was clear that Roger, the Whisky Tango Foxtrot Petrel, was larger than a Fea's Petrel!  We stopped to chum hoping that the bird would come back for another pass, but even Wilson's were tough to gather in the light winds.  As we drifted with the chum, I spotted a distant skua on the horizon.  We watched as it beat up on a couple of birds, then we picked up our chum and motored over that way.  Talking to Brian in the wheelhouse as we traveled, I looked out the port window and saw something on the water - it was dark and white - I checked it with my bins and it was a skua!  Working on something that showed white in the water which turned out to be a shearwater. (photo Kate Sutherland)

As we approached the birds, there was a Scopoli's Shearwater that flew away from the scene of the crime.  Perhaps the second of the two birds we had seen in the distance with the first falling prey to the South Polar Skua.  We were able to spend time watching the skua as it first plucked the shearwater, then began pulling its entrails from the body cavity.  As we watched, a large bull Atlantic dolphinfish, aka Mahi mahi, came and grabbed the head of the shearwater in its mouth!  Surprising us and the skua!!!  (photo Brian Patteson)

Brian quickly dispatched the fish, humans need to eat too, and the skua went back to work on its meal.  We have rarely seen a South Polar Skua with a freshly dead seabird out here in the Gulf Stream, but they are more than capable of dispatching these birds by drowning them if they are not satisfied with a regurgitated meal.  On our first trip we watched one wear out a Sooty Shearwater, camping out just above it on the water, tracking its movements, and not allowing it to surface for more than a quick breath.  They are very efficient and perfectly crafted for life as a top predator.  Death is part of life and vice versa, especially in the harsh environment of the open ocean.  What a treat to witness this tiny part of the cycle.

The rest of the day brought us incredible views of both Cory's and Scopoli's Shearwaters in the slick, Band-rumped Storm-Petrels with the Wilson's, and we even had a second summer Arctic Tern that visited us in the morning. (photo of Band-rumped Kate Sutherland)

Some pilot whales (presumably short-finned) surfaced nearby in the afternoon, and we found a nice flock of shearwaters inshore of the shelf break on our way home.  This flock was feeding over some skipjack tuna and consisted of Cory's and Audubon's Shearwaters.  We followed them for a bit before motoring for Hatteras Inlet.

Brian and I would like to thank everyone who joined us today, especially our leaders Steve (NG) Howell, Sea McKeon, Peter Flood, and Nick Newberry.  We have space on the rest of our trips this year, check out our schedule if you are interested in joining us!  http://www.patteson.com/schedule/gulf-stream-trips/

Species List for June 2, 2019

Fea's Petrel - 1

Black-capped Petrel - 32 to 33

Cory's type Shearwater - 40

Atlantic Cory's - 9

Scopoli's Shearwater - 3

Audubon's Shearwater - 62 to 63

Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 44

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel - 5 to 8

Arctic Tern - 1

Royal Tern - 1

South Polar Skua - 1

Barn Swallow - 1

shorebird sp. - 3

Pilot Whales (pres. short-finned) - 8 to 10 plus distant pods on the horizon

Portuguese man of war - 1

Black-capped Petrel that flew in to check out the South Polar Skua (Kate Sutherland)

Backlit Cory’s can suggest Scopoli’s in underwing pattern but note the bulky structure and relatively big, deep bill (Steve Howell)

With increasing experience, dorsal Scopoli’s can be picked out from Cory’s by structure, especially the small head and relatively slender, or shallow, bill (Steve Howell)

Audubon's in flight (Steve Howell)

Unlike the American Ornithological Society (formerly AOU), this South Polar Skua has no problem splitting Cory’s Shearwater (a caption only Steve Howell can write! :)

The low seas made for great viewing and photo ops with numerous flyingfishes. For more information on these remarkable critters, check out Steve Howell’s book, The Amazing World of Flyingfish (Princeton University Press, 2014; https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10221.html)

Saturday June 1, 2019 - Roger - the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Petrel again? - by Steve Howell

Following yesterday’s blowout (which meant all trips out of Hatteras were canceled) and then impressive lightning, thunder, and torrential rain overnight we met at a rain-soaked dock to head offshore for the penultimate day of the Spring Blitz. The wind shifted to a fresh northerly and it was breezy to blustery all day with variable cloud and sea-surface temperatures up to 81 degrees F. After a 2-hour commute we slowed down in the blue water and very quickly found an obliging Bridled Tern perched among patches of Sargassum.

Time for a chum slick, and the Black-capped Petrels appeared as if by magic, a small group of them instantly swarming around the boat and—what was that with them? Looks like a Bermuda Petrel! Excitement and cameras clicking as the “Bermuda Petrel” zipped around the stern showing well—wow, what a start. But then Kate and Brian started to question it and a check of images showed it was a, well, we don’t know what it really was... However, whatever it was it looks like the same thing that we saw out there on 28 and 30 May 2017—see Brian’s write-up on that enigma here: https://seabirding.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-pesky-pterodromas-from-may-28-30.html

The bird’s wing molt at this season indicates a winter breeder on a similar schedule to Black-capped Petrel, and one possibility is a hybrid Black-capped with something else, perhaps with a Cape Verde Petrel (the mainly winter-breeding “Fea’s Petrel” that breeds on those islands, vs. the summer-breeding Desertas Petrel). Another possibility is an as-yet-undescribed taxon with a very low population size, akin to the Bermuda Petrel on the edge of extinction but with unknown breeding grounds. For now we’ll just call it Roger, the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Petrel. Here are some shots of today’s bird, which you can compare with Brian’s write-up on the 2017 bird.

