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Even if you are a very experienced land birder, you are likely to be a bit overwhelmed on your first pelagic trip. There is a whole new way of giving and following directions to the bird. The identification of pelagic birds is somewhat different in that flight patterns and behaviors take on added importance. You have learned to dress appropriately for land birding, now get ready for birding on a rocking boat. What sleeping and eating provisions can you expect on an overnight pelagic? This section provides some hints to help you get started.

Giving Directions At Sea Direction | Distance | Where is the bird | Practice Direction - Think of the Boat As A Clock Forget about starboard and port, the nautical lingo you learned reading Moby Dick. Birders think of the boat as a clock with 12 o'clock at the front ( usually ponted) end and 6 o'clock at the back. Facing the front of the boat 3 o'clock is the middle of the right side and 9 o'clock the middle of the left. Birders tend to get excited, so if you and your friend are standing on the left side and he yells, " I have a bird at 3 flying right", translate that to 9. Each time you move from one side of the boat to the other side, try to remind yourself if you are on the 9 or 3 side.

Distance
The best way to express the distance from the boat is by reference to the horizon. (where the water meets the sky). A flying bird can be above the horizon or below the horizon. A sitting or flying bird can be described as half - way, or 3/4 of the way to the horizon.

If you are on the top deck and the person describing the location of the bird is on the lower deck there is a discrepancy. The higher you are the further the horizon.

• What point on the clock
• Is the bird flying or sitting on the water.
• If flying is it going right or left
• Distance to the horizon

Identification Tips

Seabirds in general are not colorful. They exhibit: black, brown, gray, and white color patterns. On land you may first see a bird as a flash of yellow or red. At sea you will first notice a bird by the way it is flying. You need to include other behaviors as part of your identification.

Flight Charateristics
First learn to recognize the flight of gulls and terns which fly with a steady wing beat except when preparing to land on the water. On your first trip pay special attention to the flight of the gulls on the way out of the harbor. The first time the leader calls out shearwater, there may be hundreds of gulls around the boat and you need to pick out the shearwater by the way it flies.

Shearwaters (except on takeoff) fly by intermittingly flapping their wings and then holding them stiff as they glide or "shear" over the waves. They tip their wings first to the right and then to left as they ride updrafts between the waves. Even when flying in a fairly direct line, the shearwater alternates wing beats with glides. Even at a long distance you can pick out a shearwater from a bunch of gulls by the way it flies.

The Northern Fulmar also uses "shearwater flight". If it looks like a gull, but flies like a shearwater, think Fulmar.

Alcids and Ducks fly with steady wing beat. Since they are heavy bodied birds, their wing beats are much faster than those of the gulls. Alcid wing beats are faster than those of ducks.

Kleptoparasitism

Jaegers are known for harassing gulls, terns and other birds trying to force them to drop any food they are carrying. This kleptoparaistism as it is called, causes the bird under attack to fly in an erratic pattern. Evasive flight is noticeable even at a distance. Start looking for the dark bird with white wing flashes that is causing the action. Here a jaeger chases an immature kittwake. Photo by Steve Mirick and used with his permission.

Surface Diving

The bird dives while sitting on the water. Typical of Shearwaters, ducks, grebes, and Alcids.

Extended Dives

Alcids, loons, grebes and ducks pursue fish underwater. Alcids use their wings to fly through the water while the others paddle with their legs. These birds make extended dives and may resurface some distance from where they went down.

Surface Picking

The bird picks food from the surface of the water. Some birds like Storm-petrels do this while flying or on the wing. Others birds (Phalaropes) only pick up food only while sitting on the surface.  Wilson's Storm-petrel is known for pattering on the water while picking up food.

Gulls often follow fishing boats waiting for waste to be thrown overboard,

The same can be applied to mammals. Some dolphins will ride the bow wave of a boat. This makes them easier to see and photograph. The Common Dolphin, Atlantic White-sided Dolphin, Bottle-nosed Dolphin are a bow riders.

There are probably more Harbor Porpoise in the Gulf of Maine than any other mammal. We frequently see the Atlantic White-sided Dolphin, but almost never the Harbor Porpoise. The reason is that the Harbor Porpoise avoids boats and is never a bow rider. It is also so small that even small waves can hide it.