The summer migrant pelagic birds are those that breed elsewhere, but are present 

 in the Gulf of Mexico mainly during summer. Shearwaters, storm-petrels, boobies, 

 tropiebirds, phalaropes, bridled terns, and black terns are in this category. Cory's 

 shearwaters are migrants from Mediterranean and eastern subtropical Atlantic breeding 

 colonies and are common off the southern Atlantic coast and uncommon during summer 

 in the Gulf of Mexico. Our August survey data constitute most of the Cory's shearwater 

 sightings for Texas. Aubudon's shearwaters and bridled terns breed in scattered colonies 

 throughout the Bahamas, elsewhere in the Caribbean, and widely elsewhere in tropical 

 and subtropical oceans. Both are uncommon or rare visitors to the Gulf of Mexico during 

 August. We sighted several storm-petrels in the Gulf of Mexico during August. These 

 were probably Wilson's storm-petrels, but Wilson's, Leach's, and Harcourt's storm-petrels 

 are all found in the Gulf of Mexico. There was one tropicbird sighting in STEX. 

 Tropiebirds are rare warm weather visitors from the Caribbean. Black terns breed on 

 inland lakes and marshes and migrate through the Gulf of Mexico during August and the 

 following months. There were large numbers of black terns sighted during August 

 (especially in Texas) and a few in SFLA during November. Phalaropes breed in marsh and 

 tundra habitats and winter at sea. We recorded a few phalaropes in NTEX during August 

 and November. 



The summer residents are sooty terns and least terns. Sooty terns breed in a huge 

 colony on Bush Key, the Dry Tortugas, and in very small colonies in Louisiana and 

 Texas. A few were seen in STEX and SFLA during August. Least terns breed in 

 scattered colonies along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and winter south of the United 

 States. We saw a few nearshore in the NTEX and SFLA subunits. 



The wintering marine species include common loons, northern gannets, various 

 ducks, and herring gulls. Loons winter nearshore along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, 

 while gannets winter farther offshore. Some subadult gannets may remain in the Gulf of 

 Mexico through the summer. Herring gulls and several species of ducks migrate from 

 their northern breeding grounds to winter in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico; 

 some ducks continue to South America. 



The resident species include brown pelicans, cormorants, laughing gulls, and royal 

 terns. These all breed along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and remain in the area 

 throughout the year. We commonly recorded brown pelicans in both Florida survey 

 subunits, but in Texas where they are now very rare, we recorded them only in STEX and 

 only during November. The laughing gulls and royal terns breed at various localities 

 around the Gulf of Mexico and also to the north. They were present in all survey subunits 

 during both seasons. There was a major influx of royal terns into the Florida survey 

 subunits during November. 



Magnificent frigatebirds, Sandwich terns, and members of the common tern group 

 do not fit well into the aforementioned categories. 



Frigatebirds breed in one small colony in the Florida Keys, but most of the 

 frigatebirds in the Gulf of Mexico are non-breeders from farther south in the 

 Caribbean. This non-breeding population is much larger in summer than winter, but some 

 remain, at least in South Florida, through the winter. During August we found them to 

 be common in Florida and rare in NTEX. During November they were uncommon in 

 Florida. 



27 



