130 | Chapter 6
at a speed of 150 km/h. Watts comments “She immediately changed
course and took plan B, an escape route to Cape Cod [on the Massachu-
setts coast]. These birds have repeatedly shown some amazing situational
awareness.” If a shorebird the size of a smaller seabird can overcome
such a storm, surely seabirds also can.
And that is the persistent message emerging as the interaction be-
tween seabirds and their windy domain is studied. Seabirds are able not
merely to cope with an environment that, to landlubbers, seems so alien.
They can thrive when flying over or swimming through the waves. Of
course, mere travel is insufficient. The birds must find and catch food,
as we shall shortly explore.