01/22/00, ipaulsen at linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us writes:

<< Did the group get close enough to the bird to figure out the subspecies
of the bird? Because there are those that think more than one species is
involved. I believe the proposed split would be White-capped Albatross P.
cauta and Salvin's Albatross P. salvini. I think all west coast records to
date are P. cauta. Maybe Richard Rowlett can clear this point up! >>

Thanks to Ryan Shaw for posting photos of <A
HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/rtshaw80/myhomepage/photo.html">Washington's
Shy Albatross</A> from the January 22nd Westport pelagic trip!
Congratulations! I can't say I'm totally surprised albeit envious by the
sighting however and have been predicting that it was only a matter of time.
The bird is unquestionably _ Diomedia cauta cauta_, not 'salvini'. I'd bet
the farm that this is not representative of a sudden influx of this New
Zealand southern ocean albatross species into the North Pacific but that this
is likely the same bird seen now on several occasions in recent years since
1996 off California, Oregon, and now Washington.

One bird and only one bird roaming around up and down the coast? Sound
unreasonable? No, not at all. How it ever found itself in the Northeast
Pacific at all will ever be known, but my guess is that it is now 'trapped'
here and will likely remain for maybe years to come. This is not
unprecedented. The most famous example of a southern ocean albatross taking
up residence in the 'wrong ocean' is that of a Black-browed Albatross which
remained around Mykines in the Faeroe Islands for 34 years (1860-1894)! All
of the recent west coast Shy Albatross sightings have been along the narrow
shelf break corridor and over prime feeding areas where numbers of albatross
often gather and frequented by the growing number of pelagic trips and I
don't think it's prone to wander far from this zone. Still, the encounter is
a matter of luck and being in the right place at the right time, but I
predict that a few lucky birders will continue to be thrilled by the sight of
the Shy Albatross for some time.

I think this spate of sightings started with my sighting from shore at Point
Piedras Blancas, San Luis Obispo Co., California in the Spring of 1996. I
recall thinking and saying at the time that there would be a very good
likelihood that such a grandiose bird would be encountered on a pelagic trip
somewhere. And, low and behold, it happened off Oregon in the fall of 1996.
Then again off and on this past summer off northern California (1999), and
now, off Westport (2000). The gap between sightings during 1997 and 1998 may
be more representative of a no one being in the right place at the right time
and that this bird if it is the one and the same seems to have a rather long
longitudinal range for wandering. Afterall, a two year 'absence' is pretty
short considering that the only previous record of occurrence at all in the
Northeast Pacific was the one collected 39 miles off the Quillayute River
mouth (Washington) on September 1, 1951.

Just for the record, my impression of the bird seen off Piedras Blancas in
May 1997 at the time was Salvin's. Admittedly, it was a long distance view,
nearly 2 miles with the enhanced 25X150 hydraulic lift supported binoculars,
and some of my perceptions MAY have been skewed by lighting and distance.
I've long since withdrawn the subspecific ID on that bird, opting to leave it
as "unidentified" but unquestionably a 'cauta' type albatross. If I were to
wager a bet, I'd bet that that bird was in fact _D. c. cauta_ rather than _D.
c. salvini_. I'm not sure where the documented report submitted to the
California records committee stands at this point. Given the fact that it
was (1) a single observer sighting and (2) submitted suggesting _D. c.
salvini_. may have been rejected all together or perhaps retained as
'hypothetical'. But given now the trend showing a series of sightings over a
few years up and down the West Coast, perhaps that report should be reopened
and examined anew. Whatever the outcome, it is not a matter I will take
personally even if that initial report of a 'cauta' albatross off California
is outright rejected.

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Richard Rowlett (Pterodroma at aol.com)
47.56N, 122.13W
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA, USA

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what
nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
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