THE BIRDS AND THE MINKES
Recently we have been seeing hundreds of feeding birds in the bay, often in huge flocks of many different species near the mountains. These birds have been providing a great indicator of food in the water, and have been helping us to find the feeding minke whales!
The birds, including kittiwakes, skuas, fulmars, black-backed gulls, and puffins, have been busy feeding on schools of little fish which is also what the whales are here feeding on. We often use the birds as indicators of where to look for the whales, and the past week this has been a very useful and successful tactic. On both our Whale-Watching and Big Whale Safari tours, we have headed for the flocks of birds, and soon been able to see minke whales in the exact same area. Not only do we get to see the minke whales, but we are also seeing the inter-connected web of life out in the bay. It is a thriving ecosystem these days!
-Charla
Researcher/Guide
A large flock of feeding birds out in the bay (Photo: Charla Basran).
Soon the minke whale could be seen headed for the birds to feed along with them (Photo: Charla Basran).