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Avian fallout from Hurricane Irene

Whilst the human cost and devastation to infrastructure caused by hurricane Irene is still being counted along the eastern seaboard of the United States expat birder Angus Wilson describes the avian fallout in upstate New York.

Black-capped Petrel soars over the waves with a 'Hamptons mansion' in the background. With only a handful of prior records (all from hurricanes), this was a species I never thought I'd see from land in New York State. It is likely (but unproven) that the species is regular in the Gulf Stream some 100-150 miles offshore. Besides myself, only four others got to see the bird before darkness fell. Unfortunately, it was gone by daybreak, as were most of the storm-petrels, tropical terns and skuas. Photo by Angus Wilson.

Hurricane Irene swept up the Atlantic seaboard of the United States bringing significant wind damage and flooding to many of the most heavily populated states in the country. Late on Saturday 27th August the weakening hurricane/tropical storm edged into New York City and adjacent Long Island. At daybreak many areas birders were out searching for hurricane-associated birds but sadly most were kept away from ocean view points, coastal parks and other birding areas by the over-anxious authorities. Despite the limited access, it quickly became apparent that large numbers of seabirds more typical of the Gulf Stream and southern states had been carried north and dumped over land.

A Bridled Tern finds shelter from the wind in a sand trap on the very exclusive Maidstone Golf Course in East Hampton. Photo by Angus Wilson.

Many inlets, bays and coastal lakes hosted Bridled, Sooty, Royal and Sandwich Terns. Working my 'extended patch' on the eastern tip of Long Island, I observed (and photographed) 11 tern species plus Black Skimmer during the day. At least 4 South Polar Skuas and 2 White-tailed Tropicbirds were photographed (I had two soaring together over a coastal pond) and a third White-tailed Tropicbird was found exhausted at an inland site and taken into care. Birders in Manhattan (all public transport was shut down, trapping those without cars) did not miss out on the action, witnessing a parade of seabirds re-orientating down the Hudson River. The unprecedented list included an adult White-tailed Tropicbird, many tropical terns and several Leach's and Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Life or state ticks for many. Several Band-rumped (Maderian) Storm-Petrels were claimed and await ratification. Late in the evening as the back end of the 600-mile wide storm brought more bands of heavy rain and wind.

A tired Royal Tern waits for the storm to pass on the dock behind a restaurant on Fort Pond in the Village of Montauk. Like many of the Royal and Sandwich Terns observed during the day, this individual was ringed. Photo by Angus Wilson.

I visited Mecox Bay, a brackish lagoon that opens to the ocean during storms. A Cory's Shearwater made repeated attempts to leave the bay but each time turned back, perhaps daunted by the crashing waves of the ocean. Suddenly I noticed a Black-capped Petrel swing behind the shearwater and managed to snap one record shot before making mobile phone calls to other birds, four of whom were able to glimpse the Pterodroma before darkness set it. Almost as soon as it arrived, the storm was gone, sweeping up into New England leaving a trail of flooding and downed trees behind it. Soon the clear sky was glittering with stars and by day break on Monday (28 August) most of the pelagic species had vanished, leaving more coastal species such as Sandwich, Royal and Black Terns in abundance.

Angus Wilson
Aug 2011