Seawatching Ngor – October & November 2019

We’re entering the final stretch of this year’s seawatch season, but before we wrap things up in a few weeks, it’s time for a quick overview of October and November. As for August and September, below is a comparison of the 2019 counts with those from the previous two years. Even if observer effort and coverage were quite different in those three years, it’s clear that there are important variations from year to year, both in terms of phenology and in terms of abundance of many of the seabirds that migrate past the Dakar peninsula. Prevailing weather conditions, and in particular dominant wind direction (and wind force), of course have a strong influence on the intensity of visible seabird migration, though other factors are also at play for certain species. Annual variations in breeding success of skuas are well documented and probably explain some of the annual differences that we see here in Dakar.

Essential seawatch equipment!

 

This year’s coverage was again pretty good for October (28 sessions on 24 days, similar to Oct. 2017) but less so for November (15 sessions on 12 days), though we did manage to do longer counts during both months, especially in November. But let’s start with October:

Species	2019	2018	2017
Cory’s/Scopoli’s Shearwater	86	0	232
Sooty Shearwater	631	1,035	2,534
Manx Shearwater	20	8	29
Shearwater sp.	24	4	22
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel	0	0	96
Northern Gannet	3	2	1
Brown Booby	0	1	0
Oystercatcher	24	20	18
Common Ringed Plover	2	0	5
Whimbrel	32	4	8
Bar-tailed Godwit	8	0	10
Turnstone	6	0	0
Ruff	0	0	12
Dunlin	0	0	2
Sanderling	16	6	0
Little Stint	6	0	0
Common Sandpiper	4	0	0
Greenshank	0	0	1
Common Redshank	3	5	0
Grey (Red) Phalarope	12	0	78
Audouin’s Gull	77	21	55
Lesser Black-backed Gull	3	18	2
Yellow-legged Gull	1	0	0
Large gull sp.	8	0	7
Slender-billed Gull	6	1	4
Grey-headed Gull	2	0	0
Sabine’s Gull	1,081	178	2,970
Arctic/Common Tern	3,768	1,094	4,296
Roseate Tern	6	14	54
Little Tern	65	7	78
Sandwich Tern	2,479	905	1,313
Lesser Crested Tern	299	113	150
African Royal Tern	457	198	57
Caspian Tern	22	20	9
Black Tern	1,059	333	2,735
Whiskered Tern	1	0	1
Bridled Tern	1	0	0
Bridled/Sooty Tern	1	0	0
Great/South Polar Skua	60	11	66
Pomarine Skua	763	85	1436
Arctic Skua	486	198	339
Long-tailed Skua	47	21	32
Skua sp.	476	182	1138
Total birds	12,045	4,484	17,880
Number of days	24	10	26
Number of hours	37h30′	19h00′	28h20′

 

October was relatively quiet compared to previous years, mostly because conditions were not so favourable during the last 10 days of the month, hitting an absolute low on Oct. 31^st when only 68 birds were counted in one hour… With hardly any wind, far fewer Sooty Shearwaters and Pomarine Skuas than usual were noted (Puffin fuligineux, Labbe pomarin). Most terns however were more numerous, possibly due to a later passage than in previous years, particularly for African Royal, Lesser Crested and Sandwich Terns (Sternes royales, voyageuses, caugeks). With just over 1,000 birds, the passage of Sabine’s Gull was fairly average though still very enjoyable on two days: 220 in 2h45’ on Oct. 12, and 315 in 3h20’ on Oct. 17 (Mouette de Sabine). Among the rarer species, an ad. Bridled Tern was seen on Oct. 12 (+ a distant Bridled or Sooty on Oct. 8; Sterne bridée).

