Sooty shearwaters off our ocean beach. They are joined by other seabirds such as the brown pelican, gulls and terns.

The oceans provide sustenance for countless birds. The Pacific Ocean is a home to many seabirds most of whom spend most of their lives over the ocean, often far from shore. Seabirds that fall into this group of birds include the tubenoses which are albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels, fulmars. Jaegers are also included in this week’s writing, even though they are not tubenoses. At least one specie from each of these might be seen from the beaches of the Long Beach Peninsula or from a sea-going boat. Since they spend most of their time over the ocean way offshore, they are rare sightings for us. But when we see them, they bring excitement and awe.

This article looks at the tubenoses and jaegers, while next week’s article will focus on the group of seabirds known as alcids. Tube-nosed seabirds all have tubular nostrils and a distinctively hooked bill. Their plumage is waterproof and beneath their dense outer wear is a warm coat of down.

The best option for seeing seabirds that tend to be away offshore is to take a pelagic trip with a captain who knows where to find the birds, particularly in the fall. The skipper will find the plume which is where fresh water from the Columbia and the ocean saltwater meet and interact. It is the place where anchovies, a major food source, spawn. The plume area is dominated by sooty shearwaters, but in the spring and summer other seabirds take advantage of this food source. Sooty shearwaters are the seabirds that we can hardly miss. We see them offshore by the thousands in our area on both the ocean and Willapa Bay any time from the end of July to September. They are fattening up in preparation for the trip to their New Zealand breeding grounds.

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Sooty shearwaters are the seabirds that we can hardly miss. We see them offshore by the thousands in our area on both the ocean and Willapa Bay any time from the end of July to September.

Pink-footed shearwaters nest from November to May on three islands off the coast of Chile, but after the breeding season they fly north to Mexico and the western coast of the U.S., where they tend to be common offshore in the Pacific Northwest. They are large seabirds with a wingspan of over three feet. Their main colors are dark brown above but all white below. They tend to flock with other seabirds and often scavenge around fishing boats. The first recorded sighting of a pink-footed shearwater occurred in 2003 just off Leadbetter point. Since then, there have been eight documented observations near shore at the North Jetty and North Head.

Storm-petrels are among the most common seabirds in the world. They are so named because the best time to see them at sea is during a storm. They are small seabirds about the size of a robin. Two species of storm-petrels have been documented offshore from our ocean shores at North Head and from North Jetty. Of these two species the fork-tailed storm-petrel has been seen most often. The first reported sighting was in 2009. One has been documented in 2022 so far. It is best seen during the winter months. Nine, in total, have been observed and reported since 2009.

Leach’s storm-petrel was documented twice in 2021 in the offshore waters from North Jetty and North Head during migration. These are the only documented observations to date. Like other storm-petrels small shrimp and other planktonic animals are their main food source.

Jaegers are powerfully built seabirds. They are larger than a crow. To date, two species have been documented from our shorelines including Long Beach, Cape D, Ocean Park, North Head and North Jetty — namely the pomarine jaeger and the parasitic jaeger. Both species can be seen close to shore, but more often far offshore.

The first report of a parasitic sighting mentioned on eBird is dated 1971. Three birds were seen. In total 20 observations of the parasitic jaeger have been confirmed to date.

The pomarine jaeger is just a touch larger than the parasitic jaeger. Audubon (2021) reports it can be seen from land but is seen more often from far offshore. The stats from eBird reveal that over 30 confirmed observations have been made from our shorelines of the parasitic jaeger, mainly from Cape D, since the first recorded sighting in 1989.

The piece de résistance is the albatross. They are very large seabirds with wing spans of over six feet. The laysan and the black-footed albatross both occur off our beaches and over offshore ocean waters. The most likely to be seen is the black-footed albatross. One bird was recorded as recently as July 2021 off Klipsan Beach. North Jetty is also an excellent place seeing the black-footed albatross. National Audubon (2021) indicates that the black-footed albatross “is a non-breeding visitor along the entire Pacific coast of North America.”

Many of the seabirds mentioned above do come close to our coast but not in large numbers. However, it seems that most can be seen in nearby offshore waters as well as further out to sea. They are seldom seen on land unless they are washed ashore having died of starvation or blown off course, in which case they may land on shore to rest. Julia Parrish, a professor at the University of Washington, initiated a dead bird survey in 2014. It continues to be an important part of the research on the causes of death for our seabirds. It is still a large citizen-science endeavour, in which several volunteers from our area help by scouring our beaches for dead birds. Currently, the sooty shearwater is in 6th place among the top-10 list of dead birds reported in our area. It appears that the warming of the Pacific Ocean — climate change in other words — is affecting food supplies and the food quality for many of our seabirds.

Looking for seabirds flying offshore is an exciting aspect of birding. It can be challenging, educational and awe inspiring. I highly recommend a visit to Cape D, North Head, Leadbetter Point or any of our ocean beaches with binoculars and a spotting scope in hand. The reward could be enormous!

Happy birding!