Whale watching provides upwelling of bird sightings

I feel lucky to be living in the location that I do. As a birder I appreciate all this opens up to me.

A few hours north brings me the opportunity to observe boreal species such as the blackpoll warbler; a few hours south brings me to the coast to observe shorebirds and seabirds. On special occasions, a whale watching trip almost always turns up pelagic birds.

This was so the last time I went out several weeks ago. I had high hopes of seeing finback or humpback whales, but the weather didn’t bode well for optimum whale-finding. Thick fog reduced visibility to several dozen feet, and it was only a lucky fluke (pun intended), that we came across a minke whale. We had some excellent close-up views of it as it swam and dove around the boat, feeding. Soon it disappeared, and the fog closed in on us again.

That’s when the birds started appearing. At first there were only scattered individuals appearing out of the fog, but as we got closer to an area of upwelling – the whales’ feeding ground – they were everywhere.

Upwelling refers to the rising of deep, nutrient-rich water to the surface of the sea. These areas both create and attract an explosion of life, and on this day the effect was dramatic.

Greater shearwaters flew above the waves, just barely skimming the surface with the tip of a wing. Short periods of flapping were followed by long, stiff-winged glides as the shearwaters rode the currents of air circulating above the water, veering and tilting in the wind. They were beautiful and fascinating to watch.

In contrast, northern gannets seemed to fly ponderously at varying heights above the ocean, giving the impression of large passenger planes. I knew this was misleading, as I had in the past seen them plunge like living missiles into the ocean to catch a meal of herring or mackerel.

Wilson’s storm petrels – my favorites – fluttered like swallows around and behind the boat. They were following its wake and keeping an eye on prey items stirred up by its turbulence.

These little birds have an endearing food-gathering trait that I never tire of watching. While hovering above the surface, they dabble their feet in the water to stir prey, such as plankton and small fish, within easy reach of their beaks. It seems as if they are dancing on the water, and they’ll perform this maneuver for seconds on end.

I’ve gone out on several whale-watching trips over the years. This was one of the few times I’ve seen so many birds, so close to the ship. A not-so-successful whale-watching trip turned up a bonanza of birds – a great trade for me.

Chris Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com.