along the Cape Cod Peninsula and over Georges Bank, 

 coastal areas resulted from strong northeast storms. 



Most previous records in 



DOVEKIE ( Alle alle) 



Status . --Uncommon winter visitant over most of the Continental Shelf from 

 mid-November to mid-March (Fig. 33). 



Earliest winter record. — 6 December 1975. 



Latest winter record . --20 March 1976. 



Maximum counts . --73 in 5.5 h, 55-110 km SE Ocean City, 

 51 in 5 h, 88-116 km ENE Ocean City, 1 February 1976. 



6 December 1975; 



R emarks . --Like other alcids, dovekies occasionally 

 flights into shelf v/aters off the mid-Atlantic States, 

 interrupted by coastal storms and strong onshore winds, 

 where they are reported as "wrecks "--the source of most 

 the mid-Atlantic coast. The largest flight of dovekies 

 area was in late January 1949, when "thousands were 

 offshore from Ocean City" (Stewart and Robbins 1958). 



have large southward 

 These flights may be 

 blowing birds inland 

 previous records from 

 ever observed in the 

 reported 10-15 miles 



Undoubtedly, more dovekies were present during the winter transects than 

 my records indicate, but owing to their small size and reluctance to fly, many 

 were undoubtedly overlooked. 



E 

 o 



■4-* 



€0 



1000-1 



500 



100 



40 



30 



20 H 

 10 

 



A 



I 



I 



X X X X 



I 



1 I I I I I I 

 F M A M J J A S 



month 



I =0.1-1.0 1=1.1-5.0 I =5.1-10 



MEAN NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS OBSERVED PER HOUR 



X = ZONE NOT SAMPLED IN THIS MONTH 



Figure 33. Seasonal abundance and seaward distribution patterns of the 

 dovekies in the northern Chesapeake Bight, 1971-1977. 



46 



