New England Seabirds

This site is dedicated to the Wilson's Storm-petrel.

Latest reports, upcoming trips, conservation alerts, new booksChecklist of birds, species descriptionsWhales, Dolphins, Fish, SealsSee birds from land, pelagic trip destinationsOrganized dedicated pelagic trips and how to see birds from whale watch or fishing boats.What birds have been seenLink to NOA buoy data for New England.How to see seabirds in their breeding colonies.Events that endanged seabirds in the Atlantic Ocean and on their breeding grounds.Letters from readersPelagic trips from other areas, more information about local destinations.Hints for your first pelagic trip, giving directions at sea, safety and comfort.Antarctica, Midway AtollPelagic birding books and other resources.



  
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How Do Whales Feed ?
Baleen Whales
The large whales including: Humpback, Finback, Minke, Blue, and Right Whales feed on very tiny fish. Obviously a 37 ton whale needs to eat a lot of little fish every day and they can't catch them one by one. Just like human fisherman they need a net or strainer to pull through the water concentrating the fish.

Whales use their mouth as a giant strainer. The upper jaw of the Humpback Whale is lined with bony plates called baleen that hang vertically like vertical blinds. The spaces between the plates are small allowing water to pass through, but not the food. The whale swims through the schools of fish with its mouth open taking in both fish and water. The throat pleats expand to make more room. Then the whale closes its mouth and pushes the water out through the baleeen plates trapping the fish inside to be swallowed.


In the above photograph you can just see a hint of the baleen plates that hang from the upper jaw.

Bubble Feeding
Whales use different tactics to catch fish. On of the most interesting ways they feed is to use a cloud of bubbles to concentrate the prey. The whale or whales swim underwater releasing clouds of bubbles that rise to the surface in a dense cloud. Perhaps the tiny fish try to hide in the cloud of bubbles or maybe the bubbles just confuse the fish. The whale then swims through the bubble clouds catching all the fish. If you are lucky you may be able to recognize this behavior



In the picture above, several whales are under the water. One or more is releasing the clouds of bubbles which you can see on the surface as rings. The birds seem to know something is coming because they are concregating over the bubbles.



Now you see two whales having swum through the bubbles with their mouths open, now at the surface closing their jaws to trap the fish. A few fish will escape and so here come the birds for their share.

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