JANSEN FH (1981) The migration of the Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus along the Netherlands coast. LIMOSA 54 (4): 117-126.

During the seventies a considerable rise in numbers of recorded Sooty Shearwaters Puffinus griseus has occurred along the coasts of the Netherlands, changing its status from straggler into regular migrating species. Sooty Shearwaters migrating in SW. direction are mostly seen in strong winds between SW. and W. off Scheveningen. This is explained by the assumption that these birds follow the wave troughs, the orientation of which is dominated by the wind direction (fig. 4). It is tried to explain the recent abundance of Sooty Shearwaters as the result of possible major changes in the ecosystems in the North Sea and the NE. Atlantic as there are: (1) decline and shift in temperatures in this area since 1950; (2) output of eutrophicated water by rivers; (3) intensity of commercial fisheries in the North Sea; (4) increase in abundance of phytoplankton in the North Sea; (5) changes in the occurrence of zooplankton in the North Sea area; (6) abundance of certain fish species in the North Sea. It is suggested that the increase of Sprat Sprattus sprattus and a shift in the distribution of young Herring Clupea harengus have played an important role in the increase in the number of records of Sooty Shearwaters in conjunction with a worsening of conditions in the North Atlantic. The simultaneous occurrence of these ecological changes and the changes in distribution of Sooty Shearwater can bc considered as support for the "exploratory migration model" as proposed by Baker (1978, 1980).

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