Seabird sampler

  

Here's a sampling of seabirds we encountered in Iceland.  Most of these photos were taken on the ferry to/from Heimaey except as noted.

Above, a Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea), and below a Sooty Shearwater on the left and a Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) on the right.  Note the size and color differences (the Manx Shearwater is smaller with black above and white below):

 

 

 

 

 

Adult Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) with a fish...

 

and a juvenile Atlantic Puffin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immature Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)...

 

and an adult kittiwake flying by an iceberg at the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon:

 

 

 

 

 Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) in Reykjavík.

 

 

 

 

Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) soaring on updrafts along the cliffs. 

 

 

Great Skua (Stercorarius skua) high above the harbor on Heimaey.

 

 

Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea)

It was fun to see some familiar faces in a new setting — many of these species can also be seen off Bodega Head — as well as some species I haven't seen in a while (e.g., Atlantic Puffin, Black-headed Gull, and Great Skua).

Four tri's!

  

Lottia triangularis

 

 

 

Rissa tridactyla

 

 

Tritonia festiva

 

 

Trifolium macraei

 

Well, I realize it might be hard to see the connection among all of these photos, but I needed something to celebrate NHBH blog post #3,333!  In previous years I noted when I crossed the 1,000 and 2,000 marks, so here's a post to observe crossing 3,000 with four tri's!  Whew!  Thanks for staying with me!

Kittiwake!

 

Yesterday (9 October 2016), we enjoyed fantastic views of a beautiful immature Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) offshore of Bodega Head.  Although I've observed many kittiwakes off the coast of Massachusetts, this is the first I've seen in Sonoma County.  

Black-legged Kittiwakes are small pelagic gulls.  Bolander and Parmeter (2000) describe them as uncommon and sporadic winter visitors to our offshore waters.  After departing breeding areas to the north, the usual arrival time in our region is early November, so this sighting is on the early side.

P.S.  Click here for a few more kittiwake photos from Chatham, MA, last year.  

Near Chatham Light

 

I wasn't sure how today was going to go, but it ended up that I had a few free hours in the afternoon, so I made a dash out to the Cape.  I stopped at Chatham Light first, and noticed quite a few gulls feeding just inside the break. 

The quick wing beat of some smaller gulls caught my eye:

 

They were Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla)!  I still haven't caught up with Black-legged Kittiwakes in California yet, so it was nice to spend some time with them in Massachusetts today.

Most of the kittiwakes were immature, with broad black stripes across their wings and dark outer primaries:

 

If you haven't seen kittiwakes before, note also the dark bill, dark spot (or smudge) behind the eye, and the dark collar across the hindneck. 

I was curious about what the kittiwakes were feeding on.  I saw two birds catch fish by surface-plunging:

 

I realized I didn't know very much about kittiwake prey.  In Alaska, three species of fish make up the majority of their prey: Pacific Sand Lance, Capelin, and Pacific Herring.  Also important are fish in the gadid (cod) family as well as lanternfishes.  It turns out that much less is known about the prey of kittiwakes wintering in the western Atlantic.  In fact, here's a quote from the Birds of North America Online (Hatch et al. 2009): "No information on food of wintering kittiwakes on east coast." 

I'm not a fish expert, but I'm wondering if the prey in the picture above is an American Sand Lance (Ammodytes americana).  It's very long and slender, and appeared to have a greenish back.  If you have any thoughts about the identity of the fish, let me know!

Here's one more picture — more of seascape shot.  It's hard for me to believe that it's warmer in Massachusetts than it is in Bodega Bay right now, but it sure was nice to spend a beautiful December afternoon with kittiwakes!