Shearwaters and... I think it worked! 44:08N 19:10W
Millybrown
Mark Hillmann
Fri 19 Jun 2009 14:17
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We spent yesterday motoring through the calm,
perhaps not due north, but certainly north of the direct route and that
following a tack north the previous night. Last night the wind came
in from the south west at 8:30 and we drifted through the night in a gentle
breeze.
This morning it arrived more determinedly and
we have been reeling off 4 to 6 knots with the staysail poled out since the
daily rain at 6:30.
Having set off to go north of the high, we have
done it, or it moved south anyway.
Back to serious business: You may have
noticed me relating that the only birds are shearwaters Did you spot
the omission of a more accurate identification. Now we do have four bird
books on board, some small field glasses and a very small telescope.
Our "Seabirds of the World" has 22 shearwaters in
it, our American Audubon "Field Guide to Birds - Eastern Region" has 5, the
Collins "Field Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe" has 4 but I cannot
distinguish a Cory's from a Greater shearwater in any of them. Up
near Greenland it was easy as the white neck and rump markings of the
Greater were clear.
However all is not lost, I found a little
"Instant guide to Seabirds of the North American Coasts" which shows upper
and lower markings of each. The others are so proud of their photos that
they never give views from above.
So the final decision is as
follows: They are nearly all Cory's shearwaters round here:
500,000 pairs breed on the Azores, but the ones with very white rumps
could be Greater shearwaters. Of course some Cory's have very white
rumps as well.
There were a lot of them yesterday, but this
morning's drizzle, followed by spray as the wind gets up keeps me
inside. They may still be out there. Nephew Miles will say that he identified them as Cory's shearwaters a
fortnight ago. OK, he was right.
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