Pelagic Birding: Reflections on Birding at Sea
An essay by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
Do you remember the scene from “Titanic” when the heroic couple is standing at the bow of the ship looking out with the whole sea expanding before them? You can feel the boat pushing them forward into the open sea. You know how the story will go, but at that moment they know they are moving forward in their lives together. They are journeying together, but the future is unknown. Being near the bow of a boat while birding at sea, kindles that feeling in me. Watching birds on the ocean creates a space where what is around you is what matters now. Because there are few distractions, the experience encourages watchfulness and a focus on being present. What has happened already is not relevant to seeing birds now, and anticipation helps me stay alert.
On a birding boat trip, I find my spot along the side rail of the boat just behind the pilot’s window. I’ve already taken a dose of Dramamine and have a supply of crackers in my pocket to keep my stomach settled. Knock on wood: I have never been seasick.
I place one foot firmly on the deck and the other on the short side wall and hook my right elbow over the rail. I’m then secure and able to keep my balance as the boat rolls over the waves. When I spot a bird or a spotter calls out the identification of a bird, I curl my body into the side rail and free both hands so I can search with my binoculars.
On the ocean there are no landmarks to help you find birds – no trees, shrubs, fenceposts, or anything to help you locate a bird. Communicating with each other becomes key to seeing birds. We learn to read the water – its color: gray, green, blue, if it is white capped, or if there is a sheen on it and use these ephemeral landmarks, or more accurately watermarks, to key into a location. Knowing the direction from the boat to the bird is essential. We use the boat as a clock. The bow is at 12 o’clock, aft is 6:00, starboard is 3:00, and port is 9:00. Birds can be spotted anywhere around the clock. The spotter may call out, “Pink-footed Shearwater at 2 o’clock flying left across the bow.” Or “Pomarine Jaeger at 7 o’clock flying up the left side of the boat.”
Birds are not everywhere in the ocean. Like terrestrial birds, they forage for food. Food in the ocean follows currents and these currents change with the tides, wind, water temperature differences, and distant storms. At least once or twice during a trip, we actively try to attract birds.
We throw out chum, which is a mixture of fish parts and oil creating an invitation for birds to come close to the boat. Shearwaters and albatrosses are tubenoses, named for the long nostrils on their bills which aid in their excellent sense of smell which they use to locate fish. A chumming stop can attract 30 to 100 birds including gulls, shearwaters, albatrosses, and smaller birds such as auklets and storm petrels. For 30 minutes or so you can be in the midst of a swirling flock of calling birds learning their identification and trying to photograph them as they dive into the water, land on the surface, fly in the wake of the boat, or fly off, circle, and return to the feeding frenzy.
The excitement doesn’t last all day long. There are lulls as the pilot searches for birds or increases speed to head to another area along the continental shelf or to the vicinity of fishing boats which also attract birds. My perch along the boat rail can be quiet several times during sailing. There are few birders who prefer the front of the boat, and my position behind them along the rail gives me space for solitude and a clear view of the ocean. On calm days, the water has a surreal flatness into the distance and there is no disturbance toward the horizon. It feels like a form of meditation to dwell on such calm water. I can forget how far we are from land, how deep the water is, and the potential for bigger swells. As calming as that can be for my soul, it is not good for seeing large numbers of seabirds. Without wind there are few waves and without waves there are few soaring seabirds. As the wind picks up the balance moves from contemplation to watching birds.
As the wind creates waves, it also generates an undulating air flow with an updraft that rises from the trough of a wave. As the air rises, it moves faster. Seabirds specialize in soaring flight and use their long wings to catch this updraft which thrusts them above the crest in a graceful, turning flight. As the birds turn and bank, they swoop into the trough of another wave gliding effortlessly to the point where they catch the next updraft. Seabirds use the wind this way to travel incredibly long distances across the oceans of the world. Some birds make these flights alone; others journey in small flocks moving in synchronized flight. Like these birds there are times when I can let myself go and allow the wind and the boat to carry me wherever it will go.