Hi all Whilst organising dates for this year’s Albany Pelagic weekend, the skipper of the boat we use asked about a bird he had following the boat on Wednesday. Description perfect for Spectacled Petrel (looked like a petrel, brown with white band around it’s face and neck). After seeing photos of Spectacled, the skipper is certain that is the bird he saw. He’s not a birder so obviously this shouldn’t be considered a confirmed record, but he does pay attention to the birds and Spectacled Petrel should be fairly distinctive at fairly close range (White-chinned with very extensive face markings I guess a possibility) Is there any interest in an impromptu pelagic this Sunday (if there is a boat available), or possibly the following weekend to see what else is out there? Any responses ASAP obviously 
Otherwise, I just present this for interest Cheers,John
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Hi Nik,
John Graff mentioned that they are unlikely to get Wedgies off Albany, although the photos show how closely abnormal white markings on brown birds can mimic the appearance of other species.
The petrel you reference below is another classic example. It shows how easy an abnormal bird can pull opinions in the wrong direction first up. However, such abnormalities are relatively rare, and therefore I think it’s only logical to think of the most likely fit when given a set of plumage descriptions.
Regards,
Allan
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Hi Allan,
Good point. I was only thinking Procellaria. Besides you leucistic Wedge-tailed Shearwater also be other leucistic brown petrels/shearwaters should be taken into consideration. E.g. Dion Hobcroft’s/Roger McGovern’s Great-winged (Gray-faced) Petrel: http://www.eremaea.com/BirdlineSpeciesArchive.aspx?Birdline=2&From=20081005&To=20081005&MonthStart=1&MonthEnd=12&Species=120&Taxonomy=1
Cheers,
Nikolas
Hi Guys,
we had a Wedge-tailed shearwater on one of our recent Port Stephens pelagics that had markings on the head that were a dead ringer for a spectacled petrel (Mick wasn’t present on that trip).
It duped a number of folk on board for a little while, so someone not familiar with the jizz of a wedgie could easily fall for it.
I can send through a photo or two off line if anyone is interested.
Regards,
Allan Richardson Morisset NSW
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I saw White-chinned Petrels with white around the face once off SW Victoria. And there were four similar birds together. So if South African type birds can occur in Victoria they surely can in WA. I couldn’t find my photos in my digital library so will take a long search of my slides to find them unfortunately.
Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136
Interesting comment from David James at the end of that thread too. Howell, in his ID articles on dark Procellarias, mentions that ‘Spectacled’ has a more obvious foot projection than White-chinned. He also provides some images showing white about the face on White-chinneds. Mick
________________________________ Sent: Friday, 1 February 2013 1:00 PM
Hi John,
Very exciting! However, a White-chinned Petrel with more white (as they occur in South Africa) needs to be ruled out. I guess, you don’t have information on the colour of the maxillary unguis? See here for Dan Mantle’s photos of White-chinned Petrels off Cape Town: http://www.sossa-international.org/forum/showthread.php?92-White-chinned-Petrels-off-Cape-Town
Cheers,
Nikolas
Hi John,
Very exciting! However, a White-chinned Petrel with more white (as they occur in South Africa) needs to be ruled out. I guess, you don’t have information on the colour of the maxillary unguis? See here for Dan Mantle’s photos of White-chinned Petrels off Cape Town: http://www.sossa-international.org/forum/showthread.php?92-White-chinned-Petrels-off-Cape-Town
Cheers,
Nikolas