North Atlantic Status
In 1983, a bird was trapped on the Selvagens, Madeira on the 8th July and was confirmed to be the first record for the Atlantic Ocean. Since then a number of storm-petrels exhibiting plumage and structural characteristics have been recorded at sea, principally in the North Atlantic, while birds were trapped during the summer months in France (1989), England (1989, 1990 ), Spain (1994), Norway (1996, 1997), and again Madeira (1991, 1994). Other than the east North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea a number of other individuals have been identified in the western North Atlantic. One was photographed off Hatteras, North Carolina, on August 8, 1998, but this record was not accepted by the American Birding Association or the American Ornithologists' Union as at-sea records are not usually entirely reliable due to identification difficulties (AOU 2000). A second Hatteras record on the June 2, 2008, which was accompanied by excellent photos, is far more robust and would, pending acceptance, represent the first North American record of this species.
The records suggest that a small breeding population may have become established in the North Atlantic but as yet there has been no definitive proof.
Read more about this topic: Swinhoe's Storm Petrel
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