Providence Petrel
Dear Bill,
I confirm Geoff Welch's comment that the bird in your photo is a Providence Petrel. There are two regular dark Pterodroma petrels seen on the Sydney trips which show whitish faces like your bird. One is Grey-faced Petrel P. gouldi and the other is Providence Petrel P. solandri.
The clincher for your bird is the underwing pattern with strong white undersides to the primaries and primary coverts. Also the paler brown underparts [exaggerated by the light in your photo] contrasting with the darker head and breast also indicate Providence Petrel.
Most of the world population breed only a few hundred km away at Lord Howe Island in the southern winter [May to November] so are regular along the shelf boundary off Sydney.
You obviously enjoyed the trip. I have regularly gone on the Sydney trips [2nd Saturday of each month on Hal Epstein's Halicat out of Sydney or 4th Saturday out of Wollongong on the Sandra K organised by Lindsay Smith of SOSSA] and thoroughly recommend them to anyone interested in seabirds. You also have a good chance of seeing several species of dolphins and whales. Details on Halicat or SOSSA websites.
Mike Chalmers
