Fea’s Petrel in the

Western Approaches
James S. Lees
ABSTRACT A Fea’s Petrel Pterodroma feae gave prolonged views to several
hundred birders from the MV Scillonian III on an annual pelagic trip in August
2001.This well-documented record was for a short time the first accepted
record of this species in Britain. However, a record preceding it by 35 days
was subsequently accepted as the first British record.The following article
describes the circumstances surrounding this exciting find and explains the
features which allowed the bird to be identified as a Fea’s Petrel.

uring the early hours of 12th August snack, and my spirits were further raised as I

D 2001, almost 300 birders, myself

included, boarded the MV Scillonian III
at Penzance, Cornwall, for its fourteenth annual
pelagic voyage into the Western Approaches. As
sea conditions looked promising, with a strong
southwesterly wind blowing, the trip seemed
certain to be a success. Little did we know that
we were in for an interesting ride, featuring sea-
sickness and disappointment, and culminating
in an extreme adrenalin rush.
Shortly after departing at 05.00 hrs, we
encountered our first European Storm-petrels
Hydrobates pelagicus, to be followed quickly by
deteriorating weather conditions. We had been
at sea for only a couple of hours when the wind
picked up considerably and brought with it
rain, thick mist, and an incredible swell. Waves
crashed over the boat, washing away the spirits
of the hopeful birders and several people started
mumbling about how they wished they had
never come aboard. The cold and damp mood
was definitely not helped by the many who had
begun to be seasick. The situation remained
dire until, some five hours into the voyage and
about 40 km from Scilly, the visibility gradually
began to improve and birds started to appear.
Things improved further as we stopped close to
two trawlers, which were accompanied by
approximately 200 European Storm-petrels and
an adult Sabine’s Gull Larus sabini. Although a
great morale booster, these birds were still not
the Wilson’s Storm-petrels Oceanites oceanicus
that we were hoping to see. By now, I was
feeling much better and enjoying a midday
spotted a Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis,
although many missed this bird as they were
either sleeping or still suffering from the after-
effects of the previously violent sea conditions.
Unfortunately, that short period of excitement
quickly vanished along with the shearwater, and
things remained quiet for some time. Many
birders were of the opinion that things were
never going to improve, and that we might as
well turn the Scillonian around and head back
to Penzance.
Just after midday, we arrived at the famous
‘Wilson’s Triangle’, an area of sea about 100 km
southwest of Scilly, at 49°08’N 06°54’W. By now,
the mist and rain had finally cleared, the sea was
a good deal calmer, and the sun had even begun
to poke through the clouds. Having reached our
destination, it was with fingers crossed that a
few brave men began throwing the evil-smelling
chum from the back of the boat in the hope of
attracting some of the sought-after seabirds. We
slowly circled around the chum slick and waited
patiently. Seemingly out of nowhere, birds
began to appear in order to investigate. Quickly,
large numbers of Northern Gannets Morus bas-
sanus and European Storm-petrels assembled,
circling and weaving around the boat and
among the waves; a welcome sight but there
were still no Wilson’s Storm-petrels to be seen.
Shortly after the second Great Shearwater of
the trip came in close, a lot of incomprehensible
shouting arose from the back of the boat. Steve
Rogers was clearly onto something exciting and
everyone was frantic to hear what he

© British Birds 99 • August 2006 • 401–403 401

 Fea’s Petrel in the Western Approaches

was saying, and to

see what he was
watching. People
behind him could
tell it was something
good, and assumed it
to be a Wilson’s
Storm-petrel.
During the ensuing
chaos we heard the
unforgettable
announcement over
the ship’s tannoy
Gary Bellingham

system: ‘“SOFT-
P L U M A G E D
PETREL” IN THE
WAKE!’
That was when
the adrenalin rush
really kicked in and
complete pandemo-
nium broke out.
People scrambled
frantically to try to
see this amazing bird
and pushed in to get
a good spot for a
clear view. As hun-
dreds of seabirds
were flying around,
Gary Bellingham

it was impossible to
pick out the petrel
quickly and for
many, myself
included, there was a
period of panic as we
thought we would
miss it completely.
Finally, I got onto
the bird just as it
sheared off and away
from the boat.
Although I was
greatly relieved to
have seen it, I was
also hugely disap-
pointed that it had
not been in view for
Gary Bellingham

very long. Even

though about only
half of the birders on
board had managed
200–202. Fea’s Petrel Pterodroma feae, at sea, c. 100 km southwest of Scilly, to see it, a huge cheer
August 2001. erupted around the

