Balearic Shearwater (LBRC)

Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus

Rare migrant. Mediterranean.

lbrc logo button

 
 
balearic shearwater
 

(Computer-generated image courtesy of Colin R Casey)*

 

Previously treated as a Mediterranean race of Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus, but in 1991, the two Mediterranean races – the western mauretanicus and the eastern yelkouan – were split from Manx as ‘Mediterranean Shearwater’. Then, in 2000, these two forms were also split from each other into Balearic Shearwater, P. mauretanicus, and Yelkouan Shearwater, P. yelkouan (BOU Records Committee 2001). 
Despite this taxonomic progression, mauretanicus was still a recognisable taxon in the field and the first county record was of a bird seen off Gibraltar Point in October 1963 - reported in the LNU Transactions (1964) as "..one showing characteristics of the W. Mediterranean race, the Balearic Shearwater, P. p. mauretanicus, 5/10". The reason for the lack of records during 2008-2015 is not known and it has remained a rare migrant in the county with 24 more records to 2020. The seasonal occurrence (see chart) broadly matches other shearwaters. Most occurred August 1st to November 10th with outliers in December 2002 and February 2020.

 

* if anyone has a photograph of Balearic Shearwater taken in Lincolnshire we will be pleased to receive a copy. 

 

 Site First date Last date Count Notes
 Gibraltar Point NNR 05/10/1963 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 01/08/1971 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 15/09/1976 - 1  
 Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR 28/07/1984 - 1  
 Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR 26/08/1984 - 1  
 Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR 09/09/1989 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 27/10/1989 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 09/09/1997 - 3  Flew north.
 Huttoft Bank 13/09/1998 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 10/11/1999 - 1  Flew north.
 Huttoft car terrace 09/09/2001 - 1  Flew south.
 Huttoft car terrace 06/10/2002 - 1  Flew north.
 Gibraltar Point NNR 07/12/2002 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 21/09/2004 - 1  Flew south.
 Chapel Point 17/09/2005 - 1  
 Chapel Point 18/09/2007 - 2  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 18/09/2007 - 1  Assumed different from those at Chapel Pt.
 Gibraltar Point NNR 22/09/2007 - 1  Flew south.
 Gibraltar Point NNR 26/09/2007 - 1  Flew north.
 Skegness 09/11/2010 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 15/09/2011 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 16/09/2011 - 1  
 Huttoft car terrace 01/10/2018 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point NNR 17/09/2019 - 1  
 Chapel Point 02/02/2020 - 1  Flew south close inshore.
 Wolla Bank 16/09/2023 - 1  
 Gibraltar Point 17/09/2023 - 2  Flew north.
 Gibraltar Point 27/09/2023 28/09/2023 1  Flew north, then back south on 28th.
 Sutton on Sea 23/09/2024   - 1   

 

Balearic Shearwaters are one of the world’s most endangered seabirds, with an estimated breeding population of 2,000-2,400 breeding pairs and 10,000 individuals in all (Wynn and Yésou 2007). They breed on islands and coastal cliffs in the Balearic Islands. It is a regular visitor in varying numbers to west European (Atlantic) inshore waters during the summer and autumn, most commonly seen off Iberia, France and the southwestern coasts of Britain & Ireland during its post-breeding dispersal. A huge count of 6,500 birds in the Bay of Biscay in 2003 represented 65% of the world population. In Britain, flocks of several 100s are regularly seen off the English south and south-west coasts, and the peak total in British and Irish waters was 3,474 in 2001; the vast majority are seen July-October. In Lincolnshire, the small number of records shows a peak in mid-September (chart).

 

BalearicShearHisto

 
 

Reference

British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee: 27th Report (October 2000). Volume 143, Issue 1, January 2001,171–175. 
 

(Account prepared November 2017, updated with reference to the new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021) September 2022)

 

About Us

We are the Lincolnshire Bird Club. Our aims are to encourage and further the interest in the birdlife of the historic County of Lincolnshire; to participate in organised fieldwork activities; to collect and publish information on bird movements, behaviour, distribution and populations; to encourage conservation of the wildlife of the County and to provide sound information on which conservation policies can be based.

Club Information

Quick Links

LBC Birder Resources

  • Login