Pomarine & Long-tailed Skuas, off Ngor, Oct. 2018 (Bruce Mast)

 

November was a different story: with a fairly similar number of hours spent counting birds from the Calao terrace, almost double the number of birds were counted than in 2017. A much stronger passage was noted for many species: Cory’s/Scopoli’s Shearwaters (56,438 birds counted: almost twice the 2017 number and triple that of 2018!), Great Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Northern Gannets, and Pomarine & Arctic Skuas (Puffin cendré / de Scopoli, Puffin majeur, fuligineux, Fou de Bassan, Labbes pomarins et arctiques). Because we were present on less days but spent more time per session, it’s hard to compare with previous years, though it’s clear that at least some of these species were more numerous, such as the Gannets that passed through en masse from the 10th onward (max. 1,223 birds in 90’ on Nov. 20!), which is far earlier than in previous years when peaks were noted from the end of the month and in December. The higher number of skuas and Sooty Shearwaters are also at least in part explained by the later passage, properly starting only around November 10^th rather than in the last week of October. Only one Long-tailed Skua was identified during this period, at the very start of the month, bringing this season’s total to 489 birds.

Scopoli’s Shearwater, off Ngor, April 2017

 

The peak passage of Cory’s/Scopoli’s Shearwaters took place during Nov. 10-16, with up to 4,020 birds passing through per hour during the morning of the 10^th. While slightly less intense in previous years, the highly concentrated passage took place almost exactly during the same period. It’s really remarkable how this species pair is completely absent up to the very last week of October: the first 45 birds were seen on Oct. 28^th with just a handful in subsequent days, then 638 in 1h15’ on Nov. 4^th and 215 in 1h45’ the following day, then literally exploding just a few days later (unfortunately no observations were made during Nov. 6-9). Our counters nearly overheated, thumbs hurting! In comparison, the migration pattern of Sooty Shearwater for instance is very different, showing a very long and diffuse migration season (end August – mid December) without a clearly defined peak.

Daily average number of Cory’s & Scopoli’s Shearwater per hour (2019). The dotted lines and grey markers indicate extrapolated data; red markers are based on actual counts

 

Besides this really impressive flow of the shearwaters, the highlights in November were our first (ever!) Leach’s Storm Petrels (Océanite cul-blanc), the good number of Great Shearwaters of course – confirming that quite a few pass through Senegalese waters at this time of the year – a fine Balearic Shearwater (Nov. 18; Puffin des Baléares), and an imm. Red-footed Booby seen twice flying past the Calao (Fou à pieds rouges). Another big surprise and clearly one of my highlights was a huge Killer Whale (Orque) swimming past at mid-range, apparently heading SW – not my first here at Ngor, but this one was really impressive, nicely showing its massive dorsal fin.

November summary:

Species	2019	2018	2017
Cory’s/Scopoli’s Shearwater	56,438	18,593	30,836
Great Shearwater	125	32	0
Sooty Shearwater	1,174	573	526
Balearic Shearwater	1	0	0
Manx Shearwater	5	4	1
Shearwater sp.	16	31	2
European Storm-Petrel	0	0	1
Leach’s Storm-Petrel	3	0	0
Storm-Petrel sp.	10	0	0
Northern Gannet	3,896	1,239	60
Brown Booby	0	2	3
Red-footed Booby	1	1	0
Oystercatcher	0	0	2
Common Ringed Plover	0	0	1
Grey Plover	1	0	0
Whimbrel	9	4	0
Bar-tailed Godwit	5	0	0
Grey Phalarope	1	0	26
Audouin’s Gull	255	514	40
Lesser Black-backed Gull	37	2	17
Yellow-legged Gull	3	0	0
Large gull sp.	47	0	5
Slender-billed Gull	10	1	1
Sabine’s Gull	144	13	226
Arctic/Common Tern	1,272	836	764
Little Tern	14	14	1
Sandwich Tern	313	105	178
Lesser Crested Tern	2	7	18
African Royal Tern	19	9	2
Caspian Tern	3	1	2
Black Tern	29	3	321
Catharacta Skua sp.	32	23	5
Pomarine Skua	2,917	2,144	1,819
Arctic Skua	149	66	76
Long-tailed Skua	1	1	9
Skua sp.	149	60	313
Total birds	63,833	21,984	33,033
Total days	12	21	20
Number of hours	33h	30h30′	28h

 

November 11^th clearly was one of our most memorable Seawatch sessions ever: in just 3 hours, we counted an impressive 12,492 birds belonging to 23 species, a remarkable diversity at this time of the year: check out our eBird checklist here!

