Yellow-Nosed Albatross (22Feb2014)

As mentioned in the previous post, I gifted myself a pelagic with Brian Patteson and crew (Kate and Jeff) for my 38th B-Day.  The day actually started out very slow but eventually went down with a huge bang.
As seems to be the case with many pelagics, the birding can be pretty slow with bursts of excitement.  This first burst of excitement, for me at least, came with some sightings of Manx Shearwaters.  These little black and white missiles are extremely fast yet graceful. I can see why Mr. Patteson is so taken with pelagic birds and has pretty much devoted his life to them.  They hardly ever have to flap their long wings, using slight wind speed differences on the surface of the water (due to friction with water) to glide effortlessly along the ocean in search of food and seemingly for fun.

Manx Shearwater - Ok this is the worst photo ever but my camera sucks and it kept giving me error messages all day.  But beggars can't be choosers, so thanks to the people that are letting me use the Frankenstein camera set up I have (Lauren and Steve thank you!).  Some of you may say, why are you counting this bird in your photographic big year?  Well because it's my big year and I make the rules, I am not trying to beat any records.  I am pretty sure I will not get a better chance this year for this species.  There is good reason why I will probably never get good cracks at species like these, I always spend the most time looking with my Binocs and then only pick up the camera after I am satisfied with my looks.  And these birds are so fast and far by the time I do finally pick up the camera they are just a dot on the horizon, at least with this camera.

We also saw Razorbills, Red Phalarope and at least 2 different Great Skua.  Unfortunately due to my camera problems and the relatively short and distant sightings I cannot add these species to my list.

Gulls - This is what we were looking at 95% of the time.  Kate was busy chumming up the gulls with beef fat, Menhaden and and other yummy treats. Luckily no one got sick on this trip.  Last trip I went on 75% of the boat was throwing up but this time even with the smell of chum everyone seemed to be totally fine. I think the cold air is what kept things kosher.  The gulls comprised of mostly Herring Gulls, with some Ring-Billed, Great Black-backed and a surprising number of Lesser Black-backed.   It was hypothesized that some of the gulls were hybridized with Glaucous but nothing stood out as a pure rare gull.

Herring Gull - Most common sight of the day unless you count the million Cormorants upon exiting and entering the inlet.

There were plenty Northern Gannet too.

Northern Gannet taking off.

But the real show was on when this guy showed up about 7-8 hours into the trip about 3 or so miles from the Avon shore.

Yellow-nosed Albatross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I think it was Jeff Pippen that shouted out Albatross and suddenly there was a mad dash to the side of the boat.  Instantly the whole boat was full of excitement and laughter.  It was an electric feeling, to see what is probably only the **Correction** fourth recorded sighting of this species in NC waters.  And this bird did not disappoint, it hung around for at least half an hour offering close looks right by the side of the boat, having kerfuffles with the gulls.  We had to leave only because we were running out of time.  The bird ended up following us for miles.

Are you kidding!  Absolutely amazing bird.

This guy's wingspan is about 2 meters which is over 6 and a half feet for you metrically disinclined folks.

The Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross is normally a denizen of the Southern Atlantic and breeds on small islands in the middle of the ocean (Gough Island is one).  Luckily they are world travelers and hence this rare but not unbelievable sighting.

They have such huge wings that they have to take off much like a goose using their feet to get a running start on the water.

One more step and he's off.

I could keep posting these pictures all day.

He dwarfs these Great Black-backed gulls which is no small feat considering they are the largest gulls in the world.

Ummm, probably the most amazing bird I have seen.

Thank you Brian, Kate and Jeff!  Truly an awesome experience I will never forget.  If anyone has hesitated going on a pelagic because of fears of seasickness or maybe expense, then maybe this will prod you into taking the plunge.  It was worth every penny and hours of staring at the horizon.

Great times!