In early May, the SPEA team travelled to Deserta Grande for the first work of the season with seabirds. In this trip, the Bulwer’s Petrel was the protagonist of an intensive marking of nests that will continue to be monitored throughout the project.
Meet Bulwer’s Petrel
Distribution
The Bulwer’s Petrel has a pantropical distribution occurring in the three main oceans. In Portugal, during the breeding season (spring, summer and autumn), the Bulwer’s Petrel is distributed mainly throughout the Exclusive Economic Zone of Madeira and the Azores, occurring both in open sea and near the coast, particularly in the Madeira Islands.
Abundance
The Bulwer’s petrel colonies on the Desertas, and also on the Selvagens, are considered the main nesting areas of the Atlantic Ocean.
Habitat
It is a highly pelagic solitary seabird, visiting land only to nest, placing its nests in heaps of stones and in small cavities in the rocks.
Diet
Its diet consists of mesopelagic fish, cephalopods and some crustaceans.
It is suspected that it feeds during the night, taking advantage of the vertical migration of prey to the surface of the water column.
Vocalization
The Bulwer’s Petrel has the peculiarity of only vocalising when it is in the nest, which resembles the barking of a dog.
Threats
Colonies of Bulwer’s Petrel are currently restricted to islands and small islets free of exotic predators such as rats, cats and mustelids. These predators are their main threat in Portugal, having exterminated populations on the islands where they were introduced.
