In response to Bob O'Brien's question about Short-tailed Shearwaters mixed
in with the thousands of Sooties we saw on the 2 April pelagic trip: I
looked very diligently all day and could never convince myself I saw a
Short-tailed; several other observers did likewise. Nevertheless, one
experienced observer insisted he saw several Short-tails, so we recorded
them. That species was at most a very minor part of the scene that day.
There are plenty of other Short-tail records for spring, but only in mid to
late fall are they ever in any numbers off the cost, it seems.
Dennis Paulson