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The three species of Mediterranean-breeding shearwaters, Yelkouan Puffinus yelkouan, Balearic P. mauretanicus and Cory's Calonectris diomedea, have all been identified as potential candidates for listing within ACAP (click here).

BirdLife Malta runs the Yelkouan Shearwater Project, one of Malta's largest conservation initiatives.  Malta has around 10% of the world population of the Near Threatened Yelkouan Shearwater.  As part of this project, both Yelkouan and Cory's Shearwaters are being tracked at sea by satellites.

A fledging Cory's Shearwater has been tracked leaving the Mediterranean, travelling over 4500 km to the coast of Senegal (click here).  In contrast, tracked Yelkouan Shearwaters, also fledglings from Malta, stayed within the Mediterranean, travelling eastwards to the Aegean Sea in Greek and Turkish waters (click here).

Yelkouan Shearwaters, including breeding adults, have also been fitted with Global Positioning System and geolocator (GLS) loggers in Malta, showing that movements reach Egypt and Crete as well (click here).

For recent information on the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater click here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 January 2010