A Storm-petrel is not a bird that you will automatically see just because you signed up for 3 score and ten on good old Mother Earth. Smaller than an American Robin (Turdus migratorius) but spending all of their lives at sea, Leach’s Storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous), the tiny cousins of Albatross, Fulmars, Shearwaters and other tubenoses (Procellariiformes) are infrequently observed, yet at Humboldt Wildlife Care Center we admit one or two every year, and in 2019 and 2024 we admitted dozens after bad ocean conditions brought many ashore.
At the end of the August, this little giant rode a fishing vessel back into port at Crescent City. Volunteers drove the storm-petrel down to our facility in Manila. After a few days enjoying our saltwater pool, they were in good shape, ready to get back to sea. We release these birds at the end of the day, because their small size makes them easy prey close to shore where gulls hunt for dinner. While we don’t begrudge gulls the right to eat, we prefer to not see our patients munched on as they re-orient themselves to their new condition of freedom.
Your support makes it possible for us to serve an enormous region that extends from Northern Mendocino County to Southern Oregon and from Weaverville to the middle of the Sea! Thank you for keeping our doors open! And if you can, please support us now, as we wind up our busy season and prepare for the wintering seabirds who are surely on their way!
