Grid No. 1 Survey 26 
November 29 - December 14, 1965 
General Introduction 
This report summarizes the results of the Pelagic Bird Survey covering 
the period November 29 - December lb, 1965. Smithsonian personnel included 
Kenneth E. Amerman, Paul W. Woodward, Brian A. Harrington and Jeffrey P. 
Tordoff. Cooperation between Smithsonian personnel and the ship’s officers 
and crew was again excellent throughout the trip. The ship is to be 
commended for its performance this month and last, especially considering 
the problems arising from its size and lack of maneuverability. 
A total of 158.3 hours of diurnal observations was conducted covering 
1319 miles. In addition, 30 hours of nocturnal observations between the 
hours of 2000 - 0200 were included during the period 2-6 December. The 
noise resulting from strong winds severely hampered these nocturnal 
observations. In order to conserve time no attempts were made to collect. 
As expected, total numbers of birds and flocks decreased over last 
month. These decreases were reflected in nearly all species groups, with 
the largest decline shown by the Shearwater-Petrels. Boobies were the only 
group which showed increases in all areas, following the pattern of previous 
years. No shorebirds were recorded and other migrants from northern areas 
were reduced or absent. 
In contrast to last month, much of this period was overcast and stormy 
with winds of 15-40 knots and very rough seas and several days with periods 
of heavy rain. These conditions may have been partially responsible for 
the reduced numbers of Frigatebirds, Storm Petrels and Tropicbirds, especially 
for the unusual total lack of Red-tailed Tropicbirds. 
