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had lots of storm petrels come in, or receieved calls
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Helene,
Great summary, just one correction. =20
They do feed during the day, I see them doing it all the time in the =
summer (both Wilson's and Leach's), however, they only come ashore and =
leave their nesting sites after dark. Feeding forays can cover hundreds =
of miles. Leach's petrels nesting on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy =
travel as far as George's Bank on a feeding trip before returning to =
their chicks, which can take a couple of days or more. Nesting is =
staggered with some chicks only now leaving the nests while others have =
been fledged since early September. Leach's nest on many islands in the =
Maritimes but are often not seen because of their nocturnal activities. =
I have a theory that some of the ghost stories on islands where Leach's =
nest have their originals from the petrels' nocturnal comings and =
goings.
We have a graduate student beginning a project next summer looking at =
Leach's storm petrel's diet and contaminant levels in the food they =
provision their chicks.
Laurie Murison
Grand Manan, NB.
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Helene Van Doninck=20
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 3:52 PM
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] wilson's storm petrel -long..sorry :)
HI all,=20
Been planning to write about petrels in response to this question but =
havent had time to get on. If you arent interested in the minutae of =
petrel rehabilitation, stop reading now :)
I have had lots of storm petrels come in, or receieved calls about =
them, typically after high winds. As most of you know they are pelagic =
seabirds and are not normally seen on the mainland. They have a unique =
nocturnal feeding behaviour where they literally skip along the surface =
of the ocean skimming bits of zooplankton etc.=20
When they ar grounded on land, its like they literally have no idea =
what to do. You can toss them in the air 100 times and they will just =
flutter to the ground. However, take them to a beach or wharf or =
cliff..and toss them and they will rapidly fly away ( unless they have =
some other problem). When I get them in, i check them to be sure there =
are no injuries and they arent thin ( they are usually fine). Then the =
next dusk that comes, I drive them to Pictou and release them over open =
water and they fly off like a bat out of hell. Nice releases. I try to =
release them where I can intervene if necessary. I have had a couple who =
did not fly so I went in after them with a dip net and boots...kinda =
hard to do off of a cliff :(
Because of their feeding behaviour they do NOT recognize anything you =
might offer them as food, so if they are kept for an extended period =
they will rapidly get thin. I once had one for a week ( landed after =
hurricane Juan and I had no electricity for 5 of those days ) with a leg =
injury..so I had to feed it with a stomach tube, no mean feat on such =
a tiny bird. It was successfully released.=20
Some petrel trivia
- must be released at dusk or gulls WILL eat them. I once took my =
boyfriend ( now my husband) on what I thought would be a cool release. =
Tossed the bird in the air over Middle Cove in NL, it flew beautifully. =
As we watched with binoculars, a great black backed gull swooped down =
and swallowed him without breaking his flight pattern..ugh. I should =
have listened to the locals!
- they smell like oil. Must be what they eat but they have a distinct =
petroluem/fishy kind of smell
- they should be released ASAP, or they will get weak and thin
- again..they wont eat anything you offer them, no matter how good you =
think it looks
- being a pelagic seabird, they and all birds who spend the majority =
of their time on the water should be handled wearing gloves. Even oils =
from your hands can mess with their delicate waterproofing. Also, their =
bedding should be changed frequently, oils from their feces can also =
harm the waterproofing on their feathers.
- do not try to swim them in your tub/sink/basin etc...especially if =
you have hard water..again...hard on the feathers.
- consider yourself lucky if you see one, not many people do and they =
are beautiful delicate little birds.
Sorry for the ramble, can you tell I like them?
If anyone finds one and needs advice, call me at 893-0253. The email I =
have in my signature can be unreliable but I check birdvet@hotmail.com =
several times per day.
Thanks
Helene
Helene Van Doninck DVM=20
Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre=20
RR#1 Brookfield Nova Scotia Canada B0N1C0=20
hvandoninck@eastlink.ca=20
www.cwrc.net=20
http://cwrcblog.blogspot.com/=20
1-902-893-0253=20
-----Original Message-----
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca =
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]On Behalf Of Kathleen MacAulay
Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2009 5:36 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] wilson's storm petrel
I don't have much experience with petrels, but I was speaking with =
Helene van Doninck moments ago about this, and she informed me that =
petrels will not fly unless they are tossed over water, and must be =
released at night to avoid being predated by gulls.
However, grounded birds often have problems, emaciation/starvation =
being one of them. If your friend is not sure the bird is healthy, he =
should not release it.
Helene also tells me that petrels will not eat on their own in =
captivity.
In addition, if a bird is weak from starvation, extremely careful =
refeeding and special diets are necessary, because in the last stages of =
starvation the energy it takes to digest food can actually drain the =
animal past the point of no return and cause it to perish.
I suggest that the friend get in touch with Helene at the Cobequid =
Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre for advice, and hopefully transportation =
can be arranged to get it to her.=20
Helene says she will try and e-mail the list tonight with a more =
comprehensive and expert reply than mine. :)
Helene can be reached by phone at at (902) 893-0253 or by e-mail at =
hvandoninck@eastlink.ca.
Kathleen MacAulay
Milford Station
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---
From: "bdigout@seaside.ns.ca" <bdigout@seaside.ns.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Sent: Thu, October 29, 2009 4:15:51 PM
Subject: [NatureNS] wilson's storm petrel
I'm looking for some advice to pass on. A man in the =
neighbourhood
picked up a petrel near his workplace in Point Tupper. He threw =
it up
into the air, but it only flew a feet feet and then fluttered to the
ground. He took it to me for identification. What should he do =
with
it? What will it eat? He is willing to feed it back to hea