Seawatching – Summer 2017
This summer in Cornwall has been notable for a number of interesting seabird occurrences. Dave Flumm takes a look at some of the factors at play and possible reasons behind these extraordinary occurrences, with an emphasis on two species in particular, the enigmatic and rarely encountered Great Shearwater and Wilson’s Petrel which we have witnessed in the the South West recently …
In his article in The New York Times, July 14th 2017, entitled ‘A mystery of seabirds blown off course and starving’, Joe Trezza describes the mass stranding of “hundreds” of Great Shearwaters washed ashore during June, all “emaciated” and in very poor condition. This mass mortality event which occurred along the stretch of coast from New Your City south to Cape May was described as “extraordinary for the region” and those collecting the dead and dying birds concluded they had starved. It was thought that a lack of food in the Caribbean was the main cause rather than the waters adjacent to the beaches around New York. There had been no strong winds associated with their arrival so it seemed logical to assume the problem of food shortage lay further south …
Read the Full Article >Here<
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