Birding at Sea #4 – At Sea

Black-Footed Albatross taking off with a snack

Now, finally, to the meat of the trip (although it would be hard to top the Peregrines).

The way the plan worked was this: We had cabins on the ship (Sue and I were mysteriously upgraded to a balcony room; too bad we were hardly in the room). We spent sun-up (a bit of a misnomer because the sun refused to make an appearance) to sun-down on the bow of the ship on Deck 8. 

On the windy bow: Sue, me and Michelle

To get some perspective, Deck 8 is approximately six stories above the ocean. That pretty much says stuff close to the ship will be far away. Then, there is the effect a fast-moving (well, 21 knots is about 25 miles per hour, which is fast for the sea) behemoth has on wildlife as in, IT SCARES THEM AWAY. So, that moves everything further out as wildlife flees from us. So, we spent 10-13 hours a day searching a foggy horizon and trying to see anything moving.

Obviously, Princess took this photo on a sunnier day; but look how high the bow is

We saw a lot, but it was often almost indiscernible or swathed in fog. I was extremely impressed that the guides could name the species of things I couldn’t even see.

Find the Albatross!

Special note here: I have a lot – I mean A LOT – of floaters in my eyes. Much more than a normal person. They usually don’t bother me, except when I am looking at a pale, bright sky. So, I spent a lot of time trying to see tiny Auklets through a sea of brown squiggly shapes. I have no idea why I would take up hobbies requiring good eyesight!

The lighting was a challenge

Anyway, I saw ALMOST everything the guides saw and I photographed almost every species I saw. Most of the photos fall into the OK to awful category. But, still, I enjoyed the trip, I was excited to see these very interesting – and occasionally magnificent – seabirds and would like to try it again some time again when it is sunny, which probably rarely happens.

Darkening skies turn so-so into artful

Our route

Our route took us straight out from LA where we turned right and headed up the coast until we hit Vancouver. 

The bulk of the trip, we were 60-70 miles off the coast. Unlike most cruises, this was a repositioning trip.

They were moving the boat from its southern winter-time routes to and from Baja to its summer routes to and from Alaska (indeed, the store was already outfitted with Alaska chachkies). 

Not much to see at sea

As such, we had no stops or excursion activities. Beside being cheap (just under $400 per person for room and food), I can’t see any reason to take this trip beyond birding. Lots of people were. But, really?

I’ll talk more about the shipboard experience in my next post.

We rarely saw any land forms after we left the Los Angeles area and only saw a few boats, including a sailboat very far out to sea and a boat clearly marked “Japanese Coast Guard” in English, which seemed a bit odd.

Based on what our guides told us, it’s a shame we didn’t pass closer to any big fishing vessels, because that’s where the birds often congregate.

Oh, and it was cold. The actual air temperature was in the low- to mid-50s, but there was wind and there was speed and there was damp. I wore lots of layers and was cold a lot of the time.

Tammy and Dave were among the birders

As I mentioned before, we were on a tour that totaled eight people including our guides. There was at least one other – larger – guided tour and a number of independent birds. 

Sometimes there were as many as 40-50 people on deck. 

Who knew that people birded on cruise ships? Well, now I do. I plan to look for birds on my trip to Cuba this fall (if it happens with all the political stuff going on).

Although it’s a common activity, Princess certainly does NOTHING to accommodate birding. There are no deck chairs, no places to hang bags or stow gear, no heat and it is a long walk to anything. I think they could add a few amenities and make it much, much more pleasant to bird. But, I would imagine birders are not a target audience: we don’t spend time in the casino, in the stores or at the bar. We just don’t spend much money on board. We apparently spent it all on binoculars ("bins" in the vernacular), cameras, scopes, tripods and puffy vests.

Binoculars and scopes were more common than cameras

Because I hate to miss stuff, I took very few breaks, possibly the least of any in our group. And, still, I missed a Long-tailed Jaeger during a lunch break and an Ancient Murrelet right after I packed it in for the day. I also managed to never see a Sabine’s Gull and to get no pictures of several birds.

