Seabirds found dead on New Zealand beaches in 1988, and a review of Puffinus species recoveries, 1943 to 1988 | Notornis and Birds New Zealand

摘要

In 1988, 3603 kilometres of the coast of New Zealand were patrolled and 7545 dead seabirds were found as part of the Beach Patrol Scheme. Two new species were the Tahiti Petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata) and the Masked Booby (Sula serrator dactylatra). Unusual finds were a Black-bellied Storm Petrel (Fregetta tropica) and a White Tern (Gygis alba). A summary is given of the coastal and monthly distributions for 10 species of Puffinus found between 1943 and 1988. Of these shearwaters, the Sooty Shearwater (P. griseus) was found most frequently overall, mainly in May and November-December. This review of beach-wrecked shearwaters indicates that the information derived from the Beach Patrol Scheme for common seabird species relates reasonably well to the movements of these species about New Zealand coasts.