Roger, the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Petrel, first seen about 8.15 am and last seen just after 9 am, giving us ample opportunity to not identify it!

After that excitement we found both Leach’s and Band-rumped Storm-petrels in the slick among the Wilson’s, but the choppy seas made seeing them, let alone photography, difficult. A single Pomarine Jaeger made a pass at one point, and a distant Sooty Shearwater showed briefly, padding out the diversity. But it was the almost unrelenting Black-capped Petrels that stole the day, reveling in the wind and sweeping all around us for hours. At one point, a veritable blizzard of 16 or 17 birds wheeled in the slick behind the boat (about 1% of the world population!), screeching and chippering as they squabbled for food.

Black-capped Petrel variety

A Band-rumped Petrel showed well a few times amid the Black-capped feeding frenzy, and at 13.45 the cry of “booby back there!” rang out. And sure enough, an immature Masked Booby made a nice pass, dwarfing the Black-capped Petrels.

The adrenalin of the booby was wearing off as we continued our tack towards shore, but then a European Storm-petrel flew right up the slick among a few Wilson’s. It was close, short, and sweet, but sadly the choppy seas meant that only a few people got on the bird before it veered off. A handsome first-summer Arctic Tern then appeared, but was largely ignored as we set a slick and scanned for many minutes in vain for the storm-petrel. Oh well, some things get away, and it was a hell of a day, even if we don’t know what we saw ;-)

Thanks to everyone who joined us out there today, plus spotters Peter Flood, Steve (N G) Howell, Sea McKeon, and Nick Newberry—Steve also wrote the blog. See (some of) you out there again tomorrow for the last day of the Blitz!

Species List for June 1 2019:

Black-capped Petrel - 68 to 78
Pterodroma sp. - 1
Cory's Shearwater - 16 to 18
Scopoli's Shearwater - 1
Sooty Shearwater - 1
Audubon's Shearwater - 33
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 110
European Storm-Petrel - 1
Leach's Storm-Petrel - 2
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel - 3 to 4
Masked Booby - 1
Bridled Tern - 1
Arctic Tern - 1
Pomarine Jaeger - 1
Bottlenose Dolphin (offshore) - about 10

Thursday May 30, 2019 - by Sea McKeon

Physicists will tell you that space and time act something like a fluid, bending around objects as a river accommodates a rock. How we perceive time is dependent on our own speed and position. Pelagic wildlife observers know this phenomenon well, understanding that time onboard can stretch or contract with the vagaries of wind and current and behavior.

After a lively ride out to the Gulf Stream left a live flyingfish on deck, we were treated to good numbers of Black-capped Petrels almost immediately.  Accompanying us throughout the day, they would get increasingly close to the Stormy Petrel II until by early afternoon the birds were just out of reach, seemingly enjoying the freshening breeze.  (photo Peter Flood)

A Pomarine Jaeger drew the attention of the Black-capped Petrels as it dropped from the sky to hone in on the growing chum slick. After an initial show of force, the petrels left it to feed well within the range of the cameras on board, with repeated close passes and great views of ‘1 ½ spoons’. (photo Frank Hawkins)

Audubon’s shearwaters had wind to fly, and rocketed past with strong lines of Sargassum stretched underneath and good light on the contrasting colors of this species. We had one early Audubon’s foraging near to the SPII with wings outspread and pattering feet like a giant storm-petrel. Cory’s type shearwaters passed by at speed and distance in low numbers throughout the day, with one individual showing characteristics of Scopoli’s shearwater. (photo Peter Flood)

Spotted Dolphin appeared for a few moments off of the bow on the way out, and remained our only marine mammal sighting until the afternoon when 4 juvenile ‘offshore’ Bottle-nose Dolphin came charging into the bow audibly whistling. A few moments later and the adults and calves appeared, with the total pod numbering some 37 individuals. (photo Frank Hawkins)

The highlight of the day came in the flocks of storm-petrels that slowly gathered in the menhaden oil slick carefully laid out behind us. The exhortations of Brian, Kate and leaders to study the small and stiff-winged Wilson’s Storm-petrel paid off as we were graced with at least seven Band-rumped Storm-petrels, which seemingly bent time to dance effortlessly around the smaller Wilson’s and our vessel. Photos revealed a few individuals were completing their 2nd prebasic (post juvenile) molt (top) alongside adults (bottom). (photos Steve Howell)

*Thanks to everyone who joined us today & a huge thanks to our leaders, Steve Howell, Sea McKeon, and Peter Flood!  Sea also penned the post today and Steve & Peter, plus participant Frank Hawkins, supplied me with photos! -Kate*

