Pterodroma macroptera/arminjoniana

Ubicación de los registros.

1. El 29.8.2020 en estaca de Bares, Mañón, A Coruña, Rinse Van De Vliet, Guillermo Rodríguez, Ricardo Hevia Barcón, Daniel López Velasco, Antonio Martínez Pernas, Xurxo Piñeiro Álvarez, Miguel Rodríguez Esteban, Iker Fernández, José Alberto Fernández Ugarte, Pep Manchado, Paco Cabrera, Martín Rey Pellitero, Rob Berkelder, Antonio Sandoval Rey y Alfonso Valderas, observan un individuo en paso al W. Registro homologado como macroptera/arminjoniana en el informe del comité de rarezas SEO/Birdlife de febrero 2021,6.

 

Se reproduce el comentario del comité de rarezas SEO/Birdlife sobre este individuo:

 

- Por la enorme relevancia de este registro (hasta la fecha no existen citas previas en el Paleártico Occidental y tampoco en el Atlántico Norte) el Comité y las fuentes externas consultadas consideran imprescindible la existencia de documentación gráfica para su homologación como P. macroptera. Las condiciones en que se produjo este avistamiento no fueron óptimas (> 1 km de distancia al ave y 4 minutos de observación desde tierra), lo cual unido al potencial parecido de esta especie con el petrel de Trindade (Pterodroma arminjoniana) hacen muy difícil aseverar la identificación a favor de P. macroptera. No obstante, esta cita se produjo en el contexto de un año excepcional para el avistamiento de aves marinas raras en Europa, con especies como albatros clororrinco (Thalassarche chlororhynchos) o pardelas gorgiblanca (Procellaria aequinoctialis), paticlara (Ardenna carneipes) o de Tasmania (Ardenna tenuirostris). Asimismo, el elevado número de observadores presentes, varios de ellos muy familiarizados con las especies de petreles del Atlántico Sur, indican que muy probablemente el ejemplar avistado correspondiera con la especie propuesta.

 

Se reproduce parte del artículo publicado  en Birdguides por Daniel López Velasco, Antonio Sandoval Rey, Ricardo Hevia Barcón, Guillermo Rodríguez Lázaro y Rinse Van der Vliet:

 "The petrel was first found and called out by Rinse van der Vliet on 29 August, who knew, as soon as he saw it, that he had something mega in front of him. Size, structure, flight style and plumage details of this dark petrel, seen well by multiple experienced observers, from a fair distance and in good light, seem to be consistent only with Great-winged Petrel.Key features seen that helped us rule Trindade out included:

*An all-dark underwing – seemingly with no traces of white or silver anywhere, which should always be present on Trindade and should have been visible in good light conditions;
*Rather stocky-built, robust bird, not as rakish or lightly built as in Trindade, and being the same size as nearby Sooty Shearwaters;
*Flight style was different to Trindade, and perfectly matched Great-winged Petrels in a video taken by Bob Flood off Tristan da Cunha in April 2018 (see here).
Given the occurrence of a White-chinned Petrel in Scotland this spring (see here) and further possibles in Shetland and Norfolk in recent weeks, this species was also considered (both in the field and subsequently). However, we feel that White-chinned, which we are very experienced with, can safely be ruled out on the basis of size and structure (it's a much bigger species and the Estaca bird showed no obvious pale bill and lacked silver on the underside of the primaries).
Separating extralimital Grey-faced Petrel, from New Zealand, under these circumstances is admittedly impossible. However, Grey-faced is restricted to New Zealand waters, and we don't think it's a realistic or reasonable option to even include it as a possibility, the same way Campbell Albatross is not considered when dealing with Black-browed Albatross sightings in Europe.
We are well aware of the rarity of this sighting – a first for the WP – and that without photos, some might either not believe it or might feel it's not safe to identify it as such. However, most of us seawatching on the headland over the weekend have plenty of experience with all Atlantic and Southern Ocean tubenoses, including Great-winged Petrel. We feel the identification is certain, as all features were properly seen. Given it was observed by numerous very experienced birders, we think it's worth submitting the record for assessment, and a description has already been submitted to the Spanish rarities commitee for review.
The bird may ultimately only be accepted as a 'dark petrel sp', which is understandable in the circumstances, despite all those present being convinced of the identification. Interestingly, Great-winged Petrel is featured in Flood and Fisher's North Atlantic Seabirds: Pterodroma petrels as a species to watch out for in the region.
​With both Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross and White-chinned Petrel having been seen this summer in Europe, as well as records of Flesh-footed Shearwater in the Azores (see here) and Short-tailed Shearwaters in Ireland and France (see here and here), this was possibly the year to see it."

 

Citación recomendada: Gutiérrez, A. (2023).  Pterodroma macroptera/ arminjoniana en Galicia. Compilación de citas en el blog: avesrarasyescasasengalicia.blogpot.com

 

Fuentes

 

 

BIRDERSCOVE (Grupo de Whatsapp).

 

BIRDERSCOVE (Web). https://www.birderscove.com

 

eBird (Web). https://www.ebird.org

 

Informes del comité de rarezas publicados en Ardeola y posteriores.