Birding Alaska

Mottled Petrel Pterodroma inexpectata, southern Bering Sea, 9 October 2009.

This Mottled Petrel was one of five seen today from the NOAA Ship Miller Freeman about 100 miles north of Dutch Harbor.  This distinctive seabird is told from other similar pterodroma petrels by its unique gray belly.  It breeds on small islands off New Zealand and spends the non-breeding season–April to October–in the North Pacific and the deep waters of the southern Bering Sea.  It is the only regularly occurring pterodroma in Alaska.  There are two records of Cook’s Petrel Pterodroma cookii from Alaskan waters and it is considered accidental on the Alaska Checklist.

Peter Harrison’s Seabirds of the world: A photographic guide describes the flight of the Mottled Petrel as “wild and impetuous.”  Perfect.

The first few days at sea have been great.  Our departure from Dutch Harbor on July 21st was met with 4o knot winds and 15-20 foot seas, not the best birding conditions, even on a 209 foot ship.  Despite the conditions I was able to snap off a few marginal photos of this Mottled Petrel just north of Unimak Pass in the large swells.  Mottled Petrel is the only Pterodroma expected in Alaskan waters.  It is first picked out by its fast and arching flight and then identified by its shape, sharply patterned back and underwing, and its dingy-gray belly; it is the only Pterodroma to show this gray belly.  Normally you see Mottled Petrels for about three seconds as they flash by, however, with the very strong winds several of the birds, including the bird in these photos, cruised along side the ship for several minutes.  We saw four Mottled Petrels on the first night out and at least eight the next morning within 45 miles of Unimak Pass.

Mottled Petrel Pterodroma inexpectata, Bering Sea north of Unimak Pass, 21 July 2009.

This evening, July 23rd, things got even better–even the weather!  While transiting over Zhemchug Canyon on the Bering shelf (about 180 miles west-northwest of St. Paul Island) under calm winds and seas we found two Short-tailed Albatross–a dark brown juvenile and a paler sub-adult bird.  The juvenile is photographed here.

Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus with Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels Oceanodroma furcata and a Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris, Zhemchug Canyon, Bering Sea, 23 July 2009.