Species List for May 30, 2019

Black-capped Petrel - 42 to 46

Cory's type Shearwater - 8

Scopoli's Shearwater - 1

Sooty Shearwater - 1

Audubon's Shearwater - 33

Wilson's Storm-Petrel - about 100

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel - 7 to 9

Pomarine Jaeger - 1

Laughing Gull - 1

swallow sp. - 1

peep sp. - 9

Black-capped Petrels were flying straight in towards the stern, like this dark-faced individual (Steve Howell)

Frank Hawkins captured an image of a very dark-faced individual

Dorsal view of the Scopoli's Shearwater (Steve Howell)

Wilson's Storm-Petrels were very cooperative in the slick (Peter Flood)

Another image of a non-molting Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (Peter Flood)

And one more Bottlenose Dolphin image!

Wednesday May 29, 2019 - by Steve Howell

What a difference a day makes... This morning we started out with a stiff southwesterly breeze, in theory not ideal for pelagic birding off Hatteras, and with cloudless blue skies. Given the strong current yesterday, Brian figured heading even more to the south than usual was the best way to work the situation, and our almost 3-hour commute out to the hot blue water was mostly pounding into choppy seas, slow and hard going—but it proved well worth it. As we slowed down among dispersed Sargassum weed a couple of immature Bridled Terns appeared and one allowed close approach for superb views, the first of this species for the Spring Blitz and a nice start.

Out in the Gulf Stream the strong current actually helped settle the seas and it turned into a much more pleasant day than anyone would have guessed as the chum slick started to flow and a few Black-capped Petrels began to buzz around. Then, just after 8.30 a different bird flew by—Bermuda Petrel! It wasn’t close, but it was in good light and its unhurried pass meant it stayed in view long enough for everyone to see. After a steady buildup of sightings off Hatteras in the 2000s and early 2010s, the last few years have been a dry spell for this endangered species. However, Brian saw a couple on trips earlier in the spring (on 8 and 9 May) when he was engaged in Black-capped Petrel research, and this makes the third of the season, but the first on a scheduled Hatteras pelagic trip since 2015. Perhaps the tide is turning... Time will tell, but a great bird either way.

A real-life view of the Bermuda Petrel; note the narrow wings, long tapered tail, and overall dark aspect.

Zoomed in to see the narrow white rump band and dark hood.

Drifting at the chum slick we enjoyed good view of both black-faced and white-faced Black-capped Petrels (see yesterday’s blog post for more on those) and a few Band-rumped Storm-petrels among a relatively small gathering of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels. Here’s a very white-faced Black-capped:

And a black-faced bird—different species, morphs, or just variation? The jury is still out. But both much bigger and bulkier than Bermuda Petrel, with a huge white rump patch.

The Band-rumped Storm-Petrels included one small, fresh-plumaged bird, a presumed summer-breeding “Madeiran Storm-petrel” and 2 or 3 larger birds, the more common winter-breeding “Grant’s Storm-petrel” shown below in wing molt. Note the faded and worn outer primaries, white wrap-around rump band, and feet falling well short of the tail tip, plus the stout bill—see yesterday’s blog post.

A South Polar Skua made a brief but close pass, unlike the birds yesterday that wouldn’t go away—remarkably, we’ve seen skuas on 9 of the last 10 trips. Then, at 10.15am Kate started screaming Trindade Petrel (pronounced as it sounds ;-) and sure enough a very dark morph of this South Atlantic breeder zipped around the boat providing absolutely stunning views but challenging photo ops—too close and too fast.

An uncropped image, but... Dear Canon, had you considered a decent auto-focus system that works for seabirds rather than for relatively slow-moving, 6-foot tall carbon-based bipedal lifeforms on sports fields?

 

A sharper dorsal shot, and...

 Less than a minute later, a bye-bye going away shot. Short but sweet.

A midday lull followed, punctuated by a few groups of Bottlenose Dolphins, and Black-capped Petrels came and went—it’s not a bad day when the commonest bird you see is Black-capped Petrel, which globally is a highly endangered bird. A briefly breaching beaked whale added afternoon interest, and the commute back to shore featured another Bridled Tern plus some fancy immature phases of flyingfish, 2 examples below. Wow, quite a day.

Purple Bandwing

Sargassum Midget

Thanks to everyone who joined us out there today, plus spotters Peter Flood, Steve (N G) Howell, and Sea McKeon—Steve also wrote the blog. See (some of) you out there again tomorrow...

Species List for May 29, 2019
Bermuda Petrel - 1
Trindade Petrel - 1 (dark individual)
Black-capped Petrel - 58 to 59
Cory's Shearwater - 14
Sooty Shearwater - 3
Audubon's Shearwater - 33
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 55 to 65
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel - 4 to 6
Bridled Tern - 4 to 5
South Polar Skua - 1
Bottlenose Dolphin (offshore) - about 30

Updated May 31, 2019 to add photos from participant Frank Hawkins!
A couple more images of the Bermuda Petrel

A nice dorsal view of the Trindade Petrel

Black-capped Petrels as they came to feed on our chum!