Leach's storm-petrel

How it lives

Leach's storm-petrels nest in colonies on offshore islands, in burrows or rock crevices. They visit nests only at night, which helps them avoid gulls and skuas. A pair raises one chick a year. The egg is incubated for 37 to 50 days and the chick stays in the burrow for 56 to 79 days. While one partner incubates, the other makes foraging trips that usually last about four days. They live long for their size: about 13 years on average, and at least 36 years in ringing records.

Where it goes

A full migrant. It breeds on islands in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, including Canada, the United States, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and the UK. The only Southern Hemisphere colony is on Dassen Island, South Africa. After breeding, birds move to tropical waters, near the North Equatorial and Benguela Currents. Away from colonies it rarely comes near land, although storm-blown birds are seen on coasts, mostly in autumn.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

IUCN (2018): Vulnerable, with a decreasing population. Data from 1977 to 2016 covering 75 to 80% of the world population point to a fall of at least 30% over three generations. The cause is unknown and probably has several parts. IUCN gives a world figure of 6.7 to 8.3 million, described as breeding pairs in its text, and an earlier estimate (2004) was more than 20 million individuals. In Atlantic Canada the population was rated Threatened by COSEWIC in 2020, at about 5.28 million mature individuals, down 53.8% from 1974 to 2018. The largest colony, Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland, had about 1.95 million pairs in 2013. The UK has about 48,000 pairs (1998 to 2002) and the species is Red listed there. The biggest UK colony, Dun in St Kilda, has fallen by 54%.