Subject: Re: Leach's Storm Petrel
Date: Dec 22 10:30:57 1995
From: Eugene Hunn - hunn at u.washington.edu


Richard,

It seems wierd but most late fall/early winter "wrecked" storm-petrels
have been reported as Leach's, though I've yet to see one myself. It is
not unprecedented.

Gene Hunn.

PS: David Buckley reported seen ca. 5 Red Phalaropes and one Leach's
Storm Petrel from the Vashon-Fauntleroy ferry Wednesday, Dec. 20, but I
took the trip first thing yesterday morning and saw neither. I believe
the rip he saw it in had moved off somewhere with the tides. I did have
one Ancient Murrelet off the n tip of Vashon Is., however.



On Thu, 21 Dec 1995 PAGODROMA at aol.com wrote:

> There has been a steady week of reports of Leach's storm petrels (LESP) in
> central - south Puget Sound since the 12Dec95 storm, especially off Pierce
> County and from the Vashion Island ferry, posted on the WA BirdBox, with
> 10-12 reported off Tacoma on a CBC there. Hmmm...curious. Why there and
> nowhere else in Washington's inland marine waters? Fork-tailed storm petrels
> (FTSP) would seem far more likely at any time of year and so far the only
> species I've ever seen in nearshore and inland waters.
>
> Even more curious and indeed surprising to me were that I saw absolutely none
> (LESP) through that entire month-long cetacean research cruise off California
> and two transit periods along and off the shelf break off Oregon and
> Washington (mid-Nov & early Dec). FTSP was scarce enough and those few were
> only seen off southern Washington, and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and
> south to Point No Point in early December.
>
> Post breeding dispersal usually places LESP far far out in the pelagic realm.
> Young birds and non-breeders (white-rumped forms) are in fact among the most
> common and widespread of all seabirds all through the Eastern Tropical
> Pacific, out to at least Hawaii, and south to well south of the equator
> (20+S) in summer (Jul-Nov and probably year-round). The dark-rumped forms
> (So.Baja California) generally do not disperse as far seaward, rather
> southward to the Gulf of Panama with a few at least to Ecuador / Peru. Those
> far flung white-rumped forms strewn all across the entire north, central, and
> tropical Pacific have probably launched from the numerous Aleutian Island
> breeding sites.
>
> Richard A. Rowlett <pagodroma at ao.com>
> Bellevue, WA, USA
>