After completing a SOTEAG boat-based survey aboard Shetland Seabird Tours 'Ayda Ruby II' we headed offshore where the highlights were an adult Pomarine Skua and a Wilson's Petrel. As always, very many thanks to the hard work by all those involved to make this an exciting day.
Off Fethaland: 6 Arctic Skua, adult Pomarine Skua, c.20 Great Skua, Puffin, adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, 10 Arctic Tern, 'Wilson's Petrel', c.60 Storm Petrel, c.250 Fulmar, Manx Shearwater & c.50 Gannet.
'Wilson's Petrel' off Fethaland
An interesting Oceanites that was first called by Will Miles. The image above details the presence of what appear to be some white belly feathers. In the recent reappraisal of the Oceanites taxonomy advocating seven species being involved, it reveals that only one of the complex - Antarctic Storm-Petrel (exasperatus) - has [so far] been genetically confirmed in the North Atlantic (off east coast of the USA) albeit the sample size is small. Harrison, P., Perrow, M. R., & Larsson, H. (2021). Seabirds: The new identification guide. Lynx Edicions describes juvenile ‘Wilson’s SP’ as showing ‘white-tipped belly feathers that soon wear’. Several taxa within the complex show white fringes in the ventral area, albeit there is still much to learn regarding the field characters and both the breeding and non-breeding distribution of the various taxa concerned – see comments to this article.
