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).

Seabirds of Kīlauea

Examples of seabirds at Kīlauea Point on the north shore of Kaua’i today (4 April 2024):

‘Ua‘u kani, or Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica)

Koa‘e ‘ula, or Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)…including two in a courtship display:

‘Ā, or Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)

Mōlī, or Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)

‘Iwa, or Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)

Transequatorial migrants

  

We were about to start a meeting this afternoon when we noticed a dark mass just offshore — thousands of Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna griseus) in a very dense flock!  [I recommend clicking on the images for larger and sharper versions.]

Not long after, we started seeing lots of splashing:

 

 

The white splashes were large enough that at first I though there might be mammals in the area, too, or larger fish breaking the surface.  But with binoculars we could see that it was the shearwaters plunge-diving into the water.  I'm guessing there might have been bait fish (or squid?) in the area:

 

 

 

The birds were about 1/2 mile offshore, so the photos are distant, but below is a closer view where you can see some of the characteristic stiff-winged silhouettes of the shearwaters.  (By the way, I haven't counted, but scanning the photo below my guess is that there might be >500 birds in this photo alone.)

 

 

 

And one more photo showing the amazing density of the shearwater flock:

 

 

 

Sooty Shearwaters nest in the Southern Hemisphere (e.g., in/near Australia and New Zealand) and then fly across the equator to visit the North Pacific during their non-breeding season.  Take a look if you're out at the coast, it's impressive to see so many shearwaters at once!

Gray on gray

 

 

I'm still sorting through photos from the boat trip on 21 August 2022, but here's a Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri).  They were quite common throughout most of the day.

Heading north

We took a quick look offshore before leaving the coast tonight (27 August 2020) and Eric spotted large flocks of Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna grisea) close to shore and heading north.  

There were thousands of birds streaming by.  Here's a series moving closer with each view.  [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:

 

Fall flights

I know I promised more pictures from the pelagic trip, but there was also an interesting flight of butterflies today that I thought was worth documenting.  So, here's a bit of both.

First, from the pelagic trip.  Here are two views of arcing shearwaters on the horizon taken from the boat on our way back from Cordell Bank on 22 September 2019.  The winds had picked up (probably ~15-20 knots), creating conditions when seabirds are often soaring high above the ocean surface:

 

 

Second, the butterflies.  During the fall, when inland air temperatures are very high, we can see flights of butterflies at the coast.  Today there were quite a few California Tortoiseshells (Nymphalis californica) coming in off the ocean and crossing over Bodega Head.  Most of them rocketed by, but occasionally they landed briefly, either on the ground or on the outer walls of buildings:

 

 

Flights of shearwaters and tortoiseshells — a nice combination!

Offshore light

 

Even though we were 20+ miles offshore yesterday, the ocean was incredibly calm.  Because there was fog, sometimes it was hard to tell the ocean from the sky.  When the sun started to break through in places, the light and patterns were mesmerizing.

It also made for interesting backgrounds and reflections.  Here are two examples with Buller's Shearwaters (Ardenna bulleri):

 

 

More to come, so stay tuned!

Over smooth seas

 

Buller's Shearwater (Ardenna bulleri), offshore between Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank and Bodega Head, on 14 October 2018.

 

Offshore grays

 

Buller's Shearwater (Ardenna bulleri), offshore near Bodega Canyon on 19 August 2018.  The gray tones of the shearwater matched the grays of the ocean yesterday.

On their way to Australia

 

Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) photographed offshore of Bodega Head on 15 October 2017.

This species is an uncommon fall/winter visitor to our area.  They spend their winter (our summer) in the North Pacific (with concentrations off Alaska), then migrate south to breeding sites around Australia. 

Gray-backed

 

 

Buller's Shearwaters (Puffinus bulleri) near Cordell Bank on 20 August 2017.

For more pictures and information about Buller's Shearwaters, see the post called "Visitors from New Zealand" from 30 October 2012.

Out at sea

A few more of the seabirds observed during the boat trip to Bodega Canyon/Cordell Bank on 9 October 2016:

 

Black-vented Shearwater (Puffinus opisthomelas)

 

Red Phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius) 

 

South Polar Skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) 

 

Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus)

 

Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata)

 

Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata)

We saw three different puffins that day — a good number for this area.  Overall numbers of birds were relatively low, but the diversity of species was decent.