SAIL - April 2015

FEATHERWEIGHT

FIELD GUIDES

Identifying seabirds can be tough. You are, after all, try-

ing to pick out field marks on a fast-moving bird from a

moving boat without any kind of a size reference, often

against the sun’s glare. Worse yet, even if you get a good

look, most seabirds are frustratingly similar in appear-

ance, with subtle combinations of white below and

gray above, countershaded for the sky and ocean. Field

guides, typically massive tomes showing myriad plum-

ages, aren’t much help. Sometimes even experts can’t

agree on a sighting.

With this in mind, don’t worry so much early on about

identifying individual species. Instead, start out by famil-

iarizing yourself with the various different seabird fami-

lies. Experience the excitement of identifying a frigate

bird overhead or a storm petrel tiptoeing in your

wake—or a jaeger attacking a gull. Don’t worry if

it’s a “Pomarine Jaeger” or a “Parasitic Jaeger.”

(For a downloadable seabird primer sheet that

can be laminated for use in the cockpit, visit

birdingaboard.org/resources.)

If you have a smartphone, a field

guide app is a must. I recommend

iBird or Waite’s Guide to Birds of

America (ibird.com). Other good

choices include The Sibley eGuide

to Birds (sibleyguides.com), or Peterson

Birds (petersonguides.com). The great

thing about digital field guides is that they

don’t add weight, take up space, or absorb

moisture or mildew. On the downside, field-

guide apps are hard to flip through, so be sure to take

advantage of their “smart search” features, which allow

you to provide clues (such as location, size, color, and so

on) for suggested matches.

For example, when sailing from Block Island to Chesa-

peake Bay in October, you might see “a large, long-

winged shearwater-type bird, very white underneath,

with a dark cap.” Entering some of these search con-

straints (New Jersey, October, ocean habitat, large bird)

into iBird’s Search tool yields only 13 matched species,

allowing for a quick visual match with Great

Shearwater.

If you don’t own a smartphone, consider add-

ing Tove’s Guide to the Offshore Wildlife of the

Northern Atlantic or The Sibley Field Guide to

Birds of Western North America to your ship’s

library. Both are compact paper guides, the

former covering the Caribbean to Newfound-

land to the U.K. and the latter for Pacific

Coast sailors.

Typically insect-eaters, they won’t eat seed, so just let them rest and pro-

vide them with some fresh water. They will continue their journey when

they’re ready. Before your guest leaves, snap a photo and record your

latitude and longitude to report your migrant’s rest stop.

SHOOT FIRST, IDENTIFY LATER

With today’s technology and prices, there’s no excuse for not having a

digital camera onboard. A photograph lets you share your sighting and

get identification help, and provides scientists with a verifiable report.

For birding aboard, your camera should have: 1) zoom capability 2)

vibration reduction, and 3) geo-tagging (automatic recording of time

and location). You can adapt the gear you already own, or purchase

a new portable, ultra-zoom camera for a few hundred dollars. For

example, the Nikon Coolpix P600 is as small as a pocket-sized point-

and-shoot camera, but its 60x optical zoom lens is the equivalent of a

1,440mm telephoto. The P600 retails for under $400, but unfortunately

this model has dropped in-camera GPS for Wi-Fi. The comparable

earlier models, such as the Nikon P520, are even more of a bargain and

have in-camera GPS.

The best camera, of course, is the one that’s out and ready. You don’t

actually find birds—or whales or sea turtles, for that matter—they find

you. And they all seem to have the annoying habit of showing up at the

most inopportune moments, so your camera needs to be accessible and

ready at all times.

I’ve learned a few tricks that work well underway. First, when you

bring your camera out for the start of the day, turn it on to let it acquire

nearby GPS satellites. Then turn it off to conserve battery power. Keep

the lens cover off and store it in a protected area of your cockpit, ideally

on a scrap of non-skid shelf liner. You can also cover it with a hand towel

(light-colored in the tropics) to protect it from sun, heat and moisture.

If something interesting flies or floats by, simply toss aside the towel,

flip on the camera, auto-focus and shoot—a two-second process, with

some practice. Always take multiple photos: in addition to increasing

your chances of getting an attractive picture, it may take shots from sev-

eral angles to make a confident identification. If your camera can shoot

multiple images (often called continuous shutter) select this option. If

your camera is not geo-tagged, no problem: snap a photo of your chart-

plotter showing the time/date stamp and GPS coordinates.

“SEABC” SEA BIRD COUNT

Presumably you keep a detailed ship’s log that includes meticulous records

of your position, sea and weather conditions, and so on. If so, both the

amateur birding and academic communities could use your sightings in a

PHOTO BY KATE LAIRD

A SAILOR’S GUIDE

BIRDWATCHING

50

APRIL 2015

A spreader makes

the perfect perch

for a bald eagle