Birds of the
English Channel & Bay of Biscay
Fulmar - Fulmarus glacialis
World Distribution:
-
North Pacific and North Atlantic. In the North Atlantic, they breed from the high Arctic as far south as northern France. In most parts of northern Europe there has been a large increase in breeding pairs during the latter half of the twentieth century. Fulmar is a relatively common breeding species around the coastline of Britain, Ireland and northern France, mainly on ledges on cliffs of almost any height. Unusually for a petrel they are a diurnal nester.
Survey Area Distribution:
-
In our area it occurs year round but is most common during the late spring and summer in the English Channel and Ushant sea areas where they can flock in quite large numbers, especially around fishing boats or other food sources. They are relatively uncommon south of Ushant where more are found in the autumn and winter months.
Structure and flight:
-
Intermediate in shape and structure between a large Gull and a Shearwater and can be confused with both groups. In flight, it glides on stiff, straight wings interspersed with rapid shallow wing beats unlike a Gull and more like an albatross or Shearwater. In high winds they often bank high above the water and then disappear into wave troughs, much like a Shearwater.
-
Fulmars are thickly built and stocky birds with very blunt tipped wings and short tails. Their thick necks and short, blunt bills also help to distinguish them from larger species of Shearwater.
Plumage:
-
In good light, the general colouration is diagnostic for a petrel. They are white on the head and underparts and cold grey on the upperparts and upperwing, paler on the upper tail. The colouration is very similar to a adult or near adult Gull. Dark morph birds, which can be almost wholly dark brown, make up the majority of high Arctic nesting birds. Examples of these types have been seen a couple of times in the area.
(European) Storm Petrel - Hydrobates pelagicus
World Distribution:
-
A trans equatorial migrant, they breed in the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean and winter mainly in shelf edge or boundary zones between shelf/littoral and deep ocean areas. Most are found of the west coast of Africa south to about the 25° C isotherm.
-
Although breeding numbers are poorly known the largest concentrations occur around the western coastline of the UK, Iceland and the Faeroes usually on offshore islands. They nest in crevices in stone walls or rock piles or even burrows in their hundreds or sometimes thousands. They are most active at night and probably feed close to land all round the coast of the UK at night as some intrepid ringers have discovered by playing tapes of their calls by catching nets at night.
Survey Area Distribution:
-
Around 80% of birds recorded by the BDRP have been seen during the months of August-October, mainly in shelf waters around the northern Bay of Biscay and western English Channel. Although they have been seen in every month of the year from the ferry there is another peak evident during May-June, as foraging birds from nearby colonies feed in the area. In the autumn months numbers of foraging birds from nearby colonies are supplemented by migrants which are passing through the area on their way south. Birds are often seen in close association with cetaceans or other feeding birds. Loose flocks of up to a hundred birds can be seen.
Distribution and abundance from
BDRP surveys 1995-2001.
Identification: Flight and Structure:
-
Storm Petrels are tiny compared with most other seabirds, barely the size of a House Martin, they are very difficult to see and it is very easy to miss close birds when scanning further out for the more obvious species.
-
The flight can appear rather weak and fluttery with almost constant wing action, interspersed with occasional short glides. They feed with their wings halfway vertical and their feet held below the body to patter on the surface. In high winds, they can appear very fragile as they are blown off course and buffeted from side to side.
-
They have rather short and broad wings, with rounded tips, which are often strongly angled in flight. The tail is short and square ended and the toes do not project beyond the tail tip.
Plumage:
-
The upperwing can appear all dark, but many birds in autumn show a slight, paler band across the greater coverts. The white rump is square in shape and reaches far down the side of the bird. One diagnostic feature of Storm Petrels is the conspicuous white band on the underwing-coverts which is easy to see at close range.
