Photographed by Richard Stern off Brier Island, Nova Scotia in 2003. The Greater Shearwater is a seabird that has an interesting migration pattern touching on Europe, Western Africa, Eastern South American and the Eastern US and it breeds on some remote islands off of South Africa www.neseabirds.com/sheargreat.htm Breeds September to May on two islands in the Tristan da Cunha group (5+million pairs), and on Gough Island (600,00 - 3 million pairs). Both islands are located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean east and south of Cape Town South Africa. A few pairs on Falkland Islands on the western side of the Atlantic.(1)(2) For a map and to read more about the islands that support the breeding colonies see Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island . Migration In April and May, the Greater Shearwater leaves the breeding grounds and migrates north crossing the ocean to vacation in the north east Atlantic including the Gulf of Maine where we see large numbers of them on Stellwagen Bank. Good numbers are also seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and north to Greenland. In the fall the birds fly east down the north west coast of Africa and cross the ocean again. This time coming closer to the coast of Brazil and then back east to the islands. The migration path is thus a figure eight. (4)