Two Audubon's shearwaters were seen: one was in water 70 m deep and the other was 

 well beyond the 1,000-m contour. The five storm-petrel records all fell between the 100- 

 and 1,000-m contours. Map 23 shows the locations of the only tropicbird seen during all 

 the surveys and the only bridled tern seen in Texas. Both occurred well seaward of the 

 1,000-m contour. Black terns and unidentified dark terns (Maps 24 and 25) were 

 concentrated beyond the 200-m contour, although both occurred closer to shore in 30-m 

 depths as well. 



Royal terns (Map 26) were found out to depths of 50 m, but were concentrated 

 between 20 and 30 m. Unidentified pale terns (we suspect most were royal) were also 

 concentrated inshore of the 30-m contour, but two sightings were made approximately 

 100 km out from shore over water in excess of 200 m deep (Map 27). Most laughing gull 

 and unidentified gull sightings were made inshore of the 30-m contour (Map 28), but one 

 laughing gull was seen in a flock of shearwaters and dark terns more than 100 km from 

 shore over water 650 m deep. 



Northern gannets and masked boobies were seen inshore, at times near oil drilling 

 rigs. However, one masked booby was sighted beyond the 200-m contour. 



During November the offshore element of the bird fauna was not present. Royal 

 terns (Map 29) were found concentrated inshore, just as in August. Eighty-eight percent 

 of the groups sighted were inshore of the 40-m contour; only one was seen beyond the 

 200-m contour. Unidentified terns (Map 30), herring gulls (Map 31), and unidentified gulls 

 (Map 32) all followed the same inshore pattern. 



The only brown pelican seen in the Texas surveys was observed during November. 

 It was located in the southwestern corner of the STEX subunit in water approximately 20 

 m deep. 



Birds in NTEX 



Most birds were inshore during August, but the offshore element of the bird fauna 

 was represented by at least three species. Of the summer migrant pelagics, four Cory's 

 shearwaters, two storm-petrels, and an unidentified shearwater (probably Cory's) were 

 recorded (Map 33). All were over water more than 50 m deep, and one Cory's shearwater 

 was seaward of the 1,000-m contour. One sooty tern was seen over water 860 m deep 

 (Map 34). 



The inshore fauna observed during August was represented by royal terns (Map 34), 

 common group and Sandwich terns (Map 35), unidentified pale terns (Map 36), laughing 

 gulls (Map 37), and magnificent frigatebirds (Map 38). Royal terns occurred out to the 

 70-m contour, but 81% were inshore of the 40-m contour. Unidentified pale terns (which 

 were suspected to be royal terns) had a similar distribution, with 83% inshore of the 40-m 

 contour. All laughing gulls were inshore of the 20-m contour. The three magnificent 

 frigatebird sightings were at the 10-, 20-, and 60-m contours. 



Two species, the masked booby and black tern, had intermediate distributions 

 during August (Map 39). The four masked booby sightings were between the 45- and 60-m 

 contours. Black terns were migrating from the North American continent out into the 

 Gulf of Mexico, and our sightings were distributed from the nearshore shallows out to 



45 