Wilson’s Storm Petrel - Oceanicus oceanicus
World Distribution:
-
Wilson’s Storm Petrel is possibly the commonest seabird in the world. A trans equatorial migrant, they breed in large numbers in the south Atlantic, mainly on the coast of Antarctica, but also on various islands north to Cape Horn and the Falklands. They begin to disperse April/May and move north, mainly into the north Atlantic although a smaller proportion do reach the central Pacific Ocean. In the Atlantic, they are mainly seen off the coast of North America and NW Africa. Some stray further north and they are regularly seen in the Bay of Biscay between July and September when their movement south begins again.
Survey Area Distribution:
-
Although they are largely reported during August in Biscay, they are likely to be fairly common from June - September. A yacht survey in Biscay regularly found Wilson’s Petrels in company with Storm Petrels feeding in the wake.
-
From the ferry they are usually seen singly, albeit regularly. Many more are left unidentified because of the importance of good views in identification of this species.
Identification: Flight and Structure:
-
Although Wilson’s can be a very distinctive bird given a certain amount of experience with Petrels it is worth bearing in mind that views from a moving ferry from up to a hundred feet up are not ideal for identification.
-
In general appearance they are closest to Storm Petrel. They are slightly larger than this species but share Storm Petrel’s all dark colouration, broad white rump and square ended tail. The main differences are as follows. The flight is stronger than Storm Petrel and less fluttery with some strong sustained glides on more straightly held and slightly broader wings.
-
Wilson’s also has a tendency to hop across the water and hang motionless above it. The leading edge of the wing is smoothly curved without the marked angle at the carpal which Storm usually shows. Wilson’s also has longer legs with toes which project noticeably beyond the tail in flight.
Plumage:
-
The upperwing has a relatively clear pale panel on the wing coverts which can approach that of Leach’s Petrel on particularly worn birds. Also, the underwing is all dark on Wilson’s Petrel and the inner webs of the toes have yellow webs which would not be visible from our viewing platform.
Leach’s Petrel - Oceanodroma leucorhoa
World Distribution:
-
Leach’s Petrel is a northerly breeding species. They breed in both the North Pacific and North Atlantic. In the Atlantic, the largest concentrations are off the eastern seaboard of the United States where colonies total millions of pairs. In the eastern North Atlantic, they breed at various sites around the northern coasts of Ireland, Scotland, and Norway but with the largest numbers occurring around Iceland.
-
They migrate south largely between September and early December to their wintering grounds, typically over areas of oceanic convergence and upwelling in oceanic or shelf areas off the coasts of Brazil, the Gulf of Guinea and South Africa.
Survey Area Distribution:
-
Leach’s Petrel is relatively uncommon in the Bay of Biscay, at least along our route. It has been suggested that Leach’s Petrels may occur in winter in large numbers from Canadian populations. Estimates from land-based observation and studies of wrecks have estimated that between 0.3 and 2 million birds may winter in the area. They have only been recorded from surveys, however, during the months of September-October and in small numbers (<10). It remains to be seen if and where this substantial population may be found.
Identification: Flight and Structure:
-
Leach’s Petrel is a fairly distinctive petrel when seen well. The largest of the Storm-petrels, the flight is quite distinctive. Usually erratic and bounding, they often alternate between different manners of flight. Into the wind they tend to look rather Tern-like: direct and purposeful with deep, powerful wing beats. However, when buffeted by the wind they can employ a very erratic flight, with shearing, zigzagging, and bounding through wave troughs. They rarely look as defenceless as Storm-petrel at sea.
-
At all times, their wings are held strongly angled at the carpal joint. From head on, the wings are also arched quite noticeably. The tail is quite strongly forked, unlike Storm and Wilson’s Petrels. However, this feature can be difficult to see at any distance.
Plumage:
-
The plumage is superficially similar to the other species of Storm-petrel mentioned here. The rump patch is rather long and v-shaped and often shows some darker feathering down the centre which makes the rump appear smaller and less bright than it actually is (beware dark-rumped petrels). The white of the rump does not extend far down the sides of the bird. The underwings are all dark, unlike Storm-petrel and the upperwing has a distinctive broad, pale panel across the coverts.
Copyright of BDRP, 2003