Sooty Shearwater

Ardenna grisea

Introduction

Although an abundant bird globally, seeing Sooty Shearwaters in Britain and Ireland is a specialist pursuit requiring patient sea-watching in autumn.

Travelling from their breeding grounds in the southern hemisphere, Sooty Shearwaters circumnavigate the Atlantic Ocean flying north along the eastern seaboard of the USA, and returning south past Britain & Ireland, only coming close to shore in autumnal westerly gales.

Individuals can be seen in small numbers anywhere around our coast but the south-western approaches, western Ireland and the Northern Isles are the most likely spots. Stiff, slender wings with silvery undersides and a brown cigar-shaped body distinguish this master of the air and the waves.

Key Stats

Scarce

822g

1-1

BTO Records

26k records

Population and distribution stats for:

No data

No current data

No current data

No data

No current data

2700% expansion

Status and Trends

Population size, trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO and partnership surveys and atlasses with data collected by BTO volunteers.

Conservation Status

Open Close

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern

Green listed

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)

Near Threatened

Schedule 1 Licence required (to disturb)*

Birds Directive Annex 1

Listed on the Annexes of*

Bern(III)

* A guide only. Check details with the original legislation, especially those marked with an asterisk. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Size

Open Close

BOU Category

Source

First Record*

Teesmouth, 1828

* First documented occurrence. Most species undoubtedly occurred before this. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Change

Open Close

Population trends of this scarce species are not routinely monitored.

Distribution

Open Close

Sooty Shearwaters are regular autumn migrants, recorded from the coast, particularly in southwest England and along the North Sea coast.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007 and indicate how widespread a species is.

No. occupied in winter

% occupied in winter

1.9%

Bird Atlas distribution maps show where bird species breed or winter in Britain and Ireland. For breeding maps, larger dots indicate higher certainty the species bred in that area.

Winter Distribution for Sooty Shearwater

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Breeding Distribution for Sooty Shearwater

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

To view and download up-to-date distribution information aggregated from across BTO and partnership surveys and schemes, see our data holdings on the NBN Atlas.

Distribution Change

Open Close

This vagrant is too rarely reported to map distribution change.

Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007-11 and indicate by how much occupied areas have expanded or contracted over recent decades.

% change in range in winter (1981–84 to 2007–11)

2700 %

Seasonality

Open Close

Sooty Shearwater is a regular passage seabird recorded at coastal locations, usually from late summer to late autumn with most passage in August and September.

Weekly pattern of occurrence

The graph shows when the species is present in the UK, with taller bars indicating a higher likelihood of encountering the species in appropriate regions and habitats.

Phenology graph — Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about Sooty Shearwater movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

Open Close

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

European movements

Open Close

EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for Sooty Shearwater, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Productivity and Nesting

Open Close

Nesting timing

Typical (exceptional) number of broods

Source

Clutch Size

Typical number

1-1 eggs

Observed minimum and maximum

1-1 eggs

Source

Survival and Longevity

Open Close

Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for Sooty Shearwater

Classification and Codes

Open Close

Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Scientific name: Ardenna grisea
Authority: JF Gmelin, 1789

BTO 2-letter code: OT
BTO 5-letter code: SOOSH
Euring code number: 430

Alternate species names

Open Close

Catalan: baldriga grisa
Czech: burnák temný
Danish: Sodfarvet Skråpe
Dutch: Grauwe Pijlstormvogel
Estonian: peegel-tormilind
Finnish: nokiliitäjä
French: Puffin fuligineux
Gaelic: Fachach-dubh

German: Dunkler Sturmtaucher
Hungarian: szürke vészmadár
Icelandic: Gráskrofa
Irish: Cánóg Dhorcha
Italian: Berta grigia
Latvian: tumšais vetrasputns
Lithuanian: pilkoji audronaša
Norwegian: Grålire

Polish: burzyk szary
Portuguese: pardela-escura / pardela-preta
Slovak: víchrovník tmavý
Slovenian: crni viharnik
Spanish: Pardela sombría
Swedish: grålira
Welsh: Aderyn Drycin Du

English folkname(s): Muttonbird

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.

BTO

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

JNCC

RSPB

Find a Species

Search by common or scientific name

Or view the alphabetical list of UK bird species