SAIL - April 2015

A SAILOR’S GUIDE

BIRDWATCHING

BONAPARTE’S GULL

This elegant little gull

can be seen in the Great

Lakes region when not

breeding in Western Canada

Photo courtesy of Dick Daniels/carolinabirds.org

MARBLED MURRELET

Marbled Murrelets confounded

scientists for centuries who were unable

to determine where they nested, in the

trees of the old-growth forests of the

Pacific Northwest

Photo courtesy of US Department of Agriculture

BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS

Who says you have to go to the Southern Ocean

to see and albatross? The Black-footed Albatross

is one of three species that ranges the Northern

Pacific, including the U.S. Pacific coast

Photo courtesy of James Lloyd

BLACK SKIMMER

This intriguing species scoops up

its prey with its oversized lower

bill while flying just inches above

the water’s surface

Photo courtesy of Dick Daniels/

carolinabirds.org

ARCTIC TERN

Small and graceful,

the Arctic Tern has

the farthest yearly

migration of any

bird—traveling

over 40,000 miles

each year, round

trip, between the

Southern Ocean and

Northern-Hemisphere

breeding grounds

Photo courtesy of Andreas

Trepte/photo-natur.de

citizen science project for seabird conservation.
The “SeaBC,” or Sea Bird Count, is a volun-
teer project organized by long-distance cruis-
ers who are also interested in birds. It is also of
great scientific value due to the that fact that
seabirds are kind of the last frontier of bird
conservation because their life habits remain
poorly documented—a critical issue given that
these often elusive birds, which spend most
of their lives at sea, are currently under dire
pressure from pollution, fishing and climate
change. Of the 22 species of albatrosses, for
example, fully 19 are in danger of extinction.
In other words, scientists and conservation
groups need your help.
When you see a bird, take a photo and jot
down anything you notice about it. Important
data to jot down include the date and time of
the sighting (this will match the photograph’s
meta-data), field marks such as bill or feet

color, size and shape (or make a sketch), the

number of birds, a description of its flight

style, sea and weather conditions, any inter-

esting behavior, and so on.

When you get to port and have hot-and-

cold running Internet again, Sea Bird Count

members can then help with or confirm your

identifications using a network of expert

volunteer reviewers. Once that is done, your

sightings can be logged into eBird.org, a

global database managed by Cornell Univer-

sity’s Lab of Ornithology.

The community site for the SeaBC program,

Birding Aboard, is another great resource.

Information is available on their Facebook

page, where you can share your questions,

photographs and experiences with other

birders. The Birding Aboard web site (birding-

aboard.org) also has resources for kids aboard,

recommended camera models, additional field

guides, SeaBC tally sheets and more.

Bottom line: seabirds are not only magnifi-

cent animals more then worthy of study in

and of themselves, they need you. As you sail

through these under-surveyed areas, you’re

in a unique position to make a contribu-

tion. Your sailboat is what scientists call a

“ship of opportunity.” You are valuable eyes

on the water, able to report seabirds that are

not sighted by others. So let’s focus those

binoculars on seabirds! s

Diana Doyle and her husband, Mark, live

aboard and cruise the Atlantic Coast. Diana is

a department editor for the American Birding

Association’s Birding magazine. She and Mark

also manage the On the Water ChartGuides

Foundation, which creates “almost free”

cruising guides for the Intracoastal Waterway

(onthewaterchartguides.org)

MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD

Also known as the “man-

o-war” or “pirate bird,”

because of its propensity

for stealing meals from

other seabirds on the

fly, the Magnificent

Frigatebird is supremely

graceful soaring

high overhead,

but can’t swim

Photo courtesy of

Andrew Turner

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APRIL 2015