A rare encounter

As birdwatchers of all abilities will know, seeing a storm petrel is a rare event as these sparrow sized birds spend most of their lives out in the open seas.

Imagine the surprise of one AWEG (Audlem Wildlife & Ecology Group) member, and a keen birdwatcher, on a cruise recently when, crossing the Bay of Biscay on a stormy evening, he and his wife heard a plop next to them on the deck and there was a storm petrel at their feet.

Gingerly, the bird was picked up and released and off it flew, seemingly safe and sound.

Storm Petrels feed by dabbling the water to disturb their food. They only visit land, normally isolated islands, to breed and then only approach after dark, hence making them very difficult to see. They do, however, follow ships, hence this close encounter of a very special kind.

Your correspondent has only seen them once, when a small number of Storm Petrels were swept landwards at New Brighton on the Wirral by a north westerly storm just after the breeding season. I was accompanied by a very keen birdwatcher who had never seen one before in over thirty five years of trying to spot one.

It just puts into perspective how amazing an experience our local AWEG members had this Autumn on their cruise.

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