Kenai Birding Festival

Sooty Shearwater

Written by kenaibirding Saturday, 27 November 2010 16:05

A common bird off the coast of Alaska is the Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus).  Although found off the Alaska coast it is known only to breed in the Southern Hemisphere (durning the northern winter).  They nest in dense colonies on subtropical and sub-Antarctic islands and on the New Zealand mainland.  They come and go from their burrows strickly at night.  They leave for northern feeding grounds in May. Flocks of more than 200,000 birds have been observed.  The world population is estimated at 20 million.

On the Kenai Peninsula they can be seen from boats out of Seward and Homer and from shore at Anchor Point if strong winds are blowing from the southwest.