Today [29 Aug 2015] John Shemilt, Rich Fried and I fished over two of the canyons off eastern Long Island (Suffolk Co.), enjoying flat seas and almost no wind. The indisputable highlight of a wonderful day on the water were a series of BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS, concentrated over the McMaster Canyon (known to local fishermen as the "Claw") and adjacent eastern slope. The water temp was a consistent 81-82 F and the good bird were along the 500 fathom contour.
Conservatively we photographed at least eleven Black-caps, with the largest flock being of six together. The number of separate encounters exceeded this - more like twenty or so - but it was impossible to rule out some of these as repeats. We also found a number of BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS, often times roosting with the Black-caps, and a handful of molting LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS. AUDUBON'S SHEARWATERS were quite numerous and we saw at least five BRIDLED TERNS during the day. A nice pod of 20+ SOWERBY'S BEAKED WHALES topped the cetacean list. To put today's excitement in context, these were the first non-hurricane related Black-caps that John and I have encountered in NYS waters, despite many trips over the years. We still need to ponder the possible causes, whether it be the sustained incursion of Gulf Stream water or the effects of tropical storms to the south. Hopefully the folks going on tomorrow's pelagic with Paul Guris and company will find this news useful and we look forward to hearing what you find. Angus Wilson New York City, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
