Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes, Procellariidae: Petrels and Shearwaters) Lord Howe Island, NSW, Australia
The Flesh-footed Shearwater breeds on islands off Western and South Australia, Lord Howe Island, islands of NZ's North island and Ile Saint-Paul in the southern Indian Ocean. Outside breeding they disperse into the northern Pacific or the northern Indian Ocean, depending on population.
Here we see birds returning to their breeding grounds on Lord Howe Island, situated in coastal forest on the east side of the island, quite close to residential areas in the example seen here. They are ungainly on land and can be found sitting on local roads in the dark while they work out what to do next. Fortunately there is little traffic and the locals are aware of the birds and their habits