So, let’s talk about what I did see and photograph. 

Albatrosses

Black-Footed Albatross skimming the water's surface

And, I am going to start with my favorite; the Albatrosses.

These large seabirds with really, really long wings range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific, but are not found in the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there and occasional vagrants are found. Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds and have the longest wingspans of any extant birds.

Albatrosses have the widest wingspan of any bird; Black-Footed can reach over 7 feet

Albatrosses are colonial, nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands, often with several species nesting together. Long-lived birds, they take several years of courting to form a pair bond, but, when they do, it lasts for the life of the pair. A breeding season can take over a year from laying to fledging, with a single egg laid in each breeding attempt.

Laysan Albatross

Of the 22 species of Albatrosses recognized by the IUCN, all are listed as at some level of concern; three species are Critically Endangered, five species are Endangered, seven species are Near Threatened and seven species are Vulnerable. 

Numbers of Albatrosses have declined in the past due to harvesting for feathers, but today, Albatrosses are threatened by introduced species, such as rats and feral cats that attack eggs, chicks and nesting adults; by pollution; by a serious decline in fish stocks in many regions largely due to overfishing; and by longline fishing. 

Longline fisheries pose the greatest threat, as feeding birds are attracted to the bait, become hooked on the lines, and drown.

Soaring Black-footed Albatross

The "Albatross" designation comprises between 13 and 24 species (the number is still a matter of some debate, 21 being the most commonly accepted number) in four genera: Great Albatrosses, Mollymawks, North Pacific Albatrosses and Sooty Albatrosses. We saw two species: Black-footed and Laysan, which both fall within the North Pacific Albatross classification and are both primarily found in the Hawai’ian Islands.

The Black-footed has a huge hooked bill

Albatrosses have large, strong, sharp-edged bills, with the upper mandible (bill) terminating in a large hook. 

This bill is composed of several horny plates, and along the sides are the two long tubular nostrils that allow Albatrosses to measure exact airspeed in flight in order to perform dynamic soaring. 

They use their uniquely developed sense of smell to locate potential food sources, whereas most birds depend on eyesight. 

Their feet have no hind toe and the three anterior toes are completely webbed.

Albatrosses excrete the salts they ingest in drinking sea water and eating marine invertebrates through an enlarged nasal gland at the base of the bill above their eyes.

Using the wind to effortlessly soar

Albatrosses are highly efficient in the air, using dynamic soaring and slope soaring to cover great distances with little exertion, sometimes traveling 600 miles without a single flap. 

Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from the vertical wind gradient. 

The only effort expended is in the turns at the top and bottom of every such loop. Slope soaring uses the rising air on the windward side of large waves. They are aided in soaring by a shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing it to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure.

Laysan Albatross

Albatrosses combine these soaring techniques with the use of predictable weather systems: Albatrosses in the Southern Hemisphere flying north from their colonies take a clockwise route, and those flying south fly counterclockwise. They are so well adapted to this lifestyle that their heart rates while flying are close to their basal heart rate when resting. This efficiency is such that the most energetically demanding aspect of a foraging trip is not the distance covered, but the landings, take-offs and hunting.

Black-footed Albatross lifting off

Albatrosses feed on squid, fish and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing or diving. I swear the one pictured below has a crab leg, but it could be a squid or an octopus leg. The Black-footed Albatross eats mainly fish (notwithstanding these photos) and the Laysan prefers squid.

Black-footed Albatross with a snack

Because they rely on wind to fly efficiently, Albatrosses in calm seas rest on the ocean's surface until the wind picks up again. North Pacific Albatrosses can use a flight style known as flap-gliding, where the bird progresses by bursts of flapping followed by gliding. When taking off, Albatrosses need to take a run up to allow enough air to move under the wing to provide lift. It ain't graceful, but is fun to watch.

Lift-off is difficult

Albatrosses live much longer than other birds; they delay breeding for longer and invest more effort into fewer young. Most species survive upwards of 50 years, the oldest recorded being a Laysan Albatross named Wisdom that was banded in 1956 as a mature adult and hatched another chick in February 2017, making her at least 66 years old. She is the oldest confirmed wild bird and the oldest banded bird in the world.

