Petrels and tape luring: where next?

During July and August of recent years I have been catching Storm Petrels Hydrobates pelagicus on the coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland using tape lures. This may not seem unusual except that Storm Petrels are not known to breed along the coast here and are seen only very rarely from the coast. In addition, small numbers of Leach’s Petrels Oceanodroma leucorhoa have been caught which is even more improbable. Tape luring is not confined to Aberdeenshire; petrels have been caught along the entire coast of eastern Britain, although greatest numbers are caught in the north. The technique involves setting mist nets around a cassette player on a steep dune or cliff and broadcasting a loud recording of petrel sound to sea. The best combination appears to be a recording of Storm Petrel on one channel and Leach’s Petrel on the other channel of an endless loop tape so that both songs are played continuously, Tape luring must be done by night; ideal conditions are calm, overcast nights with no noise from waves on the shore. It must be done by an experienced qualified ringer. Storm Petrels are exquisite birds and I derive a great deal of pleasure from showing them to other interested people. Some Storm Petrels make long movements between sites, others are recaptured on several occasions. At the end of the day (night?) they remain mysterious birds; there is so much that we do not know about Storm Petrel biology, in spite of them being one of our commonest breeding species.