Bird of the Month: Northern Fulmar
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
A denizen of the open ocean, the Northern Fulmar combines a stocky build similar to gulls with the nostril tubes and gliding flight of shearwaters.
Like other pelagic birds, the shearwaters and petrels, Northern Fulmars glide on updrafts above ocean waves, allowing them to fly long distances with seemingly little effort. They will sometimes fly high above the ocean, but during periods of low wind, they will stay close to the surface of the water. Their bill is outfitted with nasal tubes, which enhance the fulmar’s sense of smell and allows them to locate fish at sea.
Northern Fulmar
Scientific Name: Fulmarus glacialis
Length: 18”
Wingspan: 42”
Weight: 1.5 lb (680 g)
AOU Alpha Code: NOFU
In the Pacific region, when not breeding on islands off Alaska and Russia, fulmars are most often seen at sea over the edge of the continental shelf. They follow the upwelling of deep cold water and feed on a wide variety of sea life including fish, crustaceans, marine worms, and small squid (Kaufman). They are also well known for following ships and feeding on offal and other discards from the fishing and whaling industries.
Their feeding on offal may contribute to the offensive odor which emanates from fulmars and their nesting colonies. The smell also inspired their name. Fulmar is a combination of the Latin ful, foul, and mar, gull, referring to the foul smell. The species epithet glacialis, refers to the icy and frozen region of its Arctic range (Holloway).
DELAYED BREEDER
Northern Fulmars nest in colonies on the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. However, they defer breeding for the first 8 to 10 years and then will produce only one egg per year. Their nest is a simple scrape on the ground, but if a pair is nesting on a cliff, no nest is constructed, and a single egg is placed on the ledge. Incubation by both parents lasts about 50 days, and first flight can occur in another 50 days (Kaufman).
When Fulmar chicks hatch, they quickly develop a downy plumage. They are dependent for care and are brooded by the adults for about their first two weeks during which time they are fed regurgitated food. Brooding of the chicks is shared by both parents. However, the fulmar that is searching for food may be absent from the nest from 10 to 48 hours at a time (Mallory et al). Young fulmars fledge from the nest after a period of practice wing flapping. They gradually move to the edge of the cliff and launch in a glide. Once they correct their flight, they move away from the cliffs and toward the sea.
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION
Northern Fulmars are a circumpolar species in two general populations, one in the European Atlantic extending to Arctic Canada and Newfoundland, and the other in the North Pacific from Asia to Alaska. Both light and dark morph fulmars are found in each region. Overall, fulmars are more common in the Atlantic than in the Pacific zone.
Close up of a Northern Fulmar bill, photo by Andy McCormick
Northern Fulmars are indiscriminate eaters and often feed at night. Today this feeding strategy presents a hazard for fulmars because of the presence of plastics in ocean waters. Collections of fulmars in 1988-1990 in Alaska showed an increase of plastic particles in their gut. In studies published in 2006-2008, the frequency of plastic particles in fulmars in Arctic Canada reached 84% (Mallory et al). Even higher levels of plastic have been found in fulmars in the European Arctic. Longline and drift net fishing techniques present an additional hazard for these and other birds.
Despite these threats, the world population of fulmars has increased steadily since the 1700s primarily because the fulmars follow ships and scavenge offal and other refuse dumped overboard. There are few conservation measures in place, but notably, all the breeding colonies in Alaska are within the National Wildlife Refuges system and five breeding sites in arctic Canada are protected (Mallory et all).
Photo credit Natural England/Allan Drewitt.
References available upon request from amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org.