Once again, needless to say that Dakar clearly ranks as one of the top seawatch spots in the world!

 

 

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Suivi de la migration d’automne à Ngor: août et septembre 2018

Depuis un peu plus de deux mois on a repris nos habitudes au Calao de Ngor cet automne (ai-je vraiment arrêté depuis l’an dernier?), pour voir ce que donne le cru 2018 pour ce qui est de la migration d’automne des oiseaux de mer. Le printemps avait déjà été pas mal, avec entre autres de beaux passages de Sternes voyageuses et de Dougall, de Mouettes de Sabine, et quelques espèces plus rares comme le Fou à pieds rouges, le Puffin de Macaronésie / de Barolo ou encore le Puffin majeur. Ayant eu un peu plus de temps libre et moins de voyages que d’habitude, j’ai donc repris le suivi régulier depuis fin juillet. J’étais curieux notamment de mieux suivre les mouvements en août et septembre, et finalement j’ai un peu mieux pu suivre ces deux mois que l’an dernier: entre le 30/7 et le 30/9, j’ai pu assurer une présence lors de 41 jours, pour environ 55 heures de suivi (2017: 40.5 heures sur 31 jours). A propos de notre suivi de l’an dernier, un article sur le suivi de la migration en 2017 est en cours de rédaction et sera partagé ici en temps voulu!

Les années se suivent mais se ne ressemblent pas: certaines espèces sont visiblement plus communes certaines années, et les conditions météo varient pas mal également. Ainsi, le mois d’août 2018 a été marqué par plusieurs jours de vent favorable (= vent soutenu de l’ouest a nord-ouest), et notamment le Labbe à longue queue a été bien plus nombreux a passer devant les cotes dakaroises qu’en 2017 et 2016. Idem pour les Phalaropes à bec large qui comme le labbe voient eux aussi s’établir un nouveau record journalier.

Comme d’hab’, voici donc une liste comme toujours un peu longue et ennuyeuse, agrémentée de quelques photos d’archives.

• Océanites

Océanite de Wilson (Wilson’s Storm Petrel): au moins 159 oiseaux sont vus entre le 31/7 et le 23/8, avec un max. de 105 en 30′ de suivi le 13/8.

• Puffins

Puffin du Cap-Vert (Cape Verde Shearwater): 97 ind. passent le 11/8 en 2h40′, suivi d’un isolé sur place le lendemain et deux oiseaux le 20/8.

Puffin fuligineux (Sooty Shearwater): comme en 2017, les premiers oiseaux apparaissent des les premiers jours de septembre, mais cette année les effectifs restent très modestes jusqu’à fin septembre: seulement 87 oiseaux du 2/9 au 30/9 alors que dans la même période l’an dernier il en passent 393 pour un effort comparable.

 

Puffin fuligineux / Sooty Shearwater  (Ngor, avril 2015)

Puffin des Anglais (Manx Shearwater): seuls six oiseaux sont détectés pour le moment, sans doute en raison de l’absence de bonnes conditions météo pour les puffins courant septembre, mois qui devrait marquer le pic du passage de cette espèce.

Puffin “d’Audubon” (Audubon’s Shearwater): à l’inverse, ce puffin généralement très pélagique a été vu bien plus que ces dernières années, avec 19 oiseaux pour le moment. Le premier oiseau passe le 11/8, puis le lendemain c’est un Puffin de Barolo qui est observé en migration active, assez près du rivage permettant son identification. Encore un Barolo ou Macaronésie le 28/8, et le 17/9 il y en a pas moins de 14 qui défilent en deux heures dont quelques groupes de 3-4 oiseaux migrant ensemble. Encore deux le 28/9, et peut-être qu’il en suivra encore quelques-uns dans les semaines à venir.

