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Bird Photo
Album
When I first began whale watching
I paid little to no attention at all to the birds we see on our trips.
That has changed quite a bit as now I get into the bird sightings almost
as much as the whales. The bird sightings start in the harbor where Common
Eider Ducks, Common Terns, and Double-crested Cormorants are usually seen
feeding on fish and crabs. Once offshore we tend to see more Common Terns,
Greater Shearwaters (less often we see Sooty Shearwaters), Northern Fulmars,
Wilson's Storm Petrels, and several different species of Seagulls. My personal
favorite offshore bird species that we see is the Northern Gannet. These
birds are really beautiful and amazing to watch. They soar high above the
ocean looking for fish to catch and once they spot one, they tuck their
wings in and just plummet head first diving into the water. They have special
air sacks in their heads for protection as sometimes they are quite high
when they decide to dive. We also encounter land birds who have gotten
lost at sea. Sometimes they'll actually land on the boat to rest before
heading off again. We've had a few birds who stayed on the boat until we
were back in the harbor again. All photos were taken on the
Granite
State Whale Watch out of Rye, NH.
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Common
Eiders | Common
Terns | Double
Crested Cormorants | Greater
Shearwaters | Northern
Fulmars
Northern
Gannets | Scoters
| Seagulls
| Western Reef
Heron | Wilson's
Storm Petrals | Tag
Alongs
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Common
Eider Ducks
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Common
Terns
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Double-crested
Cormorants
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Greater
Shearwaters
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Northern
Fulmars
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Northern
Gannets
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Scoters
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Seagulls
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Wilson's
Storm Petrels
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Western
Reef Heron
(This bird
is actually a native of Africa, but it somehow ended up in New England!
It was a very rare sighting! You can do searches online to find more photos
and articles related to this unique sighting.)
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Land
Birds Tagging Along With the Granite State
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Pictured Above
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A Greater Shearwater
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resting on the ocean.
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6/11/06
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