Black-footed Albatross resting on the calm sea

The birds we saw included the Black-footed Albatross, which, unlike most of its relatives has dark plumage. It is one of three species of Albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands. About 97.5 percent of Black-Footed Albatrosses are found among the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with the rest is other areas of the Pacific, such as where we were traveling.

Typical flight across the open ocean

Some adults show white undertail coverts and all adults have white markings around the base of the beak and below the eye. As the birds age they acquire more white at the base of the beak. They measure 27-29 inches and have a wingspan of 6.2-7.2 feet. Males are slightly larger than females.

Black-footed Albatross taking off with its snack after the ship scared him

The Laysan Albatross, the other bird we saw, has more traditional light plumage with a white head and body and gray-black upper wings. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to 99.7 percent of the population. It is smaller, with a wingspan of under 7 feet.

The Laysan Albatross has more "typical" coloring

The Laysan Albatross is normally a silent bird, but on occasion may be observed emitting long moo-ing sounds, descending whinnies or rattles. 

Female Laysan albatrosses may bond for life and cooperatively raise their young.

Laysan Albatross making a landing

When there is a shortage of male birds, females sometimes form same-sex pairs (in Oahu, 31 percent of all pairs are females). 

Paired females can successfully breed when their eggs are fertilized by males. 

This phenomenon has been useful to conservation efforts in the Hawaiian Islands, where researchers have successfully swapped unfertilized eggs from female-female pairs with fertile eggs translocated from pairs nesting on military airfields and in other unsafe nesting areas. 

The female-female pairs then hatch and raise the foster chicks.

The Laysan Albatross and the Black-footed Albatross have been known to hybridize

The Black-footed Albatross is considered near threatened by the IUCN, primarily because of longline fishing, and the Laysan is listed as vulnerable because it is still rebounding from near extinction from the feather trade, longline fishing and seawater pollution, especially lead from the military areas where it nests.

Soaring Laysan Albatross

Petrels

Murphy's Petrel

We saw a number of Petrels, smaller seabirds with some similarities to Albatrosses. 

Petrels are not all of the same family so they are a bit difficult to generalize about … 

... except, perhaps that they fly fast and look a lot like other birds.

We saw a number of Black Storm-Petrels, but I either never got a good picture or I couldn’t ferret them out among the many shots of black blobs with wings. I had a moment where I thought I had some, but the Rick dashed my hopes by confirming I didn't.

As we moved north, the number of Petrels increased and I was able to grab one iffy shot of a Leach’s Storm-Petrel, with its distinctive white rump …

Leach's Storm-Petrel

We saw some Murphy’s Petrels …

Murphy's Petrel

And, a very pretty Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, with its white and gray coloring …

Fork-Tailed Storm Petrel

There was a great deal of excitement with this next bird, a Hawai’ian Petrel. It was only the tenth time anyone had ever seen this bird in Oregon waters. The guide of the other group collected photos from all of us who captured one to document the – very unmistakable – sighting. 

Hawai'ian Petrel

What truly impressed me was how quickly the guides made the ID as soon as this bird flew into view – and how excited everyone was.

Fork-Tailed Storm Petrel

By the way, the term “Storm-Petrel” gives a nod to the fact that Petrels, like Albatrosses, use the wind to aid flying. 

Therefore, their appearance can presage a storm. 

Our guides repeatedly told us on this trip that, although the wind was cold and exhausting, it was the best thing you could have for pelagic birds.

In ancient lore, it was believed that Petrels were actually storm-bringers. 

Their name is even a nod to their ability to spend most of their lives at sea: "petrel" comes from St. Peter, who walked on water.

They are also symbols of freedom and courage.

Jaegers

Parasitic Jaeger

Then, there were the Jaegers (pronounced “Yay-Gur”), members of the Skua family. "Jaeger" is derived from the German word Jäger, meaning "hunter."

