I ran my last pelagic trip of the last fall yesterday, and I was stoked to wrap the season with a frame hardcore
birders will appreciate.
Fulmars a true pelagic species meaning they only visit land to nest. They survive without fresh water while they
are at sea, and the tube on the top of their beak is part of a special organ system to excrete ingested salt. Albatrosses.
petrels, storm-petrels, and shearwaters also possess such structures and are collectively referred to as 'tubenoses'.
Fulmars come in light and dark varieties; light phases greatly outnumber dark phases in the Atlantic and dark phases
greatly outnumber lights in the Pacific. Many experts suggest splitting the two populations into discrete species on this
and other differences.
I tell first timers on our boats that these stocky birds look like flying potatoes.....
The boat leaves the dock at 7:30am, and it takes a few hours to get into the prime deep water. Thankfully,
filtered sun kept shooting conditions ideal through midday, and I was able to freeze this guy as he arced high
over the stern of the boat. Pelagic photography is the most challenging sort I've done because the birds are
moving hella fast and the boat is pitching all over the f$%^&ing place! The goal is to get images without
dropping one's rig into the depths.
Unlike pelagic trips in EVERY OTHER part of the country and world, we're no allowed to chum birds in Northern
California (vert long story). It sucks, and we're therefore reliant on unusually tolerant/curious birds to approach
the boat on their own volition. So yeah, this represents a pretty rare encounter around here.
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX2
1/4000 at f/4 ISO 800
Processes in LR CC. I did cheat and add a sliver of canvas above the bird's right wing. Figured I'd give myself
a break because of the rocking boat!
Northern Fulmar (Dark Phase)
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