• Fous

Fou de Bassan (Northern Gannet): un oiseau de 1ère année passe le 23/9 déjà (2017: premier le 18/9, puis un seul en octobre avant le véritable debut du passage début novembre).

Fou brun (Brown Booby): deux le 26 (un adulte et un imm.) et un imm. les 28 et 29/9 étaient probablement des oiseaux locaux en excursion de pêche depuis les îles de la Madeleine.

• Limicoles

Comme je le disais dans l’intro, l’une des surprises de cette saison a été le passage important de Phalaropes à bec large (Red Phalarope) en août: alors que je n’avais noté aucun oiseau avant le 11/8, ce jour-la j’en dénombre pas moins de 825 en 2h40′ de suivi le matin, plus encore 35 en 40′ le soir – apparemment un nouveau record journalier pour le Sénégal, à en croire les chiffres a notre disposition. Plus rien les jours suivants, jusqu’au 18/8 lorsque quelques 65 oiseaux passent en deux groupes – toujours aussi difficiles à estimer! – 37 le 20/8, etc. jusqu’au 2/9. Encore 55 le 17/9, pour un total tout à fait honnête de 1256 oiseaux. Sans doute que plusieurs milliers sont passes au total, loin au large ou invisible entre les vagues. Parmi les autres limicoles, retenons le Courlis corlieu (Whimbrel) avec 415 ind., deux Barges rousses (Bar-tailed Godwit), 28 Huîtriers pies (Oystercatcher) dont 13 ce matin, deux groupes de Bécasseaux maubèches (Red Knot), quelques Tournepierres (Turnstone), un Combattant varié (Ruff), deux Grands Gravelots (Common Ringed Plover) et quelques Chevaliers gambettes et guignettes (Common Redshank & Common Sandpiper).

• Laridés

Mouette de Sabine (Sabine’s Gull): un avant-coureur passe le 30/7 déjà, constituant peut-être bien la premiere observation de juillet pour le site. Passage plus ou moins régulier bien qu’en effectifs très faibles – comme il se doit en août et septembre – du 11 au 22/8 lors d’une période de vents favorables, puis sept le 1/9 et en tout 31 en 2h45 de suivi les 17-18/9. Encore cinq le 24/9 puis plus rien depuis! On attendra donc le gros passage de la deuxième moitie d’octobre pour cette espèce. Peu d’autres laridés pour le moment, mais tout de même à signaler un Goéland leucophée adulte (ou presque) le 23/8.

• Sternes & Guifettes

Sterne naine (Little Tern): 129 individus pour le moment, soit le même ordre de grandeur que l’an dernier à la même periode (idem pour la Sterne caspienne (Caspian Tern), avec 27 oiseaux au compteur).

Guifette noire (Black Tern): avec 4402 oiseaux, c’est pour l’instant la deuxième espèce la plus nombreuse: pas mal d’oiseaux vers la mi-août, puis petit max. horaire de 460 le 18/9. Au moins une Guifette leucoptère (White-winged Tern) est identifiée le 11/8.

Une Sterne bridée (Bridled Tern) est vue en vol vers le NE le 9/8, suivi d’un individu vers le SW deux jours plus tard, et deux oiseaux (adulte et juv.) sur place le 22/8 – probablement des oiseaux ayant niche aux iles de la Madeleine ou au moins 3-4 couples ont été vus en juillet dernier. Plus surprenante, une jeune Sterne fuligineuse (Sooty Tern) passe vers le SW le matin du 17/9, ma première obs de l’espèce ici et en fait première obs tout court – coche √ 🙂

 

Sterne bridée / Bridled Tern (Iles de la Madeleine, June 2017)

Sterne de Dougall (Roseate Tern): avec 133 Dougall dénombrés, on dépasse déjà d’un tiers l’effectif total de l’an dernier, avec un maximum de 41 oiseaux en 2h de suivi le 17/9. Toujours sympa de voir cette belle espèce, dont le statut de conservation en Europe est plutôt précaire avec des effectifs ne dépassant pas les 1900 couples au début des années 2000, essentiellement aux Açores et en Irlande.

Sternes pierregarin et Sterne arctique (Common & Arctic Terns): 8760 ind., en flot plus ou moins continu depuis le démarrage du suivi. La Sterne arctique était visiblement l’espèce dominante en août et début septembre, mais actuellement la tendance est en train de s’inverser, et la Pierregarin devrait logiquement être la plus commune courant octobre et novembre.

Sterne voyageuse (Lesser Crested Tern): au moins 187, généralement en groupes de 2-3 oiseaux suivant les Sternes caugeks, rarement plus d’une dizaine par heure.

Sterne caugek (Sandwich Tern): Troisième espèce la plus nombreuse, avec 2429 migrateurs pour le moment, dont 2000 passent dans la 2e moitié de septembre.

Sterne royale africaine (African Royal Tern): déjà 897 oiseaux, soit un peu plus du double de l’an dernier. Environ 45% de cet effectif défile pendant la dernière décade d’août, avec des maxima de 136/heure le 25.

• Labbes

Labbe à longue queue (Long-tailed Skua): au moins 478 individus! Le passage débute soudainement le 10/8 – jour d’observation des premiers labbes – avec au moins neuf en 1h30, suivis le lendemain par un bel effectif de 70 oiseaux en 2h40 de suivi et quasiment tous les jours par quelques-uns ou quelques dizaines de migrateurs jusqu’au 22/8. Ensuite rien pendant quatre jours, puis reprise modeste tout à la fin du mois pour culminer le 2/9 avec un effectif impressionant de 217 individus en 1h15 de suivi. Sauf erreur c’est un nouveau record journalier pour le Sénégal, établi en à peine une heure d’observation: combien sont passés en tout ce jour-la? Sans doute plus d’un millier… Cette espèce est bien connue pour ses fluctuations d’effectifs d’année en année: sur les sites de nidification en fonction de l’abondance de nourriture, et visiblement sur les sites d’observation côtiers comme Ngor en fonction des vents pouvant pousser les migrateurs plus près des rivages. En 2017, je n’avais eu que 126 individus; même en prenant en compte l’absence de suivi à la mi-août et pendant plusieurs jours en septembre, il est clair que c’était une “petite” année à Labbes à longue queue, contrairement à 2018.

 

Labbe a longue queue / Long-tailed Skua (Ngor; P. Robinson)

 
Labbe parasite (Arctic Skua): 266 individus au compteur, auxquels il convient d’ajouter sans doute une bonne partie des 82 labbes “sp.”; Seuls six Labbes pomarins (Pomarine Skua) pour le moment, avec le premier certain le 30/8.

Labbe de McCormick (South Polar Skua): un oiseau typique passe assez près du bord le 20/9.

 

Pendant les trois mois qui restent pour cette saison 2018 j’aurai un peu moins de temps que l’an dernier pour suivre ce spectacle de la migration: avis aux amateurs qui souhaiteraient venir en renforts!

Puis il faudrait que je trouve le temps de vous parler de nos sorties récentes au lac Tanma, à la lagune de Yène, et le lac Rose… Mais avant toute chose, demain matin on a prévu une sortie en mer au large de Ngor! Compte-rendu et photos à suivre, si tout va bien.

Ngor spring migration: May 2018

 

Following on our April summary, here’s a brief update on results from last month’s short but regular seawatch sessions from Ngor, as usual all from the Club Calao terrace. Managed a total of 10 sessions between May 10th and May 26th, with more good stuff to report on, including a lifer!

