GREAT SHEARWATER IN FLIGHT, MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND,GULF OF MAINE,US/CANADA, 8/12/2019

   Even though we have a mostly rear view of this bird, we can ID it as a Great Shearwater as follows:

• The front part of the bill that we can see is black
• Gray-brown upperparts that we can see
• The pattern we can make out of underside of the right wing is that of a Great Shearwater
• Whitish belly with dark belly patch
• Black, blunt tail with white band
• Both our birding guide and Merlin photo ID identified this bird as a Great Shearwater (Merlin narrowed the ID down to two Shearwaters; we were able to eliminate the other Shearwater).

   The Great Shearwater is one of the few bird species to migrate from breeding grounds in the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere, the normal pattern being the other way around.
   The Great Shearwater is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 913.