Hi all --

OK, for all us sea-birders who hope to see just one White-faced Storm Petrel
in Maryland waters, the August "Extreme Pelagic" of the Brookline (Mass.)
Bird Club over last weekend tallied TWENTY-TWO of the little guys! That's
right, 22! This was SE of Cape Cod in or near the Hydrographer Canyon (at
about 40 degrees 10 minutes N), just along the shelf break (200 m depth) and
on the cool side of a strong sea-surface temperature front. As you recall
last week that area was in the throes of a strong NE storm which may have
affected seabird distributions favorably.

If you go to this site:

 http://warblings.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/extreme-pelagic/
 
you can enjoy Ben Van Doren's blog (with photos) this amazing journey.

Also, Steve Mirick has posted charts of where the various rarities were seen
-- go to Jack Siler's Regional Report page and click on "Massachusetts" and
scroll down to Steve's Aug. 31 post.

Sorry this is a Maryland report but with the active Atlantic weather out
there and the general proximity of these birds to the mid-Atlantic who knows
what is out there now!

Gail Mackiernan
Colesville, MD