Storm Petrels avoided oil-spill damage

[Bobbie Ireland]

It's always wonderful to read about a species that manages to get the jump on us. This is one such story. I was privileged, long ago, to be in their company on Puffin Island off the southwest coast. The noises they make in the darkness are truly bone-chilling. Being utterly incapable of negotiating the precarious cliffs, with nesting burrows for Puffins and Manx Shearwaters as well, I did have a useful niche - cook.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9061000/9061576.stm