I saw two of the three types seen on this trip. Of course, only a few people saw the Long-tailed Jaeger I referenced earlier.

The Pomarine and Parasitic Jaeger are fairly closely related and quite similar.

Parasitic Jaeger

Both feed on fish, carrion, scraps, smaller birds up to the size of common gull and rodents, especially lemmings. Most of their diet (especially in winter and when migrating) is food they steal from other birds (primarily Gulls and Terns) in an act called kleptoparasitism. Sometimes it is a direct grab and sometimes they harass birds, forcing them to drop their food. They also catch small birds in flight or dip down to grab fish at surface. 

On breeding grounds, Jaegers hover and swoop down to catch prey, feeding while walking.

"Pomarine" comes from the Ancient Greek poma, pomatos, "lid" and rhis, rhinos, "nostrils,” which refers to a fleshy area at the base of the upper bill, which the Pomarine Jaeger shares with the other skuas. 

Pomarine Jaeger

The name “Parasitic” refers to kleptoparasitism (stealing food from other seabirds).

Parasitic Jaeger

They spend most of year at sea. Parasitic Jaegers concentrate over the continental shelf within a few miles of land, rarely far out in mid-ocean. Pomarine Jaegers, which are the larger of the two, spend much time mid-ocean and are rarely seen from shore.

They breed in open country of the far north, in tundra, rocky barrens and coastal marshes. Immatures and non-breeders may remain at sea all year.

Shearwaters

Large group of Sooty Shearwaters

As I mentioned, we saw lots and lots and lots of Sooty Shearwaters, a blunt-tailed, long-winged chocolate-colored seabird. The name comes from its "shearing" flight, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few wing beats, the wingtips almost touching the water. 

The wing often grazes the surface of the ocean

This flight is powerful and direct, with wings held stiff and straight, giving the impression of a very small Albatross. The Sooty is identifiable by its dark plumage, which is responsible for its name. In poor viewing conditions, it looks all black, but in good light, it shows as dark chocolate-brown with a silvery strip along the center of the underwing.

See the silvery stripe in this late evening shot?

They breed on small islands in the south Pacific and south Atlantic Oceans, mainly around New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego and in the Auckland Islands and Phillip Island off Norfolk Island. 

Graceful flyer

Sooty Shearwaters, like several other Pelagic birds, are spectacular long-distance migrants. They follow a circular route, traveling north up the western side of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans at the end of the nesting season in March-May. They reach subarctic waters in June-July, where they cross from west to east. 

Then, they return south down the eastern side of the oceans in September-October, reaching to the breeding colonies in November. This migration approaches 9,000 miles each year.

They do not migrate as a flock, but rather as individuals, associating only opportunistically. 

Impressive wingspan

The Sooty Shearwater feeds on fish and squid, diving up to 225 feet deep but more commonly plucking food off the surface. They often follow whales to scoop up fish the whales have disturbed or they hang out near fishing boats to take fish scraps thrown overboard.

Sooties have been declining in recent decades and are presently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, primarily as a result of toxins in the water.

A group of Sooty Shearwaters

As I said, we saw lots and, then, late on the last day, we saw one – yes one – Pink-Footed Shearwater. I didn’t get a photo.

The birds I have covered so far are majestic-looking soaring birds, but we also saw some cuties.

Puffins

Most flying Puffins were headed away from us

Puffins! Tufted Puffins to be precise.

Also known as the Crested Puffin, the Tufted Puffin is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the Auk family found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three related species of Puffin (Horned and Atlantic being the others) and is easily recognizable by its thick red bill and yellow tufts.

The tufts form "sideburns"

About 14 inches long with a similar wingspan, the Tufted Puffin is the the largest of all the Puffins. Males tend to be slightly larger than females. 

Puffins have to work hard to fly

Puffin's relatively short wings are adapted for diving, underwater swimming and capturing prey rather than soaring or gliding, of which they are incapable. 

As a consequence, they have thick breast muscles adapted for a fast and aerobically strenuous wing-beat cadence, which they can maintain for long periods of time.

