June 23rd we were on the 1003 ft Carnival Dream, enroute from Key West to Galveston, Texas. These photos were taken by a Canon SX70-HS while standing on deck 11.
I'm guessing we were 30 or 40 miles west of The Dry Tortugas. These photos suggest we were near the range where shore bird range stops and pelagic bird range begins. The gull in the picture is the only one I saw that day.
I named the photos guessing at the IDs. Any help in naming them correctly would be appreciated. I think the first one is a Gull, the second one may be a Gannet, and the rest are either Brown Booby or Masked Booby.
The ship was stirring up flying fish. and the Boobys were picking them off. See "Lunch.jpg" for my interpretation of the photo named "Dive.jpg" If you zoom in to the birds beak, I'm pretty sure we are seeing a flying fish in it.
Opinions?
For an excellent video on flyers, look for "Facts: The Flying Fish"
Dick
Great set. The first is a Laughing Gull, the rest are Brown Boobies.
Thanks Curmudgeon.
I thought it was a Laughing Gull, but was surprised seeing it cruising with Boobies.
Dick
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