Heat-Vein Mist Petrel
The flock glides at a distance through geothermal mist and avoids the warmest steam column before contact with the disturbance. Each coordinated turn produces a soft static halo and matches another sensor spike from the ruined antenna field.
Observation LevelCoastal field note
First SeenDay 02 · Day 02 · Geothermal Mist Ridge
HabitatSteam columns, basalt ridges, and geothermal updrafts inside Broken-Needle Thermal Fjord
VariantsNo distinct variants were recorded; the observed flock consisted of small charcoal-colored petrels with pale sulfur cheeks and thin turquoise wing veins
Habitat and Mechanism
Steam columns, basalt ridges, and geothermal updrafts inside Broken-Needle Thermal Fjord。Geothermal vents create warm rising currents above the fjord. Static pulses from the ruined antenna field cross one of the flock's usual updrafts; the turquoise conductive veins beneath the birds' wings brighten in sequence whenever the flock changes course around that pulse.
Enter Broken-Needle Thermal Fjord ↗Behavior and Ecological Role
The flock glides at a distance through geothermal mist and avoids the warmest steam column before contact with the disturbance. Each coordinated turn produces a soft static halo and matches another sensor spike from the ruined antenna field.
Their shared flight path makes an otherwise invisible pulse legible and leads the observers from the mist ridge to its source at Broken-Wing Antenna Slope.
Form and Identification
No distinct variants were recorded; the observed flock consisted of small charcoal-colored petrels with pale sulfur cheeks and thin turquoise wing veins
- Small storm-petrel form with charcoal plumage
- Pale sulfur-colored cheek patches
- Thin turquoise conductive veins beneath the wings
- Soft static halos while banking through geothermal mist
- A flock-wide turn away from the disturbed updraft
Observation Rule
Fang and K remain outside the flock's flight line, use remote instruments, keep weapons stored, and leave the equipment inactive after locating the pulse. They take the coordinates and leave the sky to the birds.
At Geothermal Mist Ridge, the flock curved around the warmest steam column as if an invisible wall stood inside it. Fang watched the birds while K checked the way back. None of the birds was injured or being pursued.