The vernacular name Puffin – as in "puffed" or "swollen" – referred to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated species, the Manx Shearwater, formerly known as the "Manks Puffin.” 

The Atlantic Puffin acquired the name at a much later stage, possibly because of its similar nesting habits, and it was later extended to include the similar and related Pacific Puffins.

Flying is not as easy as for soaring birds; it is not unusual to see Puffins resting on the water

During the summer breeding season, Tufted Puffins form dense breeding colonies in British Columbia, southeastern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and throughout the Sea of Okhotsk. During the winter feeding season, they spend their time almost exclusively at sea, extending their range throughout the North Pacific and south to Japan and California.

Like with many seabirds, take-offs and landings are not graceful

The Aleut and Ainu people of the North Pacific traditionally hunted Tufted Puffin for food and feathers. Skins were used to make tough parkas worn feather side in and the silky tufts were sewn into ornamental work. Now, harvesting of Tufted Puffin is illegal or discouraged throughout its range.

Tufted Puffin in retreat

I have seen both Tufted and Horned Puffins (the former on this trip and the latter here and in Alaska). I hope to see Atlantic Puffins in my upcoming trip to Svalbard, northern Norway and Iceland.

Tufted Puffins near our boat

Auklets

Sometimes it gets a bit tricky trying to define a type of bird. Consider the Auklet, or, basically, a small stubby Auk. An Auk is a short-winged seabird. So, I guess an Auklet is a stubby, short-winged seabird. Too bad they can't get a more complimentary description.

Regardless, we saw two types on this trip: Rhinoceros and Cassin's.

If you look closely, you can see the rhinoceros "horn"

The Rhinoceros Auklet, named for the horn-like extension of the beak present in breeding adults, ranges widely across the North Pacific, feeding on small fish and nesting in colonies. It breeds from California (the Channel Islands) to the Aleutian Islands and Hokkaidō and Honshū, Japan, as well as North Korea and Sakhalin Island in Asia. It winters both in offshore and inshore waters, exhibiting some migration.

Most of the time they were flying away from us

The Rhinoceros Auklet is so closely related to Puffins that the common name Rhinoceros Puffin has been proposed for the species. 

Rhinoceros Auklets are monogamous, and although they migrate across similar areas during the non-breeding season, pair-mates migrate separately. 

However, they do synchronize their foraging activity once they return to the colony.

At sea, Rhinoceros Auklets feed on fish, and some krill and squid. To catch their prey, they dive as deep as 185 feet two and half minutes.

We often saw fairly large groups flying together and managed to get some halfway decent photos. I was much luckier when I got to Vancouver, which you will see in later posts. Still, with a little sunlight …

Rhinoceros Auklets were generally in groups

We also saw lots of Cassin’s Auklets, but only photographed a few.

Heading away

These small, chunky seabirds range widely in the North Pacific. According to my research, it is "nondescript" dark plumage above and pale below. It has a small white mark above the eye and its feet are blue. 

Photo: Cornell

Who knew? They just looked like black footballs with wings. And, they were always flying away. Except one, that couldn't lift off because it ate too much and ended up diving under the ship. 

Unfortunately, I could not get the camera over the railing in time to get the shot.

Cassin's Auklets range from midway up the Baja California peninsula to the Aleutian Islands. 

They nest in burrows on offshore islands, with the main population off Vancouver Island's Cape Scott, where the population is estimated to be around 55,000 pairs.

They feed by diving underwater and beating their wings for propulsion like Puffins, hunting down large zooplankton, especially krill. They may be able to dive as deep as 250 feet.

Hard to photograph

Listed as Near Threatened, some populations have experienced steep declines. In 2014, thousands of Cassin's Auklets washed ashore from Northern California to Washington, apparently from starvation. Some scientists believe unusual North Pacific warmth affected zooplankton, krill and fish that normally develop in cold waters, depleting their normal sources of food.

Phalaropes

A Red Phalarope and a Red-necked Phalarope flying in tandem

Another common sighting were large groups of Phalaropes, both Red and Red-necked, sometimes flying or floating in mixed flocks.

