South Polar Skua: Seasonal Occurrence & Geographic Distribution
*South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki
Status: One record off the Lower Coast on 1 October 2004. This bird, was accepted by the TBRC and is the first record for Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat: This Antarctic nester visits the western Atlantic Ocean during the summer months.
Similar Species: This species can be distinguished from Pomarine Jaeger by larger size, broader wings, and lack of barring in uppertail coverts.
*Texas Review Species, requiring written or photographic documentation. © Copyright Brad McKinney 31 October 31, 2004 (updated Sep 2009)
SEASONAL OCCURRENCE GRAPH OF SOUTH POLAR SKUA:
The graph below shows the number and date of all South Polar Skua sightings on all Texas Pelagics from 1992 to 2014:
SOUTH POLAR SKUA – TEXAS PELAGICS SIGHTINGS DISTRIBUTION:
This map shows the location of one South Polar Skua sighting (red star) on a Texas Pelagic trip from South Padre Island.
The single South Polar Skua sighting occurred on the outer shelf.
View Jaeger Distribution in a larger map
Click on the box in the upper left of the map to view the map legend.
Click on each sighting symbol and the data label will appear showing the time, date and the number of birds seen.
Click on the link on the bottom of the map to view a larger map.
SOUTH POLAR SKUA PHOTOS, Cape Hatteras by Brad McKinney:
Photo 1; Date-Time: 20150525-121431
Photo 2; Date-Time: 20150525-121815
Photo 3; Date-Time: 20150525-121828
Photo 4; Date-Time: 20150525-124816
© Copyright 1998-2015 Garett Hodne. All materials on all sites within this domain are copyrighted by Garett Hodne. Some individual items may be copyrighted by the author, photographer, or other sources as noted. All rights are reserved. All material is available for personal and private use only. However all material herein may not be reprinted, re-distributed, copied to other websites or reproduced for public use in any way without the express advanced written permission of the webmaster.