At sea
Our fourth day at sea since leaving Cape Verde and once again we were shown just how busy and interesting days at sea can be. It was one of those days when even the most dedicated ornithophobe found it difficult not to spend a few minutes on deck birdwatching. For today we were treated to a display of flying and fishing by masked and red-footed boobies.
These gannet-like birds accompanied the ship for much of the day, cruising alongside the vessel waiting for the ship to flush flying fish. As the fish fled from the approach of the ship, the chase would commence. With an excited chatter masked boobies would plunge-dive from great heights in pursuit of their prey, while the red-footed boobies would pursue their prey in flight. We were entranced by the display of aerial skills. The only people on board less than happy were the deck crew, faced with the task of cleaning a myriad of guano splashes from the decks and superstructure.
Early in the afternoon we passed by the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. These islands are among the most important locations for breeding seabirds in the tropical Atlantic. While seabirds do not need to return to land on a daily basis and can spend weeks, months or years at sea, they need somewhere safe on land to lay their eggs and rear their chicks. As we have seen, such refuges are few and far between in the tropical Atlantic but these few scattered islands are home to the seabirds whose company we shared today.
Our fourth day at sea since leaving Cape Verde and once again we were shown just how busy and interesting days at sea can be. It was one of those days when even the most dedicated ornithophobe found it difficult not to spend a few minutes on deck birdwatching. For today we were treated to a display of flying and fishing by masked and red-footed boobies.
These gannet-like birds accompanied the ship for much of the day, cruising alongside the vessel waiting for the ship to flush flying fish. As the fish fled from the approach of the ship, the chase would commence. With an excited chatter masked boobies would plunge-dive from great heights in pursuit of their prey, while the red-footed boobies would pursue their prey in flight. We were entranced by the display of aerial skills. The only people on board less than happy were the deck crew, faced with the task of cleaning a myriad of guano splashes from the decks and superstructure.
Early in the afternoon we passed by the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. These islands are among the most important locations for breeding seabirds in the tropical Atlantic. While seabirds do not need to return to land on a daily basis and can spend weeks, months or years at sea, they need somewhere safe on land to lay their eggs and rear their chicks. As we have seen, such refuges are few and far between in the tropical Atlantic but these few scattered islands are home to the seabirds whose company we shared today.
