Northern Gannet

Scientific Name: Sula bassana

Range / Habitat: Breeds on offshore islands and inaccessible cliffs in large, isolated colonies in the north Atlantic, including Newfoundland, Iceland, the UK, Scandinavia, and Russia. Winters at sea in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, reaching down to 45 degrees latitude.

Field Notes: Large white waterbird with black wing-tips. Long bill and pointed tail. Head with orange-yellow tinges. Plunge-dives for food.

Personal Notes: First seen on Heimay Island in Iceland and (barely) photographed five years later on the Reykjanes Peninsula of Iceland.

European Shag

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax aristotelis

Range / Habitat: Marine bird with strong preference for rocky coasts and islands. Year-round on the Atlantic coast of Europe, including western Iceland, and in the Mediterranean.

Field Notes: Medium-sized cormorant, with short tail, glossy back overall. Eye turquoise, base of gape yellow. Crest in non-breeding plumage.

Personal Notes: Seen initially on the rocky coast of Snaefellsjokull National Park, Iceland. The mom and chick later seen in Breidafjordur Bay, Iceland.

Australian Pelican

Scientific Name: Pelecanus conspicillatus

Population Estimate: 100K - 1M

Range / Habitat: Widespread on inland and coastal waters of Australia, New Guinea, Fiji, and parts of Indonesia. 

Field Notes: The only pelican in the region. