Digital Resurrection of the New Zealand Storm Petrel

Part 3


Digital Resurrection of the New Zealand Storm Petrel

In this modem day and age, what birder honestly would think that they might resurrect from the presumed extinction of a species of New Zealand bird? Surely, the heroic era of G.B.Orbell and the Takahe rediscovery is gone? This assumption may be true for land birds, but look to the oceans, and the potential, albeit slim, is still there for seabirds. Seabird research continues to find out how much remains unknown. One New Zealand seabird presumed extinct is the barely known black-and-white New Zealand Storm Petrel. Evidence of this form of storm petrel is restricted to just three skins collected in the 1800s: one preserved at the British Museum of Natural History, Tring, and two at the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Recent studies of these skins categorize them in the family Oceanites, with species status under the provisional scientific name 0. maorianus. It is interesting to note that storm petrel bones unearthed by workers researching New Zealand's fossil birds also have been ascribed to the family Oceanites and are tentatively being ascribed to the New Zealand Storm Petrel. These bones may be further evidence of the species. One thing is for certain though, 150 years or thereabouts is a very long time for a species to be missing. On 25 January 2003, a Wrybill Birding Tours pelagic trip with 12 participants led by Brent Stephenson and Say Saville encountered a black-and-white storm petrel near the Mercury Islands, off the Coromandel Peninsula. The bird circled the boat for about one minute. Brent hastily ran off a short series of photographs. Three out of four observers who got onto the bird thought they saw a black belly stripe. The feet project beyond the tail tip. The only reasonable conclusion on identification at the time was Black-bellied Storm Petrel and it was logged as such. After the event, Brent's digital images revealed information about the storm petrel not seen in the field. Most surprising was the lack of a black central belly stripe. with the central belly an unmarked white. Furthermore, the under tail coverts were white, not black. There were streaks on the flanks and under tail coverts. The breast band was not clear-cut but had black-brown 'bleeding' projections onto the white belly. These characteristics are nothing like those of Black-bellied Storm Petrel. Not surprisingly there was a growing debate about the identity of the 25 January storm petrel. Possibilities seemed to be a white-bellied form of Wilson's Storm Petrel, a White-bellied Storm Petrel, or a subspecies or an aberrant form of the Black-bellied Storm Petrel. None of these fitted the photographic evidence. At one stage Alan Tennyson introduced the 'crazy idea' that the bird might have been a New Zealand Storm Petrel. This 'crazy idea' slowly became the preferred one, as Brent's images of the live bird were repeatedly compared to Ian's images of the three skins. Eventually, it was decided to widen the debate through the web and raise the flabbergasting possibility in Saville et al (2003) that their bird may have been the first known sighting about 150 years of the presumed extinct New Zealand Storm Petrel. Initially, opinions amongst Australian and New Zealand seabirds about the validity of the proposed identification ranged the spectrum from dismissive to confident. After months of Internet discussion, more seabirds were persuaded toward the confident camp, or at least away from the dismissive camp. Yet, everything hinged on one sighting and a few understandably hurried photographs. Ultimately, nothing would be resolved without a future well-documented sighting incorporating quality photographs. How long might this take? Would there ever be another sighting? The standing of the defiant observers hung on chance. Their painful wait, however, was to be a surprisingly short one.

 Little Barrier Island

 On 17 November 2003, two visiting seabird enthusiasts from the UK, Bob Flood and Bryan Thomas chartered a boat from Sandspit, near Warkworth, and steamed out to two kilometers north of Little Barrier Island. Their main purpose was to watch a close-up and photograph the grey-brown White-faced Storm Petrel.

White-faced Storm Petrel

 They chummed whilst drifting in a brisk westerly wind, waiting for storm petrels to be drawn in by smell. Storm petrels soon arrived as expected, but surprisingly they were all black and white. At least ten and possibly 20 of these black-and-white storm petrels were seen in a period of an hour and a half. Many of them fed over the oily slick created by the chum, but this formed up-wind and directly into the sunlight. Nevertheless, I took a series of photographs as the storm petrels approached the boat and Bob took some video footage. You can see Bob's fantastic footage of the rediscovery as it was in real-time
click link below

Amazing rediscovery footage - New Zealand Storm-petrel

My still image below which smashed it
New Zealand is not Extinct.

New Zealand Storm Petrel

Dark markings were seen on the belly although they were hard to position, and the feet projected well beyond the tail tip. These and other features excluded identification as White-bellied Storm Petrel. Thus, the birds were assumed to be Black-bellied Storm Petrels. There was no other option according to the field guides. The wings were narrower and more pointed than expected and a clear view of a black belly stripe was not attained, but these apparent and surprising anomalies were put down to a lack of observer experience with Black-bellied Storm Petrel. That evening back at the digs I downloaded my digital images to my laptop. He noticed that the dark markings on the bellies of the storm petrels were in fact streaks and called to Bob several times to come and take a look.

New Zealand Storm Petrel

With a series of digital images and a laptop fully equipped with software to explore them, the two soon realized that the storm petrels were not Black-bellied. Luckily, both had read in passing Saville et al's (2003) article about the putative New Zealand Storm Petrel seen in January 2003 and the skins collected in the 1800s. As far as Bob and I could remember, their storm petrels looked just like the photographs of the live bird and the skins. A web version of the article was consulted the next day and vague memories became hardened facts. They found themselves having to believe the unbelievable. There could be no doubt. The New Zealand Storm Petrel is not extinct! Bob and I immediately emailed Brent, Ian, and Sav with the dramatic news. Many more emails were exchanged full of expletives and superlatives best not repeated here. Celebrations ensued as if all five were party to a syndicate lottery win. A full account including five quality photographs of the 17 November sightings was documented in Flood (2003). This published confirmation swung opinion amongst seabirds across the globe and now there is a near international consensus view that supports our conclusion. BirdLife International has recategorized the New Zealand Storm Petrel from extinct to critically endangered. A major monograph on Albatrosses and Petrels by Dr. Michael Brookes (curator at the University of Cambridge) due out this year will now include the New Zealand Storm Petrel as probably a full species, and another such monograph in preparation by Hadoram Shirihai will include it as a full species. We hope that the New Zealand Rare Birds Committee will formally accept our records and that subsequently, the Department of Conservation will embrace a project to establish the status of the New Zealand Storm Petrel and to preserve it.

 New Zealand Storm Petrel

 This amazing story is not complete, however, without a final word about the means of our rediscovery. Digital camerawork in the field captured details of our storm petrels that the eye could not make out, or perhaps the mind found impossible to believe. Whichever, there is no doubt that our rediscovery of the New Zealand Storm Petrel is nothing other than a digital resurrection. References Saville, S., Stephenson, B., & Southey, 1.2003. A possible sighting of an 'extinct' bird -the New Zealand Storm-petrel. Birding World 16: 173-75. Flood, RL 2003. The New Zealand Storm-petrel is not extinct. Birding World 16: 479-482.

BOB FLOOD, BRYAN THOMAS, SAV SAVILLE, IAN SOUTHEY, and BRENT STEPHENSON,

Massive thanks to Bob Flood

Part 2 Pelagic Day-Trip off New Zealand.

Part 2

Hauraki Gulf, North Island,
Stewart Island and the Foveaux Strait,

New Zealand.

Hauraki Gulf is a vast area of water accessible from Auckland that lies between the mainland and the Coro­mandel Peninsula, opening up in the north to the South Pacific Ocean. The Gulf is peppered with islands and these small isolated areas of land are where a number of sea and land birds are mak­ing their last stand against extinction. Although highly politically charged, de­bate about the devastating affects of rats and cats on island populations of birds has led the New Zealand Government to authorise clearance of vermin from some of the key islands.

We joined two pelagic trips organised by Kiwi Wildlife Tours and made our own arrangements with a charter boat for a third day into the Gulf. The first organised trip was a 'steam, tick and run' affair around the Gulf to meet the pur­poses of a British group of birders, start­ing at 11.00 and finishing at 17.00. The second was a laid-back cruise. Our own charter was far more expensive since the NZ$800 cost was shared by just two of 

us, however, we saw virtually all species logged on the other two trips, plus a few others and we did things our way (the boat used was MV Assassin skippered by Brett Rathe who can be contacted by email boatnfish@xtra.co.nz.
 

 Cook's Petrel
 

We visited locations recommended by Kiwi Wildlife Tours off Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands. A main target for the Hauraki Gulf was two more Pterodroma petrels, the breeding Cook's and Pycroft's  Pterodro­ma pycrofti. Cook's were easy to find.

 Campbell Albatross

 The much more rare Pycroft's were very difficult to pick out from the Cook's. The identification problem arises be­cause of the very similar size, structure and plumage of the two species. In all honesty, I could claim only to have seen three definite Pycroft's over the three trips.

 Pycroft's  Petrel

 Another speciality of the Gulf is Black Petrel since the islands offer them their last breeding refuge. We saw 15 on our private charter, but just two on the laid-back cruise and none on the 'steam, tick and run' trip. A highlight on the private charter was a flock of White-faced Storm-petrels that we drew close to the boat by using chum and then watching for several hours. White-faced Storm-Petrels were seen on all three trips.

Southern Royal

 Buller's Shearwater
 

Common Diving Petrels were indeed common, whilst Flesh-footed and Fluttering Shearwaters were abundant. The gorgeous Buller's Shearwater was relatively easy to find, although normally in small groups. Fairy Prions frequently joined in the show. A single White-capped Albatross Diomedea [cauta] steadi was a pleasant surprise on two out of the three trips. We were unlucky not to see Little Shearwater.

Fluttering Shearwaters

The most amazing sighting of our bird­ing careers happened on the day of our private charter. A possible sighting of the New Zealand Storm-petrel Oceanites maorianus (provisional Latin name) on January 25, 2003 made on a Wrybill Birding Tours pelagic trip close to 'nearby' Mercury Island, off the Coromandel Peninsula, was published in Birding World (16: 173-175). Other than that, this Storm-Petrel was known only from three skins collected in the 1800s. Our chum enticed to the boat a group of at least ten and up to 20 of them! It is a long story and one that can be read in Birding World (16: 479-482) and on the Wrybill Birding Tours web site, with shorter news snippets on many other web sites. Suffice to say, it was and remains a mind-blowing experience.

 

Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

For land-based pelagic trippers, Kaikoura is the place on the planet to see a range of forms of Albatross and to observe them close-up. And the scenery is stunning. OceanWings is an organisation in Kaikoura that offers dedicated trips to see albatrosses. Trips are run at 06.00, 09.00, 13.00 and 16.00 and each one lasts about three hours. The trips may seem short, but with a deep underwater canyon just three kilometres offshore and a fast boat, trippers find themselves bobbing up and down amongst Albatrosses within just 20 minutes or so. Floating bags containing frozen sharks livers and regular drops of chum ensure that the boat remains perpetually surrounded by albatrosses.

Salvin's  Albatross


 Bob and I joined nine trips and found that the 06.00 one was by far the best for our purposes since only birders turned up for dawn trips and the skip-per responded accordingly to birders' interests; e.g., steaming out further that secured extra species and cutting but a visit to a near-shore island for species that all serious birders would easily pick-up for themselves when touring the coast. Trips later in the day (especially at 13.00) were mainly for tourists turned-on by the idea of seeing an albatross and OceanWings understandably catered for their needs. In this way, OceanWings raises interest amongst the general public in 'the Albatross' and an information pack given to all participants raises awareness of 'the plight of the Albatross'. It is good to see eco-tourism operating in this way.

 Gibson's Albatross

Antipodean

Over the nine trips we saw the following Albatross forms: a few Snowy Diomedea chionoptera/exulans, plenty of Gibson's and Antipodean, regular but small numbers of Northern Royal and Southern Royal, good numbers of White-capped and especially Salvin's, and one each of Black-browed, Campbell and Buller's.

Southern Giant Petrels

 Northern Giant Petrels were common whilst we saw just two Southern Giant Petrels. Cape Petrels were abundant. On excursions to deeper waters we saw Fairy Prions and were over-the-moon when a Grey-backed Storm-petrel made a ten-minute visit to the oily slick run-ning away from the chum. Great-winged Petrels (the Grey-faced form P. m. gouldi) were regular, but the only Pterodroma petrel that we encountered.

Great-winged Petrel

Westland Petrel

We saw two species of Procellaria petrels with Westland very common and White-chinned occasional. Hutton's Shearwater was an abundant species and small numbers of Buller's Shearwater were seen most trips. White-fronted Terns were common. OceanWings records all sightings on its

Hundreds of thousands of Sooty Shearwaters Puffinus griseus in the waters around Stuart Island, New Zealand provided one of the most enduring ornithological spectacles of our trip.

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Stewart Island and the Foveaux Strait, New Zealand

This southernmost Australasian location for land-based pelagic trips was included on our itinerary for breeding Mottled Petrel, Broad-billed Prion Pachyptila vittata, and 'the experience'. We joined a pelagic trip organised by Thorfinn from Half Moon Bay. We left port at 09.00 and soon were watching a Brown Skua (Subantarctic form) and Little Blue Penguins.

 

Little Blue Penguins

 

 We then steamed eastwards and into tens of thousands of Sooty Shearwaters. The sight was spectacular with `muttonbirds' visible in every direction and as far as you could see. Sooties dived like auks and popped-up like corks all around us. The boat's echo sounder showed 'shoals' of them feeding underwater.

Sooty Shearwaters

White-capped Albatross

White-capped Albatross


White-capped Albatross was present in good numbers and we saw two Salvin's Albatrosses, a Snowy Albatross, and six Northern Giant Petrels. Common Diving Petrels were everywhere. There were two big disappointments however. First, the organiser did not bother with chum! Second, at 14.00 the organiser took participants on an island botanical walk rather than completing the full day pelagic trip that we were promised. On the boat trip back we did at least glimpse a Fjordland

Stewart Island Shag
 

Crested Penguin Eudyptes pachyrhynchus and were shown Stewart Island Shags Phalacrocorax chalconotus. And 'the experience' at this wild and rugged location was awe-inspiring. We travelled to Stewart Island by ferry from Bluff. Although this mega-sized rib does the crossing in just over an hour and viewing is restricted, it still provides opportunities to watch seabirds. The outward journey was calm and so all we saw in any numbers were Sooty Shearwaters and Common Diving Petrels, with three distant White-capped Albatrosses. The return journey was fun in-itself, like a rollercoaster ride with spray caused by strong winds that also brought out seabirds with near to 100 White-capped Albatrosses and, finally,
about twenty Broad-billed Prions, a target bird for this location. Rewarding indeed, but braving the outside left us utterly soaked.

Concluding Comments

The list of seabirds seen on our adventure is representative of the abundance of seabirds available to land-based pelagic birders visiting Australia and New Zealand in spring/summer. Some organisers have web sites that document their sightings across all seasons that in addition to this article will facilitate planning.

We had a fantastic time and our only regret is that we did not have more time to join pelagic trips from other locations. Trips we missed out include those from Albany, Eden, Port Fairy and Tasmania, and also in Australia; and Cook Strait, Tolaga Bay and Whitianga in New Zealand. Obviously, we will have to make a return trip down-under to broaden our experience of these outstanding and sometimes overwhelming locations for seabirds.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank Wrybill Birding Tours for additional information about pelagic trips in New Zealand that we were unable to include on our itinerary, but are covered above. Thanks also to the following sea birders for details of one-day pelagic trips that they organise and the seasonal summaries for their location;

Paul Walbridge for Southport, Frank O'Connor for Albany and Perth, Chris Lester for Port Fairy, and David Webb for Eden.

Pelagic Day-Trip off Australia part 1

Part 1 Australia.

Pelagic birding currently enjoys a wave of interest that has reached the shores of all continents and their oceans. Pelagic trips typically come in two forms. One is ship-based with a duration of two

or more days (e.g., the Portsmouth to Bilbao Ferry, England-Spain) or even weeks (e.g., Subantarctic and Antarctic cruises). The other is land-based involving day-trips on more modest sized boats and nowadays such a trip is becoming the highlight of an increasing number of overseas bird­ing vacations. Almost legendary amongst these are trips out of Cape Town, South Africa and Wollongong Australia.

White Chinned Petrel

 Some years years ago my friend Bob Flood and I decided to sample several one-day pe­lagic trips in Australia and New Zealand, from subtropical Southport, near Bris­bane, Australia in the north, to the cold waters of Stewart Island, New Zealand in the south. We timed the trip to coincide with the Austral spring/summer when many of the breeding birds are present and some of the wintering species may not have departed. The trip was planned using web searches and email enquiries that established when and from where trips were departing. Arranging charters with just two people would have been far too expensive. We did not have time to join every pelagic trip operating in November and so selected those most likely to run and in combination yield the greatest number of species

This article of course celebrates the seabirds that enthralled us, but also offers a rough guide to pelagic day-trips in the region that will be useful to visiting birders. I of­fer more or less a north to south account covering each trip that we participated in.

Southport,

near Brisbane, Australia

Southport is situated on the south coast of Queensland adjacent to the southwest Coral Sea. The waters are dominated by the warm south flowing East Australian Current, which runs well to the south eventually breaking eastward as the Tas­man Front. In most winters, cold wa­ter moves up along the coast from the south, pushing the warm water further offshore. This can lead to an interesting mix of tropical and cold-water species. Since 1995, when the pelagic venue was switched from Brisbane to Southport a total of 68 species of seabirds have been identified; some regularly logged here are rarely seen elsewhere in Australian wa­ters.

The star attraction that made Southport a must for our venture is the Tahiti Petrel Pterodroma rostrata, which has been seen off this port in every month except July. We departed port at 07.00 at the start of a c.40 kilometres steam past the conti­nental shelf. Over the next ten kilome­tres we encountered Short-tailed Puffinus tenuirostris, Wedge-tailed P. pacificus and Flesh-footed Shearwaters P. carneipes, species that were seen throughout the day. Excitement was tangible with just 10 kilometres to go before the continen­tal shelf and, hopefully, Tahiti Petrels. At about this point on the trip, organiser Paul Walbridge of SOSSA (Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association), who proved to be very knowledgeable and extremely helpful, called a Black-winged Petrel Pter­odroma nigripennis.

 Black-winged Petrel

 Shortly after this he called a Gould's Petrel P. leucoptera. Then he called a Mottled Petrel P. inexpectata. Wow! We had scored with a hat-trick of the enigmatic Pterodroma petrels including the highly prized Mottled Petrel.

 Gould's Petrel.

We reached the turning point at about 11.00 and drifted with chum deployed. Shortly after this Bob picked-up a large, dark, long-winged Pterodroma petrel and my heart rate increased because, surely, this could be nothing other than a Tahiti Pet­rel. It banked and revealed a white belly allowing Bob had the privilege of calling the first of eight or so Tahitis that put on an impressive show over the next few hours, although they did not approach very close for the photographers. I still managed to get a few reasonable photos.

Tahiti Petrel

  A Black-bellied Storm-petrel Fregetta tropica fed over the chum for about ten minutes and up to five Wilson's Storm-petrels Oceanites oceanicus put in an appearance; however, I remained preoccupied with the Tahiti Petrels. It was the bird I came to see, and having travel halfway round the world for.  Only a Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni, one of just five Procellaria petrels, drew my at­tention away from the Tahiti Petrels. Black Petrel is very rare and a total surprise of the day, with our individual just the second ever reported from Southport.

Black Petrel

Black Petrel

 We started the steam home at 13.00 and saw plenty more shearwaters to keep us occupied to the end of the trip at around 16.00.

.

Southport definitely was the surprise package of our venture. There may not have been the quantity of seabirds avail­able at other locations, but the quality of the species seen is in no doubt. We went to Southport only because of the Tahiti Petrels, but discovered on the day that this port promises more Pterodroma pet­rel species in each season than other ports and a wealth of other seabird species. This is not yet well publicised in the literature and is worth summarising below.

September—November

A few winter birds remain such as Providence Petrel Pterodromasolandri, Fluttering Puffinus gavia and Hutton's P. huttoni Shearwaters with the occasional 'Wandering' Albatross. Summer birds like Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Tahiti Petrels start to re-appear. The period is notable for passage birds, particularly Short-tailed Shearwater. Wilson's and Black-bellied Storm-petrels numbers increase before they head south. In recent years, however, Soft-plumaged Pterodroma mollis, Kermadec P negkrta, Mottled, Gould's and Black-winged Petrels have been logged.

Short-tailed Shearwater

December—February

This period is dominated by breeding wedge-tailed Shearwaters. Tahiti is the commonest Pterodroma petrel. Species often sighted include White-necked Pterodrma cervicalis and Gould's Petrels and occasionally Lesser Frigatebirds Fregata ariel Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas arrive from Japan. Tropical terns such as Sooty Sterna fuscata and Bridled Terns, and Common Anous stolidusand Black A. minutus Noddies also feature.

March—May

A 'reverse passage' period, with March in particular turning-in some freakish re­sults; e.g., March 2002 turned up seven Pterodroma petrels on one day — Tahiti, Great-winged Pterodroma macroptera, White-headed P lessonii, Kermadec, White-necked, Black-winged and Gould's Petrels! Tahiti Petrels start to congregate, White Terns Gygis alba are seen in small numbers and plenty of Wilson's Storm-petrels move northwards.

Tahiti Petrel

June—August

With a mix of cold and warm water, this is the period of greatest species diversity for Procellarufbrmes. Providence Petrels and Black-bellied Storm-petrels arrive, with Kermadec Petrels frequently sighted. Also likely are Northern Macronectes halli and Southern M. giganteus Giant Petrels, Cape Petrel Daption capense, up to four species of `mollynnawk' (small Albatrosses), five species of prion, and Brown Skua Cathar­acta [antarctica] lonnbergi (Subantarctic form). Herald Petrel Pterodroma heraldica is occasional.

Flesh-footed Shearwaters

Additional

White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus can turn up at any time of year. Recently, Black Petrel and South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki have been logged in both spring and autumn.

A Southport pelagic trip is highly rec­ommended and would complement an itinerary from Brisbane that in any case is a must for birders visiting Australia

Wollongong, New South

Wales, Australia

As stated earlier, pelagic trips from Wol­longong onboard MV Sandra K are near legendary amongst sea birders. This is so much the case that several major TV programs on birds have incorporated one or more of these day-trips within their schedule, including David Attenborough's monumental Life of Birds-, and to prove it there is a photograph posted inside the cabin of MV Sandra K of Attenborough on the boat's deck with an albatross on his lap. The organisers Lindsay Smith and 'Milburn' of SOSSA are extremely knowledgeable and very helpful. Also, Wollongong is one of only a few pelagic trips where chum is thrown over the side throughout the voyage. Bob and I joined the November 2001 pelagic trip and were not disappointed with amongst other things Indian Yellow-nosed Diome­dea [chlororhynchos] bassi/carteri and Shy D. cauta Albatrosses,

Black Petrel and Great-winged Petrel, and thus looked forward very much to the trip

We steamed out of port at 07.00 on a blustery day into persistent rain and a choppy sea. This was a great shame, but experienced pelagic birders know all too well that fine weather on pelagic trips is far from guaranteed. Unfortunately, we did not make the continental shelf. Despite the conditions, however, many quality seabirds were seen.

Brown Skua
(Subantarctic form).

Common shearwaters were Wedge-tailed, Short-tailed and Fluttering; whilst Flesh-footed, Sooty Puffinus griseus and Hutton's were present in small numbers. Getting soaked had soaring rewards, however, with a Gibson's Albatross Di­omedea [exulans] gibsoni close-up to the boat. Several Great-winged Petrels inspected the chum and two Providence Petrels teased participants by holding off at mid-range. A November speciality at this location is Black Petrel and two were seen to confirm their status. We were just two kilometres offshore on the return leg when finally there was a half-hour break in the rain and immediately seabirds came in close to the boat in large numbers, having mainly kept their distance throughout the morning. An immature Campbell Albatross Diomedea [melano­phris] impavida, provided a real bonus, and landed just off the stern. Crested Terns followed us into port where we arrived early at around 14.00; an early return because of poor weather. Sadly, the wet conditions on the day made pho­tography nearly impossible.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater