Finders-in-the-field: Barolo Shearwater, South Uist. September 2018
I started my usual watch from Rubha Ardvule, South Uist at 06:40 on Sunday 16th September, a f7-8 westerly was blowing and there were a few showers. I’m able to get my beat-up old 4x4 out onto the headland so am well protected from the elements. A steady passage of commoner seabirds was in progress and at 07:39 I noticed a bird approaching from the north low down over the waves and at about 800 yds range. Getting my scope into action I soon located it but then suddenly time stood still and I felt like I was in a trance. What was I watching I couldn’t even pin it to a family with these head-on views? It was the flight that struck me, a short spell of fluttering wings followed by a glide and this sequence continually repeated as it progressed southwards, never rising up to any significant height. Eventually, as shape and some plumage features became apparent I realised I had to be looking at a Little Shearwater and felt I must try for some images as it passed but still at 3-400 yds range. The results were not great due to awful light and the range involved but hopefully show some plumage detail.
A few useful features included smaller size and shorter, less pointed wings than Manx which were regularly passing with their more powerful and swinging flight, frequently towering up above the sea. The Barolo almost feeble in comparison. The white of the throat extending higher up onto the face so that the eye was visible, not something that can be seen on Manx in similar conditions. The white also seemed to extend in a diffuse greyish manner further up the sides of the neck reducing the size of the black cap. The small, thin bill was also noticeable. The underwing was white but with obvious blackish primaries and secondaries. Years ago more extensive white on the underwing coverts extending out more towards the wing-tip was regarded as a field mark, this was not the case here. It appears that birds from the Azores have more extensive black (Birding World No.229 Vol. 19 No.1 p.19 – 20). I did not note the upperwing detail apart from it being black, or maybe I should say blackish as I felt that it had a hint of brown somewhere, this shown on some images.
The flight of this species which of course I have read about for decades, was in fact much better and obvious than I ever dreamt it could be.
And then it was all over, probably in view for barely a minute and I sat back exhausted. Elation? Not initially, in fact my thoughts were ‘Oh,no – Little Shearwater and single observer sighting’. And we all know what we think about them!
John Kemp
19 September 2018
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