Mixed flock

These slender-necked “shorebirds” are very at home far out to sea. 

Riding the swell

Red and Red-necked Phalaropes breed around the Arctic Circle and winter on tropical oceans. A third type, the Wilson's Phalarope, which we did not see, breeds in western North America and migrates to South America. All are 6-10 inches long, with lobed toes and a straight, slender bill. Predominantly grey and white in winter, their plumage develops reddish markings in summer. Females are larger and more brightly colored than males.

Red-necked Phalarope, Alaska, '18

Red and Red-necked Phalaropes are unusual among shorebirds in that they are considered pelagic, spending a great deal of their lives outside the breeding season well out to sea. When feeding, a Phalarope will often swim rapidly in a small circle, forming a whirlpool. This behavior is thought to aid feeding by raising food from the bottom of shallow water. 

The bird will reach into the center of the vortex with its bill, plucking small insects or crustaceans caught up therein. Of course, this tactic doesn't work in the deep ocean where they spend much of their time.

Resting and, top, visited by a Sooty Shearwater

Another unusual behavior is that females pursue and fight over males, then defend them from other females as they sit on the eggs. Males perform all incubation and chick care, while females attempt to find another male to mate with. If a male loses his eggs to predation, he will often rejoin his original mate or a new female, who will lay another clutch. 

Once it becomes too late in the season to start new nests, females begin their southward migration, leaving the males to incubate the eggs and care for the young.

Interestingly, the name "Phalarope" comes from Greek and means "coot foot."

Cormorants and Pelicans

Close to shore, the holy trinity of Cormorants – Brandt's, Pelagic and Double-crested ...

Brandt's Cormorants

... and the single breed of Pelican – Pacific Brown Pelican ...

Pacific Brown Pelicans

... are very common. As you move out to sea, they disappear.

Gulls and Terns

Most of the Gulls and Terns we saw were as we were leaving the harbor in Los Angeles, where lots of gulls and terns share a rookery with Cormorants.

LA Harbor rookery (the angle shows how high the ship is)

Of course, lots of Western Gulls ...

Immature Western Gull

Lots and lots and lots of Western Gulls ...

Gull in flight

Plus I saw three types of Terns, two that I photographed – Elegant Terns ...

Elegant Terns have very thin bills

And Royal Terns…

A close fly-by from a Royal Tern

During the course of the trip, there were also Caspian Terns (I saw, but didn’t photograph), Least Terns (didn’t see) and Arctic Terns (also nada). And, as I mentioned, I didn’t see the Sabine Gulls on the distant horizon. I got only one good look a Northern Fulmar, which confused me because it was brown and the Northern Fulmars I had seen in Iceland were primarily white.

Northern Fulmar

Probably the prettiest gull I saw was an immature Bonaparte's Gull ...

Bonaparte's Gull

Whale and Dolphins

Common Dolphins at play

Of course, as one would expect, we saw a few mammals out at sea.

I missed a Fin Whale when I went to lunch, but saw distant blow of Humpback and, perhaps, Gray Whales.

Whale blow

We encountered some Dall Porpoise ...

Dall Porpoise stay predominately under water

Very, very far-away Pacific White-Sided Dolphins and some closer Risso’s Dolphins ...

Risso's look a bit like an Orca as they approach

... but it was only the Common Dolphins that made a big appearance. These abundant cetaceans are a joy to watch.

Common Dolphins

Despite its name, the Common Dolphin is not the dolphin of popular imagination; that's the Bottlenose Dolphin due to its widespread use in marine parks and its appearance in the TV series Flipper. 

However, based on the size of the pods I have previously seen in California, the Common Dolphin is far more numerous. 

Common Dolphins are medium-sized; ranging from 6.2 to 8.2 feet long and weighing between 176 and 518 lbs., although the range of 180 to 330 lbs. is more common. 

Males are generally longer and heavier.  

They have a dark back and white belly, with an hourglass pattern on their sides that is colored light grey, yellow or gold in front and dirty grey in back. 