Again, no pictures other than a few old ones that I’m recycling here… and yet again a pretty dull species list.

 

Wilson’s Storm-Petrel (Océanite de Wilson): unidentified storm-petrels were regularly seen in small numbers, and most likely referred to this species.

Cape Verde Shearwater (Puffin du Cap-Vert) were seen in good numbers on most days, feeding off Ngor or flying NE, with a max. of at least 540 birds in one hour on 26th. Not as many as last year when the maximum counted on a single day exceeded 5,000 birds (!), but the pattern of appearance and behaviour of birds is very much in line with the previous season.

Cape Verde Shearwater / Puffin du Cap-Vert, off Ngor, April 2018

 

Cory’s / Scopoli’s Shearwater (Puffin cendré / de Scopoli): at least three on 26th when there was a remarkable diversity of shearwaters, with five species noted. Probably also a few on 11th, 14th and 15th but too far or seen too briefly to positively identify.

Two to five Great Shearwater (Puffin majeur) seen flying NE amidst the other shearwaters on 26th – remarkably similar to last year’s record of two birds on May 25th, noted as “apparently migrating north” and thought to be the first May record – see the short paper we published in the latest volume of Malimbus on a “wreckage” of Great Shearwater in the the occurrence in Senegal & Gambia (Barlow et al. 2018), PDF available here on my ResearchGate page.

Great Shearwater / Puffin majeur, off Kayar, Nov. 2017

 

Sooty Shearwater (Puffin fuligineux): a few seen on 18th, 21st and 26th, with at least 12 birds on the latter date: these records suggest that this Southern Hemisphere breeder is slightly more numerous later in spring.

Boyd’s / Barolo Shearwater (Puffin de Boyd / Macaronésie): one on 21st seen at fairly close range was identified as  Barolo Shearwater – for once it was close enough and I was able to follow it over quite a distance. Probably a bird en route to its breeding grounds. Another one, also flying north-east, was either baroli or boydi. The taxonomic situation of these small black and white shearwaters is complex and seems to be constantly changing. with BirdLife and HBW now treating both taxa as subspecies of Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri). Either way, these are apparently quite rare spring records, though Dupuy (1984) lists what was then known as “Little Shearwater” as an uncommon offshore “summer” visitor. Boyd’s Shearwater breeds exclusively on the Cape Verde islands (only about 5,000 pairs!), while Barolo’s breeds further north on the Macaronesian islands where it is known from Madeira, the Azores, the Selvagems, and the Canary Islands, with a total breeding population of the same order of magnitude.

Northern Gannet (Fou de Bassan): seen in small numbers on most days; all but one were immature birds (and one on 15th may actually have been a Cape Gannet, but I couldn’t rule out a 4th year Northern Gannet as I didn’t see the underwing pattern…).

Red-footed Booby (Fou à pieds rouges): a species I’d never seen before but somehow expected to show up one day at Ngor, two were seen feeding in the surf just beyond the Ngor islet on 17th, nicely showing their pink (not red!) feet, bluish bill and uniform brown plumage. One was seen again the following day and what I assume are the same two birds (both dark morph adults or near-adults) on 22nd, when they appeared to take off from the islet where they may have spent the night. Third record for Senegal! More on this species, which will likely show up more frequently in coming years, in this recent post.

Red-footed Booby / Fou à pieds rouges off Kayar, Oct. 2016 (B. van Gemerden)

 

Brown Booby (Fou brun): just one record so far, of an immature (2nd c.y.) on 14th. Looks like the Iles de la Madeleine birds – if they are indeed still present – don’t wander around the peninsula too much.

A few Great While Pelicans were regularly seen, flying about or resting out at sea (and once on the islet), and on 26th a Pink-backed Pelican made an appearance (Pélicans blancs et gris).

Other than an Oystercatcher on 20th and three Whimbrels on 11th (and a few Common Sandpipers), no more waders were seen during May (Huîtrier pie, Courlis corlieu, Chevalier guignette).

