Haynie, Carl B Haynie wrote:

>... It veered past the car and my initial reaction
>was basic-plumaged Black-bellied Plover but its flight behavior was all
>wrong. Doing a double-take, I realized from its shape, wingbeat, and
>flap-glide-bank manner of flight it was a storm-petrel(!) and it was
>going *south*. I immediately turned the car around and took chase. When I
caught up with it, I confirmed it was a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel.
>I followed it nearly 2 miles as it flew about 2-3 feet above the sand!
>It maintained a speed of between 21 and 24 mph and at one point nearly
>alighted on the sand!

Carl,

What was the wind doing out there on Friday? I've never seen this with a
storm-petrel, but I've seen Pomarine Jaegers, kittiwakes, and Red
Phalaropes do this same thing during a strong onshore wind, usually
northwest. I think that they accidentally drift in over the land, and then
have to "tack" in a southerly direction to get off shore again. When
murres find themselves in this predicament, they plop down on the sand and
flop back out to the surf, which is comical to watch, although maybe
traumatic for the birds?


Eric Kraig
Olympia, WA
kraig at wln.com