Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, Oceanodroma furcata
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![]() The photos on this page are my only good ones of any species in the family of storm-petrels, elusive swallow-sized seabirds that come ashore only to nest, and then only at night. They forage flying low over the ocean, slowing in flight and famously appearing to walk on the water while picking small prey items from the surface, as shown above and below. They are rarely seen from shore, but in Spring 2017 on the Central California coast, small flocks of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels appeared just outside the surf line foraging around piers in search of small fish, crustaceans, and plankton, giving local birders and photographers a rare opportunity to observe and photograph these fascinating birds from land. Forktails are common in Alaska where they both nest and winter, but their southernmost nesting area is in Humboldt County in the extreme north of California. In Central California they are seen only in their non-breeding season, and then only out at sea, and sporadically; much more common in this area are the Ashy and Black Storm-Petrels, large rafts of which are regularly seen well offshore in Monterey Bay. But it was the forktails that put on the the great coastal storm-petrel show of 2017! |
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