[Maine-birds] deceased (possible) TRINDADE PETREL - Ogunquit, 6/10

Hey everyone:

After summarizing our spring rarities in my last email, I thought the best birds were past us, I was wrong. (By the way, I did forget that Kristen Lindquist had a White-eyed Vireo on Monhegan Island, Lincoln Co. on 17 May.) While surveying for plovers along Ogunquit Beach on Tuesday (6/10), I found a dead pterodroma petrel that I believe is a Herald (Trindade) Petrel.

I know I'll never hear the end of it, but I do not have the specimen. After finding this bird, I took a few photos and saved the lat/long of where the bird was (43.255417, -70.59175) so I could finish my survey. Later in the day, Robby Lambert and I returned to recover the bird but could not find it. I can't thank Robby enough for the help as we looked all over the beach with flashlights, finally giving up a little before midnight. I, and others, have been back in the days since, searching to no avail. The lesson here: if you find a dead rare bird on the beach, just carry it around with you for the rest of the day.

I look forward to hearing from some pros, or someone with more pterodroma experience than I, but here are a few of my thoughts on the identification, starting with a photo:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dhitchcox/14405872501/

It is definitely a pterodroma petrel looking at that heavy bill, much heavier than we would see on any shearwaters. Then it is obviously a 'dark-bellied' petrel, which I believe in the northern Atlantic Ocean we can narrow down to Trindade Petrel or the yet to be documented Kermadec Petrel. This bird appears to have white through the base of the primaries and secondaries and not just restricted to the base of the primaries, as appears to be the case in Kermadec. Also, I unfortunately do not have a photo of a dorsal view but I do not remember the bird having the obvious white primary shafts on the upperwing, as in Kermadec - a fieldmark that I hope would have been memorable. This is perhaps using a false assumption that I have not ruled out other pacific 'dark-bellied' gadfly petrels so I hope to hear from folks who have experience with those birds.

I'll share more information on this as it becomes available.

Good birding,


Doug Hitchcox
Hollis, ME


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