May 29, 2011 - More Pelagic Birds from New Zealand

Here are some more sea birds that I saw on my boat trip out of Kaikoura, New Zealand. We saw this Australasian Gannet on our way out to the Albatross site. These are fairly large birds (33-36 inches long). They are known for making spectacular plunge dives to catch small fish from the ocean. They nest on small, predator-free islands off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia. Most juveniles leave and go to the waters off southern and eastern Australia. After 3 to 7 years they are ready to breed and then return to New Zealand.

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This is how it looked when we reached the feeding area. Birds were crowded in all around the boat. Notice the two Albatross in the center with the pink bills. They were definitely the largest birds in the group.

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The most numerous species in the group of birds was the Cape Petrel, also known as the Snares Cape Pigeon. They are quite common. In 2009, their population was estimated at 2 million birds so they are definitely not endangered. At 15 inches in length, Cape Petrels are a little smaller than a crow. They inhabit the southern oceans, all around Antarctica.

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Here’s a Cape Petrel in flight. The top part of the bill looks broken off but that is actually the nostrils of the bird. They also have a salt gland above the nostril. This allows them to drink sea water and excrete the salt so it doesn’t harm them.

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This photo of a Cape Petrel gliding over the waves shows the beautiful speckled pattern on their wings and back.

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This close-up shows a Northern Giant Petrel. They have a massive bill and, like the Cape Petrel above, they have tube-like nostrils on top of the bill to excrete excess salt from the sea water they drink. At about 36 inches long, they are almost as large as the smallest Albatrosses. Giant Petrels are aggressive predators but they will also scavenge on carrion.

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These two Northern Giant Petrels were fighting over the food tossed out by our boat captain. The whitish face on the one in back identifies it as an adult, and the all dark bird in front is a juvenile.

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