They have long, thin rostra with up to 60 small, sharp, interlocking teeth on each side of each jaw. The rostra is the beaklike projection that is often incorrectly called a nose; the blowhole is actually the nose.

Scientists in California in the 1960s concluded there were two species of Common Dolphin: long-beaked and short-beaked. This analysis was essentially confirmed by a more in-depth genetic study in the 1990s.

A Common Dolphin joined by Sooty Shearwaters

Long-beaked Common Dolphins mostly inhabit shallow, warm coastal water and Short-beaked Common Dolphins are common along shelf edges and in areas with sharp bottom relief such as seamounts and escarpments. Common dolphin have a varied diet consisting of many species of fish and squid. They have been recorded to make dives up to 650 feet deep.

Common Dolphin leap

What makes them so exciting is that Common Dolphins can live in aggregations of hundreds or even thousands and they are very active. They bow ride on boats, are fast swimmers and are known for breaching and aerial acrobatics.

The numbers can be astounding; we saw a moderate-sized pod

Seals

Most common view of a Northern Fur Seal

Often, we would see what looked like debris – branches sticking up out of the water. But, actually it was either Elephant Seals, which stick their long, blubbery noses out of the water, or Northern Fur Seals, which float with their fins out of the water to warm their bodies.

An eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, the Northern Fur Seal is the largest member of the fur seal family. 

But, sometimes they surface

Looking more like a Sea Lion than a Seal, males can be as large as 600 lbs., about 30 to 40 percent longer and more than 4.5 times heavier than adult females. 

The head is foreshortened in both sexes with a down-curved muzzle and small nose that extends slightly beyond the mouth in females and moderately in males. 

The fur is thick and luxuriant, with a dense creamy colored underfur. The hind flippers are proportionately the longest among seals. The eyes are proportionately large and conspicuous, especially on females, subadults and juveniles.

Adult males are stocky in build and have thick necks and a mane of coarse guard hairs that extends from the lower neck to the shoulders and covers the nape, neck, chest and upper back. Canine teeth are much longer and have a greater diameter in adult males than those found on adult females. Adult females, subadults and juveniles are moderate in build with the neck, chest and shoulders sized in proportion with the torso. Adult females and subadults have more complex and variable coloration than adult males.

Swimming Northern Fur Seal

Their teeth are sharp and conical, as is common with carnivorous marine mammals adapted to tearing fish flesh.

Warming its fins

During winter, Northern Fur Seals move south from Alaska along the central and eastern Pacific to British Columbia, Canada and as far south as Baja California. The Northern Fur Seal's range overlaps almost exactly with that of Steller Sea Lions. 

The only other Fur Seal found in the Northern Hemisphere is the Guadalupe Fur Seal, which overlaps slightly with the Northern Fur Seal in California.

Fur seals are opportunistic feeders, primarily feeding on pelagic fish and squid depending on local availability. 

They are preyed upon primarily by sharks and Orcas. Occasionally, very young animals are eaten by Steller Sea Lions.

Northern Fur Seal

Northern Fur Seals have been a staple food of native northeast Asian and Alaska Native peoples for thousands of years. The arrival of Europeans to Kamchatka and Alaska in the 17th and 18th centuries, first from Russia and later from North America, was followed by a highly extractive commercial fur trade. Millions of seals were killed from 1786 to 1911, when the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 was signed by Great Britain (on behalf of Canada), Japan, Russia and the United States.

A Successful Cruise

Fun, even though it was gray and birds were far away

My recollection of the three-day cruise is a combination of slow waiting for fast-moving birds. The dim light and fog made it difficult to distinguish birds, but it was still exciting to see them. I am disappointed in my photos and realize that it is almost always foggy. But, I’d like to do it again and hope for more light. 

I will get two more chances at pelagic birds this year: Svalbard and my cruise to Cuba. And, maybe even when I go to the U.S. Virgin Islands for Christmas.

Western Gull flying into the "sunset"

Trip date: May 7-14, 2019