So, What's a Pelagic Trip?

Parasitic Jaeger

The emphasis this week has been on sea birds primarily because I spent two days last week seeking them out. There many families of birds that spend all or almost all of their life at sea. They tend to live longer than most land birds and spend a lot of time with their young which often only number one or two chicks. Some species nest a fair distance from land yet they are built to dive for fish so they must travel some distances for the food to feed their young. An example of an Oregon bird that fits this category is the Marbled Murlet. They fly inland on the coastal range in old growth forest, seeking huge conifers with large branches to nest on. They then travel back and forth to the ocean to get the food to feed their young. Another Oregon Pelagic bird that everyone loves is the Tufted Puffin that nest on Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach.

Sea birds are often refereed to as Pelagic birds which simply means birds that seek open Oceans for their habitat and food. Each year throughout the world, expert sea birders organize pelagic birding trips that specialize in plying the ocean waters in search of these wonderful birds. Some of these trips only go off shore a short distance and return in four or five hours where others travel 40 to 60 miles off shore and last all day or sometimes two days. Many of these birds do not come near land except in their nesting grounds so this would be the only way to see them.

Pelagic Bird trip on the Quaddy Link Whale Watch boat

Last weekend, I went on a five hour Pelagic trip out of the port of St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. The trip was operated by a Whale Watch Company but was organized to search for sea birds. We went out into the Bay of Fundy and around Deer Island and also near Campabello Island. We saw large flocks of Gulls and this is the list of Pelagic birds That I saw.

 

Razorbill

Greater Shearwater

Sometimes you get lucky and get a whale, this is a Minke Whale

Herring Gull

Black Guillemot

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Double Crested Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Ring-billed Gull

Little Gull, this was a life bird for me, one I had never seen

Greater Black-backed Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

Common Eider

Parasitic Jaeger

Black-legged Kittiwake

Common Tern

Now, for this week's update on the Amazing Bird Race list.

142 Swamp Sparrow, Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada

143 Blue-headed Vireo, Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada

144 Black Guillemot, Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada

145 Surf Scoter, Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada

146 Spruce Grouse, Topsfield, Maine

147 Gray Jay, Topsfield, Maine

148 Brown Creeper, Topsfield Maine

149 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

150 Red-eyed Viero, St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

151 Black-bellied Plover, St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

152 Lincoln's Sparrow, St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

153 Golden-crowned Kinglet, St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

154 Great Shearwater, Grand Manan Ferry, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

155 Northern Gannett, Grand Manan Ferry, Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada

156 Red-breasted Merganser, Grand Manan Island, Charlotte County, New Burnswick Canada

157 Ruffed Grouse, Grand Manan Island, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

158 Semipalmated Plover, Grand Manan Island, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

159 Sanderling, Grand Manan Island, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

160 White-winged Scoter, Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

161 Great Cormorant, Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

162 Parasitic Jaeger, Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

163 Little Gull, (life bird)Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

164 Black-legged Kittiwake, Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

165 Razorbill, Whitehead Island Ferry, Charlotte County, New Brunswick Canada

166 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, St Stevens, New Brunswick, Canada

Little Gull, another life bird

Black-legged Kittiwake