more on "salt birds"

sunset over Louisiana's outer continental shelf

(photo by Edward Watson)

“People” said that my last post ('sittin' in the pass of the bay') ended too abruptly. Probably so. I just 1) didn't have anything more to say on the subject at the time, and 2) am still reveling at the “look ma no editor” aspect of blogging. It is a refreshing thing, especially for those who write for a living....


Anyway, Dave Patton recently sent me a coupla more offshore bird photos; and Edward Watson sent in a beaut as well....all of which inspired this post.

Ring-billed Gulls....one of Louisiana's most common winter seabird species

Whenever you go out on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico with Dave Patton, there's an unspoken promise that you'll eventually end up chumming for seabirds. For many years, very little was known about Louisiana's offshore seabird population. It was a simple case of too few ornithologically-inclined people going offshore. Prior to 1970, biologist Jake Valentine (what a name, what a guy) was among the “too few” going out to do census work. By the mid-1970s, regular survey work began throughout the state's coastal barrier island system; and by the 1990s quasi-regular, far-offshore survey trips were happening.

big ol' barrel-chested Pomarine Jaeger (i think)

([unidentified] photo by Dave Patton)

Closer in to shore, several easy-to-view-but-rarely-viewed bird species spend substantial amounts of time along the Louisiana coast. Of these, Dave likes to look for the Jaegers best. “Jaeger” is German for “hunter”........ but perhaps “Meisterdieb” (German for “master thief”) would be a better name for these birds. Gull-like in most aspects, the Jaegers posses a swifter, more falcon-like flight style, which they use to great advantage in committing regular mid-air robberies of fish-laden gulls and terns. It's not like Jaegers steal food on occasion; that's what they do for a living.

Parasitic Jaeger

(photo by Dave Patton)

Three species of Jaeger are native to North America: Long-tailed Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, and Pomarine Jaeger. All of them nest up in the Arctic Circle, and all of them can be occasionally spotted throughout larger lakes and reserviors over most of the U.S. during fall/winter/spring migration periods. The best places to find them, though, are the nearshore waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico.

young Black-legged Kittiwake wheels toward the chum

(Photo by Dave Patton)

The Black-legged Kittiwake is another far-north breeder that turns up throughout most of the U.S. during migration periods. I use the term “turns up,” but in truth relatively few observers get to record Kittiwakes and/or Jaegers in the lower 48. Percentage-wise, the odds of running across one of these species during migration are substantially low.... unless you 1) own a boat or happen to know someone who owns a boat, 2) have a pretty good idea of what you're looking for, when to look for it, and where to look for it.

Here in Louisiana, that translates to nearshore Gulf waters, fall/winter/spring, with Dave Patton. And don't forget your fishin' pole.