Long-tailed Skua (Labbe à longue queue): following several records in the latter half of April, at least three were identified on 11th, one on 18th, and one on 26th – confirming that spring migration of this species occurs up to the end of May off Senegal. Pomarine and Arctic Skuas were much scarcer than in April, with just three records for the former and five for the latter species.

Long-tailed Skua / Labbe à longue queue imm. off Ngor, April 2017

 

Audouin’s Gull (Goéland d’Audouin): up to three birds seen in any one session, though no notable active migrants as was the case in April; all were immature birds.

Sabine’s Gull (Mouette de Sabine) were recorded up to May 22nd, with four records of 1-9 actively migrating birds. Other gull species included 10 Grey-headed Gulls flying NE on 20th, and three Slender-billed Gulls on 22nd. A single Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen on 22nd, when a probable Kelp Gull was also present.

Single Bridled Tern (Sterne bridée) were seen feeding and flying around quite close to shore on 11th and 15th, bringing the total to three birds so far this season.

Lesser Crested Tern (Sterne voyageuse): seen twice (17th & 20th), unlike African Royal Tern (Sterne royale) which remained present in decent numbers throughout. Caspian Tern (Sterne caspienne) was seen just once, on 22nd.

Roseate Tern (Sterne de Dougall): following a decent passage in April, just one seen on 17th, though others may have passed through further offshore amidst Common and Arctic Terns (Sternes pierragarin et arctique). These two species were seen almost daily, but again in much smaller numbers than in April.

Three Whiskered Terns (Guifette moustac) flew past on 11th, followed by two White-winged Terns (Guifette leucoptère) on 21st. Black Terns (Guifette noire) were less numerous than in April, except on May 11th when about 300 birds were counted.

Let’s see what June brings! Assuming that I manage to make it out to the Calao…

 

Ngor spring migration: April 2018

Quick update on this past month’s seawatch sessions from Ngor, as there have been a few good species lately. As usual, most of these are from short sessions at the Calao, with a few from Pointe des Almadies and from a mini-pelagic on April 22nd. Here’s a rather dull species list, but given that still fairy little is known about the phenology of spring seabird migration off Dakar, I thought it would be worthwhile reviewing them here. I don’t really have any recent pictures to illustrate these records, except for a really poor header picture of a Sabine’s Gull actively migrating past the Pointe, and a few older pics that I’m recycling in this blog post.

So here we go:

Cape Verde Shearwater (Puffin du Cap-Vert): the first few birds were seen on 3.3 (min. 2), then ca. 20 on 16-17.3, and a regular presence was noted throughout April when seen during most sessions from 4th, typically 50-100 birds feeding offshore, at most ca. 490 birds on 27th (but just a handful the next day and none seen on 29th!).

Scopoli’s Shearwater (Puffin de Scopoli): at least one during our boat trip on 22.4, with Cory’s or Scopoli’s noted from Ngor on 28th (as well as on March 3rd & 11th).

Sooty Shearwater (Puffin fuligineux): first seen on 16.3, then again singles on 31/3 and 7/4, and at least three birds on 20th. Not much… and note that we didn’t see a single bird  during our boat trip.

European Storm-Petrel (Océanite tempête): after a good presence during the first half of February, the species was seen again on 22.4 from the boat, with a minimum of two birds.

Wilson’s Storm-Petrel (Océanite de Wilson): at least six were seen on 22.4, again during our boat trip. Unidentified storm-petrels migrating past the Calao on 7th (min. 8), 11th (3), 20th (3) and 29th (1) were likely this species, though others can’t be ruled out – when seen from land, these birds can be incredibly difficult to identify due to either the distance or the very brief sightings as they always fly low over the water surface and are typically seen only for a second or two before they disappear again in between waves.

Northern Gannet (Fou de Bassan): at most ca. 175 on 31.3, with numbers gradually decreasing throughout April. Curiously, no marked NE-ward passage was noted.

