Sooty shearwater

Description

Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is the most common Procellariiform seabird along the south-eastern South American coast.In recent years the wintering population off California has declined noticeably.This decline has been confirmed on the breeding grounds in New Zealand.In Chile,knowledge of the population is limited.Investigations on Isla Guafo were carried out during two seasons (03/04 and 04/05),beginning an ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the breeding population of this species in southern South America.On Isla Guafo we estimate a population of about 4 million birds that nest above 150 m above sea level (m.a.s.l.) under a forest without understory.Sooty Shearwaters on Isla Guafo prefer north and western slopes that we hypothesise protect them from the predominantly southerly winds.Population of the species from New Zealand and Australia are compared with the Isla Guafo population and the state of its conservation is discussed.