Razorbills off the eastern US

[Angus Wilson]

As many readers already know, Razorbills staged a spectacular and unprecedented southward movement this year, with thousands moving far south of their normal range reaching the Atlantic waters of Florida and even rounding into the Gulf of Mexico. 

A lot of us have been wondering what would become of these birds and what impact there might be on the population. It seems that many birds survived their subtropical adventure and are now making the return trip. 

Up in New York and adjacent states (RI, MA) we are currently seeing strong uptick in numbers. Normally Razorbill sightings wind down in late March and early April.  Here are some recent high numbers, those on 12 April were associated with a storm that might have forced many birds into the shelter of Long Island Sound. Are these birds that ended up well south of us?

08 Apr, 69 in 2.5 h, Gooseberry Neck, MA (Marshall Iliff)

12 Apr, 143 in 1.5 h, Montauk Point, NY (Peter Polshek) 

12 Apr, 353 in 0.5 h, Point Judith, RI (Tom Auer)

13 Apr, 67 1.5 h, passing E past East Hampton, NY (Angus Wilson)

It will be interesting to see if this 'wave' of high counts continues to ripple northward, although stormy weather may be necessary to bring the birds close enough to shore to be noticed.

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Angus Wilson
New York City & The Springs, NY, USA
http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/

[Brian Patteson]

Angus,

I don't know how the birds that went to Florida fared, but we had thousands off the Outer Banks in February, so it could be some of those being seen up north now.  Over the course of the winter, I saw many Razorbills very close to shore from Cape Hatteras to Cape Henlopen and there were much smaller but unprecedented numbers in Pamlico Sound.  So I don't think stormy weather is necessary to bring them close to shore, but I suppose they might avoid nearshore waters more up there on account of water quality.  I have noticed this tendency in alcids with regard to their distribution around Chesapeake and Delaware Bays.  We also had a late incursion of really cold water late this winter and that probably accounted for longer lingering auks than usual.

Brian Patteson

Hatteras, NC

   

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