THE INSIDER Gone To Sea
The best time for birders to see the fascinating storm petrel is during a storm. In fact, some legends claim the seabird caused the storm.
THE BEST TIME FOR BIRDERS TO SEE THE FASCINATING STORM PETREL IS DURING A STORM. IN FACT, SOME LEGENDS CLAIM THE SEABIRD CAUSED THE STORM.
Poets have called them “gypsies of the sea” and “black lightning.” Some sailors see them as omens of bad luck, while ancient sailors are said to have named them for the walking- on-water apostle Peter. Other seamen know them as Mother Carey’s Chickens, probably a corruption of Mater Cara, or “Dear Virgin Mother,” who protects sailors at sea.
Small as swallow, gutsy as a gorilla, and quick as a shooting star, the plucky storm petrel patrols sea-lanes tirelessly, proving to be as fascinating to the eye as they’ve been, for years, to the mind.
One of the most common seabirds in the world, storm petrels of one species or another are found from Antarctica to the Arctic, throughout the tropics, and in the North Atlantic. Storm (or stormy) petrels were named because the best time to see them is during storms at sea. In fact, in some native legends in the Arctic, the story’s storm was actually caused by the petrel. Other folktales say the birds are the spirits of sea captains who mistreated their crews and are doomed to spend eternity flying over the sea.
Storm petrels are probably most active during storms because that’s when seas get frisky, frothing up and providing the most abundant buffet for these surface feeders. They follow groups of whales or seals close to the surface, feeding on squid, plankton, and small fish that are found in wave-tops and troughs. Unlike many seabirds, storm petrels are not very good divers. They find their prey by smell, returning to land only to breed and tend their nestlings. With the ocean’s surface as their main stage, their show-and-tell provides a lively show for seagoing bird watchers.
Like all of nature’s creatures, this species has adapted to its own waters and world. Fish oil is stored in their stomachs to feed their nestlings, and they may also regurgitate the oil to repel predators; sometimes they’ll barf on each other during a spat. Storm petrels have such a large reserve of oil, in fact, that people in the Shetland Islands in the 19th century would kill the birds, thread a wick through the body, and use them as candles.
The most common species in Alaska and the Bering Sea is the fork-tailed storm petrel ( Hydrobates furcatus). It has the lightest coloring in the petrel family, a mottling of pearly blue and slate gray that mimics the color of cold seas and skies in their homeland. Females rarely lay more than one egg but it’s one of the largest for its size in the bird kingdom. It’s equal to about 20 percent of the mother’s body weight. Both parents feed the young. When weather is too rough even for storm petrels, they stop feeding their chicks and one of nature’s odd miracles occurs. Nestlings go into a suspended state that reduces body temperature and puts their growth on hold until mom and pop finally return with the groceries. When feeding begins again, the young birds gradually return to normal body temperatures and resume their growth pattern. About a week before the young are fledged, parents go back to sea and the babies rely on stored fat to provide fuel for their first solo flight.
The only times these birds leave the open sea is to nest, usually in crevices in cliffs and stone walls, and sometimes in holes left by puffins or other wildlife. This time on land is also when adult storm petrels, the chicks, and the eggs are at risk from land-based predators such as rats or feral cats.
To avoid these enemies, storm petrels return to their burrows only after dark, arriving with an awkward, shuffling gait on legs that are rarely used for walking. Their nesting places are so remote that the ringed storm petrel, which lives in the Humboldt Current, nests in the Altacama Desert in Peru. It’s a desert so dry that some weather stations have never recorded a rainfall. Petrels are attracted by the sparkle of light on the sea, so light pollution is just one of the hazards created for them by humans.
Storm petrels are probably most active during storms because that’s when seas get frisky, frothing up and providing the most abundant buffet for these surface feeders.