Sooty shearwater

Photographed on the Noordam while on our Alaska cruise.

This bird is described as "unassuming" by Cornell Lab's "All About Birds" website, and they are not kidding.  A very dull, gray bird without any unusual features or aspects about it that really stand out.  The most prominent quality I can pick out is their bill, which doesn't help much with identification from a distance.  To me, it looked like an immature gull.

I have never seen shearwaters before.  They seemed very comfortable being in the middle of nowhere on the ocean, riding the waves.  There was a group of them that were floating as the ship appeared and passed by.  This caused them to launch easily from the water and move away from the large passing monstrosity.  I took the above photo while ashore visiting Anchorage.  I imagine the birds would be heading south soon.

They fly more than the distance of once around the Earth at the equator each year, covering about 60,000 km.  On a single day, they may travel up to 1600 km.  They are also adept at "flying" underwater as they may dive up to 66 meters while pursuing a meal.  They primarily eat small fish, squid, and krill, which they catch underwater.  

Shearwaters belong to a group of birds commonly called "tubenoses."  The tubenoses are members of the Procellariiformes, and they have hardened hollow structures on the top of the bill that serve to help detect smells and to excrete salt.

Strange, but true.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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