Trans-Atlantic Cruise Sept 18th-Oct 10th continued..

The sea days were a fascinating opportunity to keep a record of peak numbers of birds and their distribution. Peak numbers included:

Fulmar. Peak of 424 on October 8th. Position at midday: equidistant at 600 nautical miles from Ireland and the Azores (Over the mid Atlantic ridge).

Cory's Shearwater. Peak of 300 on September 20th. Position at midday: 400 nautical miles north of Azores.
Great Shearwater. Peak of 550 on September 20th. Position at midday: 400 nautical miles north of the Azores.

Seeing mixed flocks of large shearwaters at close range was another special moment.

Sooty Shearwater. Peak of 66 on October 6th. Position at midday: 30 nautical miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

 

Wilsons Petrel. Peak of 22 on September 23rd. Position at midday: 200 nautical miles east of Cape Cod. A small count compared to the large numbers that can be present off the eastern seaboard of    N.America from May to August. By September this species is starting the return journey to the sub-Antarctic breeding grounds.

Wilsons Petrels with a single Leach's (Middle) at sea off New England September 2015

                                                      

 Leach's Petrel. Peak of 260 September 20th 2015. Position at midday: 400 nautical miles north of the Azores.   

          

   Red-necked/Grey Phalarope/Phalarope species. 1,500 on October 6th. Position at midday: 30 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland. It wasn't possible to ID many of the phalaropes to species due to the distance and the nature of observation (flocks being flushed ahead of the approaching ship and flying away rapidly) but what an awesome sight. For a couple of hours in the early morning there constant long chains of phals in flight over the ocean. I was able to pick out a few of each species and my impression there were more greys. The spectacle was enhanced further by the appearance of a Juvenile Peregrine of the form Tundrius  hunting the phalarope flocks.

This Juvenile Peregrine of the form Tundrius came in to investigate the ship before being watched stooping on flocks of Phalaropes. Tundrius is a long distance migrant, heading down to Central America and the Caribbean in the winter (Some even go as far as Chile).