Offshore surprises: new at-sea bird records for Suriname (2013–2015)

Abstract

Bird observations were collected from various types of survey vessels in Suriname's territorial waters between 2013 and 2015. Dedicated, effort-related surveys were carried out from geophysical seismic survey vessels within an area located 80-110 km offshore (in 2013) and 165-290 km (in 2015). Opportunistic observations were recorded during fisheries surveys on a shrimp trawler operating along the 30 m depth contour, approximately 40-60 km offshore (in 2014). In total, 10 bird (sub-)species were observed during these surveys that previously were not recorded for Suriname, including Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus, Ruff Calidris pugnax, South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki, Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus, Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis (ssp. acuflavidus), Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus, Black Noddy Anous minutus, Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea and Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia. In addition, Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were photographed for the first time in Suriname. A Sooty Shearwater Ardenna grisea was recorded just outside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and therefore does not count as a new country record. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the avifauna frequenting the waters off Suriname, which historically has been poorly studied. Most of the species reported here are migratory. The timing of our sightings therefore also helps in a better understanding of their at-sea distribution and migration patterns.

New sightings records of marine mammals and seabirds off French Guiana

“…Shearwaters were widely observed during the survey. These species are known to be abundant in Suriname waters between May and July (De Boer, 2014) with a peak in June (Willems et al, 2017). Our results confirm their frequent occurrence in French Guiana waters during autumn.…”

“…Non-breeders disperse to the western Atlantic during the summer and autumn (Haney & McGillivary, 1985;Gonzalez-Solis et al, 2007;Dias et al, 2011). This long-distant migrant can winter on the southwest Atlantic coast, as reflected in our study and others (De Boer, 2014;Willems et al, 2017).…”

“…Skuas and jaegers were also present during our survey, whereas previous studies in Suriname suggest a peak in May (Willems et al, 2017). All skuas and jaegers breed at moderate to high latitudes and disperse after breeding via transequatorial migrations down to South American waters, both in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Furness, 1987).…”

“…Few Frigatebirds demonstrated a foraging behavior in this study. The sooty tern is known as a dominant species in the seabird community in the area (De Boer, 2014;Willems et al, 2017), especially during autumn and offshore (Artigas et al, 2003;Mannocci et al, 2013), but few sooty terns were observed during our survey. In contrast, Mannocci et al (2013) forecasted a low abundance of frigatebirds offshore in autumn and a high abundance only around the Grand Connétable Islands, whereas we recorded many frigatebirds on the slope during the survey.…”

“…While most of the existing literature on seabirds relates to breeding birds (Weimerskirch et al, 2003(Weimerskirch et al, , 2006Martinet & Blanchard, 2009;Sebastiano et al, 2017), there have been few studies on individuals at sea (Mannocci et al, 2013). Some recordings come from observations during seismic surveys in Guiana and adjacent waters, but few data are published (De Boer et al, 2014;Willems et al, 2017).…”