November. While October is a transitional month, November is when the change in season really sets in. One of the major shifts afoot is the migration of birds. Backyard birders are familiar with the abundance of species traveling through. Feeders are quickly emptied and berries and seeds provide sustenance for birds storing up for long flights. Many of those are the tiny, familiar songbird species. But there are a number of beefy birds that spend a chunk of the year in the waters many miles off our coast that also begin to make their way south this time of year. This is a rare chance to see birds that are usually out in the open ocean where they are difficult to get to and difficult to spot.
These “pelagic” or “open sea” birds include species with great names like gannets, jaegers and shearwaters. They are all pretty similar in color — a combination of black and white to blend in with the waves. They spend a chunk of the year in Maine and then find their way down the East Coast to places like Texas and Florida, or some all the way to the Antarctic. It is during this migration, which is starting about now, that they fly closer to the coast. Sometimes, this is even helped along by strong fall northeasterly winds that push them closer to land. Particularly good places to see them are where there are landforms that jut out into the water like capes or hooks, many of them further south of Maine. But you can also sometimes spot them here either from shore or as they fly overhead.
A pair of northern gannets greet each other by touching beaks on Bonaventure Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the coast of Quebec, Canada’s Gaspe Peninsula, on Sept. 13, 2022. Carolyn Kaster / AP file photo
My favorite of these big sea birds is the biggest one — the gannet. When asked the question, “If you could be any animal, what would you be?,” my answer is a gannet. It’s not because they are the biggest of the sea birds but rather because of their ability to do just about anything in, on or over the water. With broad, white wings that stretch out more than 6 feet across, they can soar over the water smoothly, unfazed by the sometimes-brisk offshore winds. Then from great heights — as high as 100 feet — they are able to torpedo down through the air and dive beneath the waves, using their long, yellow bills to catch fish. I have only seen gannets one at a time, but they apparently gather in big colonies where they nestle in cliffs to breed. Back in the 19th century, these colonies made it all too easy for people to collect their eggs, leading to a decline in their population. But they have since been protected and the population continues to recover.
South polar skuas, like the one seen flying here, nest on the coast of Antarctica and then travel to the north Atlantic in summer. Doug Hitchcox photo
Humans aren’t the only ones to take another bird’s eggs, though. Jaegers are an equally impressive sea bird often nicknamed “the pirates of the sea” for their habit of preying on the eggs of other birds. While they aren’t as large as gannets, jaegers are super speedy, a trait that no doubt helps them in their piracy. In addition to stealing eggs, they also steal food from other birds — sometimes even while in flight. You can often see them harassing other birds, their gray wings darting their chunky white bodies around as they maneuver the skies. They nest in the Arctic (and are sometimes also known as Arctic skuas), then fly south — sometimes as far as the Antarctic.
A shearwater is spotted on a Maine Audubon “pelagic trip” out of Bar Harbor in September 2022. Doug Hitchcox photo
Finally, shearwaters are another of the pelagic birds of Maine. Their distinction is evident in their name: They have a unique method of flying so close to the water that it makes them appear to cut or shear off the tops of waves. The other oddity about shearwaters is their noses. They have what look like little straws sitting on top of their beak that help them to excrete salty water. These are actually their nostrils. Maybe this helps them along their lengthy migratory path, thought by some to be the longest animal migration on record, totaling 64,000 kilometers in a single year.
While you’re not likely to see these pelagic world travelers on your backyard feeder, it is possible to see them closer to shore this time of year. And as you watch the more familiar and conspicuous flocks like the Canadian geese fly overhead, think of these hearty and sometimes-elusive birds also making their journey south.
Susan Olcott is the director of operations at Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.
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