Black Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma melania), Benson STP, Cochise County

This Black Storm-Petrel was found by Bill Scott on 10 September 2016 and photographed by Pete Baum, Jeremy Medina, Chris Rohrer, Laurens Halsey and Arlene Ripley on 10 September 2016

Hurricane Newton formed roughly 220 mi southwest of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico on 4 Sep 2016 and reached Arizona on 7 Sep 2016, bringing with it several notable species, including three species new to Arizona and one even new to the ABA area! This storm officially reached hurricane strength winds late on 5 Sep 2016 and reached peak intensity with wind speeds of 90 mph shortly before making landfall at Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur. Newton moved north and weakened over the Baja California Peninsula. The eyewall fell apart before it made a second landfall, after crossing the Gulf of California, near Bahia Kino, Sonora where it weakened to tropical storm status. Early afternoon on 7 Sep it crossed into Arizona in a weakened state. Despite the weakened state of the storm it managed to bring 5 species of “tubenoses” to Arizona, typically associated with stronger storms. Clearly we have a lot to learn about how hurricanes affect birds in our area! To see a track of the storm see here and to see windspeeds see here. For more information on the last tropical storm to bring tubenoses to Arizona, Nora, see here.

This was the only Black Storm-Petrel reported from the hurricane (a large, all dark forked tail storm-petrel was seen near Green Valley on 7 September 2016). Though it was found 3 days after the storm passed the bird likely wandered until it found water to rest.The species is common around Baja California and in the Gulf of California. It has previously been brought to the interior southwest after tropical storms including the one prior record in Arizona. The only prior record was on Lake Havasu after Nora (1997) when ~40 were found, 17 also made it to the Salton Sea, California because of this storm. The Salton Sea has two fall records that are not related to any tropical storm. 

Overall large storm-petrel (in the field was larger than adjacent Red-necked Phalaropes) with small "tubes" on the bill, dark (overall plumage a dark blackish-brown) with pale upper-wing bar that did not include the primary coverts, tail moderately forked. The large size, overall blackish plumage (vs browner plumage of other species some of which have grayish sheen to the head), paler less extensive upperwing bar, rounded head and shallower tail fork rule out other likely potential storm-petrels such as Leach's and Townsend's as well as the less likely Markham's (occurs off southern west Mexico) or other unlikely species.

10 September 2016, photo by Pete Baum

10 September 2016, photo by Jeremy Medina

10 September 2016, photo by Chris Rohrer

10 September 2016, photo by Laurens Halsey

10 September 2016, photo by Arlene Ripley

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