Northern Gannet / Fou de Bassan, Ngor, April 2017

 

Grey (Red) Phalarope (Phalarope à bec large): four migrating on 29th was a good spring record! Other than these, the only waders seen during this period were a few groups of Whimbrel (Courlis corlieu).

Long-tailed Skua (Labbe à longue queue) single adults passing through on 20, 21 & 25.4, two on 26th, and an immature flew past on 29th. Pomarine and Arctic Skuas were seen in small numbers on most days, many of which were flying NE (though rarely more than five in any one session).

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Goéland brun): usually present in small numbers, either feeding in the surf or migrating past Ngor. There was obviously a peak around mid-March, with 107 passing through in just 40 minutes on 16.3, and 52 in half an hour the next day.

Audouin’s Gull (Goéland d’Audouin): typically between one and five birds seen on any one session, but on 16.3 there were 27 (incl. three adults) migrating past in 40 minutes and 14 the following day (in 30 minutes) – thus coinciding with the peak of the previous species.

Sabine’s Gull (Mouette de Sabine): after the first five on 4.4, becomes increasingly frequent towards the end of the month, with a max. of ca. 40 during our 22.4 boat trip, and 31 on 27th in just one hour. Actual numbers must be quite a bit higher as this species mostly passes through far out, typically in small groups. Sometimes a few birds would migrate closer to shore, and occasionally some would be feeding or resting just in front of the Calao. Other gull species included a surprising flock of 31 Grey-headed Gulls flying NE on 27th, and six Slender-billeds at Pointe des Almadies the following day.

Bridled Tern (Sterne bridée): one passing to the NE at fairly short range on 26.4 was a very nice surprise, as I’d only seen the species once before here (and more generally, away from the Iles de la Madeleine breeding grounds). It also appears to be an early date for the species, as it is typically seen in May-July. My only previous Ngor record was of three birds flying SW on 10 June ’16. Sauvage & Rodwell give the range of 27/4 – 9/7 for PNIM, and A. R. Dupuy recorded the species no less than eleven times from Pointe des Almadies from 26 May to 14 July ’92.

Bridled Tern / Sterne bridee, Iles de la Madeleine, June 2017

 

Lesser Crested Tern (Sterne voyageuse): seen in small numbers throughout the month, with a good max. of at least 178 birds passing through on 9th, in just 65 minutes. African Royal Tern (Sterne royale) was seen on most days, typically in small numbers. Much less frequent were Caspian Tern (Sterne caspienne; singles on 31.3 and 28.4) and Little Tern (Sterne naine; one on 6.4, and a group of 16 migrating on 29th).

Roseate Tern (Sterne de Dougall): first seen on 31.3, then regular until the middle of the month with a max. of no less than 56 on 9th in just over an hour. Also singles on 26th and 28th. Most birds were actively migrating, with a few feeding locally with the mixed tern flock.

Arctic Tern (Sterne arctique): the first four birds were seen on 16.3, becoming regular from the end of March and seen on most sessions in April, max. ca. 70 on 24th though numbers probably higher as 1) species difficult to count, and many common/Arctic terns noted.

White-winged Tern (Guifette leucoptère): one flew past on 16.3, and a fine adult in summer plumage was feeding among the numerous Black Terns on 28.4 (Guifette noire). The latter species is seen pretty much during every session, with a maximum towards the end of the month: probably more well over 1,200 birds on 28th. An adult Whiskered Tern (Guifette moustac) was seen on 22nd, flying NE.

That’s about it for now.

On the raptors front, Osprey has been a regular sighting, as always during winter, until 31.3 at Ngor, after which one was seen on 13.4 at Mamelles and on 14.4 at PNIM. A few young birds may still hang around of course. The wintering pair of Peregrines was last seen on 20.4 roosting on the Diarama hotel, and two birds were seen roosting in the Mamelles cliff on 22.4 – pretty intriguing!