Shearwater/Skua ID please

[imogen]

Hopeless at telling a Buller's from a fluttering. Help please. Birds photographed near Mana Isand today. Sorry for rubbish photos - it's not easy from a tiny boat!

[SomesBirder]

Aren't these skuas?

[RussCannings]

Got yourself some skuas! Now that I've said that much, hopefully that will lead in the direction of the species. Remember Buller's and Fluttering Shears would have white chests.

Russ

[imogen]

That is interesting. It didn't occur to me that they would be anything but shearwaters. Here's a last image.

[RussCannings]

This is probably what led to the confusion, the birds in the last photo are definitely shearwaters and not the same birds as before. Somewhere a switch occurred?

[imogen]

They are different groups of birds. Any help on the sheawater/skua species?

[Davidthomas]

Does the skua on the far right look slightly smaller than the two to the left? It looks smaller and more dainty than the other two. If I was to guess if say they're likely Arctic Skua, with the possibility that the far right bird is an Arctic and the two to the left are Pomeranes.

As for the shearwaters, they look like fluttering shearwater to me. Although if I'm wrong someone please feel free to correct me.

[Clinton9]

First 3 photos are of adult / immature Arctic skuas in eclipse (nonbreeding) plumages.

[sav]

Hi Imogen,
As the others have said, the skuas are certainly Arctics. The shearwaters are Fluttering Shearwaters - the white disc-shaped "saddlebags" are a dead give-away.
cheers