Historic Fledgling in Maine

Early in September, biologists visiting Matinicus Rock in Maine discovered a fledgling-age Manx Shearwater. It is the first time that a chick has reached fledging age (when it is ready to leave the nest) in the United States.

The chick was found by a team of Audubon and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers. Matinicus Rock is part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex and is considered Maine's most diverse seabird nesting island. The island is managed cooperatively by the National Audubon Society's Seabird Restoration Program and the refuge. Earlier this year, the island was the site of the first eastern U.S. nesting of common murres in more than 100 years. An egg was discovered near a group of decoy murres but it was later found broken.

Brian Benedict, deputy complex manager, Maine Coastal Islands Refuge Complex, said the "young shearwater had a healthy appearance and perfect plumage as it nibbled on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife patch on my sleeve."

"This is what we all work and hope for," said Stephen Kress, director of Audubon's Seabird Restoration Program.

Manx Shearwaters are common in Great Britain. These crow-size relatives of the albatross have a wingspan of nearly three feet. They may live 56 years and travel more than five million miles during their lifetime. The species is not known to have nested in the United States since 1973. Nesting burrows have been repeatedly discovered on Matinicus Rock since the late 1990s, but breeding has never been confirmed until now.

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