Storm bird

 

 

I was doing some work on the coast today when some movement out my window caught my eye.  It was quite stormy and the light was dim, but I thought I could see a dark-winged bird with white flashes in the wings.  I haven't seen a jaeger so close to shore off Bodega Head, but sure enough, a jaeger was struggling in the wind and landed on the bluff!

Here's another quick shot for the record -- my first Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) on shore in Bodega Bay:

 

 

In this area jaegers are mostly found pretty far offshore, but with recent storm conditions, I can see why this one was sheltering on land:

 

 

Waves were in the 18-20 foot range this afternoon with winds at 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph.

 

Overhead

  

Well, I'm a little disappointed to report that I had some issues with my camera settings on the boat trip.  I'll still have some photos to share for the record, but the quality is a bit off.  Lesson learned!  Maybe this jaeger was trying to tell me something...

More photos to come!

Jaeger silhouettes

  

A few Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) shots from the offshore boat trip on 23 May 2021.   

Jaegers are impressive aerialists — they're kleptoparasites, chasing other birds like terns and gulls to force them to drop their fish.  

The lighting was a little tough, dark birds against an overcast sky, but I love their silhouettes.  Enjoy!  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the record

I had kind of an "off" day for bird photographs during the pelagic boat trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 6 October 2019.  I was often in the wrong place for photos, or the birds were at odd angles or just out of focus.  But for the record, here are some shots that were interesting for various reasons:

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster), a rarity in Sonoma County:

 

Flyby Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis):

 

Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), an uncommon visitor from Australia or New Zealand:

 

A "ballet" of Buller's Shearwaters (Ardenna bulleri):

 

A Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) and the moon:

 

The hunters

The light was challenging for photographs during our pelagic trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 19 August 2018, but here are a few pictures of jaegers:

 

Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) at eye level

 

Pomarine Jaeger from below

 

Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) 

For a little more information about jaegers, you can review the post called "The chase is on!" from 2 September 2013.

P.S.  "Jäger" means "hunter" and refers to the aggressive feeding behavior of these birds, i.e., chasing other birds to force them to give up their food.

From 20 miles offshore

A few pictures from the pelagic trip to Bodega Canyon and Cordell Bank on 18 September 2015:

 

 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata)

 

Northern Fulmar (Fulmaris glacialis) 

 

Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus)

 

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) 

 

Wings over wind over waves

(Black-footed Albatross with 6.5-foot wing span)

Many thanks to Debi Shearwater for 35 years of organizing pelagic trips out of Bodega Bay and giving so many people a chance to learn about offshore wildlife.

Long but short

 

Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus), without its long central tail feathers.  

Photographed near Cordell Bank on 18 September 2015.

Aerial pursuit

 

Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) pursuing a Sabine's Gull (Xema sabini), Monterey Bay, 22 August 2014.

The chase is on!

Okay, back to Pelagic Week...and to Long-tailed Jaegers (Stercorarius longicaudus).  

On the 30 August 2013 boat trip, we saw over 20 Long-tailed Jaegers, but only one or two had long tails.  The two central tail feathers are extremely long and flexible but are dropped after the breeding season, so most individuals that we see in this area lack these dramatic feathers.  It's not a great shot, but here's a picture illustrating the long tail:

 

Long-tailed Jaegers are the smallest of the three species of jaegers (the other two being Pomarine and Parasitic).  They have a relatively small bill and narrow wings.  Note the contrast between the gray upperparts and the dark black flight feathers.  And look at the tip of the wing for an important characteristic: There are generally only 2-3 white shafts visible on the outermost primary feathers (see below and especially the following image).

 

Most of the jaegers we saw were subadults.  They had strong barring below the wings and on the tail coverts.

 

Some of these birds had dark feathering on the heads and breasts (as in the photo above), while others were quite pale (next image):

 

The following photo shows the same bird from above:

 

Long-tailed Jaegers are transequatorial migrants.  They breed on arctic and alpine tundra, but spend the rest of their life at sea.  Wintering concentrations of Long-tailed Jaegers in the Pacific Ocean have yet to be found, but one possibility is that they spend the nonbreeding season somewhere off New Zealand (Wiley and Lee 1998).

Although not as aggressive as their cousins, Long-tailed Jaegers do practice kleptoparasitism — they pursue other birds until they drop their fish.  Long-tailed Jaegers have been documented pursuing terns and small gulls.  Below, a subadult jaeger is harrassing a flock of Sabine's Gulls:

 

A jaeger chase is always exciting and impressive to watch!

 

Pelagic week #3

 

This Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) welcomes you to Pelagic Week #3!  

Last fall I featured some of the seabirds and marine mammals from Cordell Bank and Bodega Canyon after two different offshore boat trips (starting on 2 September 2012 and 26 October 2012).  

I went on a trip today, so I will be showing some of our pelagic neighbors during the next few days.  I hope this jaeger entices you to come back to learn about these amazing open ocean animals.

 

Drama on the high seas

 

Sparkling ocean on 9 September 2012 

In the mid-late afternoon, I scanned the horizon from Bodega Head and noticed Sooty Shearwaters flying north.  Through a binocular view, on average there were ~10 shearwaters flying by per minute, sometimes as many as 30.  (The image below shows one shearwater against the sunlit waves.)

 

There were also small groups of terns (a little too far out to identify with certainty, but possibly Arctic Terns).  That set the stage for jaegers, so I searched closely and spotted a few jaegers, probably Parasitic Jaegers (Stercorarius parasiticus), chasing terns.  

Especially during migration and in winter, Parasitic Jaegers often practice kleptoparasitism — they harrass other birds until they drop their fish and then snatch up the food for themselves.  Although this is a distant shot, you can see the jaeger's silhouette.  The tern it's chasing is slightly below the jaeger's lower wing tip.

 

September is a good time of year to watch for this "drama on the high seas!"