402 British Birds 99 • August 2006 • 401–403

 Fea’s Petrel in the Western Approaches

boat. We were determined to have another look, of the bird.

so the Scillonian turned and slowly steamed
towards the distant chum slick and the direc-
tion in which the bird had been heading when it
disappeared. Several minutes later, to the relief
of all on board, the petrel reappeared and flew
towards the bow and along the starboard side of
the ship. An eerie silence then befell the assem-
bled birders, as everyone soaked up this once-
in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a Fea’s Petrel
Pterodroma feae at close range in British waters.
In total, it spent about 80 minutes feeding close
to the boat, and everyone on board had fan-
tastic views as it flew between the waves to feed
on the chum.
The first thing that really struck me about
the petrel was its behaviour: the way it flew was
strange, and quite different from the flight
action used by any other species of seabird I
had seen. Initially, it would glide effortlessly
across the water and then suddenly and sharply
bank; it would then rise to quite a height and
almost turn back on itself before repeating the
entire sequence.
The bird was approximately the same size as
a Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus but was
structurally quite different. It was big-chested
with a thick neck and reasonably long, pointed
wings. Although there were only a few colours
apparent on the petrel, these were particularly
striking, making this a most distinctive bird.
The most obvious features were the dark wings
contrasting with whiter-than-white body parts.
The throat, breast, belly, flanks and undertail-
coverts were entirely white. Above this, a band
of grey extended over the neck, and a dark-grey
to black mask covered the eye, making the bird
resemble a bandit. The overall tone of the
upperwings was grey, becoming darker towards
the wing-tips, and the tail was a paler shade of
grey. The classic dark ‘M’ to the upper surface of
the wings was not always obvious and it was a
feature that depended on the light and the angle
James S. Lees
Reserve Warden, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BT
Luckily, the petrel came in quite close to the
boat on several occasions, and during these
passes, it was easy to see the thick, heavy bill, the
feature that clinched the identification as Fea’s
Petrel. On one occasion, I was fortunate to be
standing at the front of the boat when it came
in and landed quite near to the bow. The most
memorable thing about this experience was that
when the bird took off, running along the
surface of the water, its pink legs and feet were
clearly visible. During its prolonged stay, many
photographs were taken of the bird, and exami-
nation of these served to support the identifica-
tion as Fea’s Petrel. Ultimately, it was the quality
of these images that led to the acceptance of this
bird as Fea’s Petrel.
As we began the return journey to Penzance,
the Fea’s Petrel, along with a Sooty Shearwater
P. griseus and hundreds of European Storm-
petrels followed us for some distance. The
excitement of the afternoon’s find also carried
us home, and the dreary and frustrating start to
the day was forgotten completely. Even though
the pelagic started off badly, with poor weather
conditions dampening spirits, the day was con-
sidered a huge success.
After arriving home I thought I would never
have another chance to see such an amazing
seabird in Britain. Luckily for me, however, I
saw one only a year later, while working on
North Ronaldsay, Orkney. Again, it was the
same characteristic flight behaviour that was
noticeable, even at long range. In fact, watching
the North Ronaldsay bird from land was benefi-
cial in the sense that this behaviour of turning
back on itself was extremely obvious, probably
more so than from a boat. Nonetheless, I will
never forget my first Fea’s Petrel – the boat trip
out was unforgettable, the birders good
company, and the Fea’s Petrel memorable
beyond belief!

EDITORIAL COMMENT For a short time, this sighting represented the first accepted record for Britain,
since it was accepted by BOURC at a time when the July 2001 record (see pp. 000–000) was still under
consideration. A press release confirming its acceptance by BOURC was issued on 15th September
2005. As with the earlier record, the photographic documentation, in particular the superb pho-
tographs by Gary Bellingham, was crucially important to BBRC and BOURC members in deciding the
outcome of the record-assessment process.

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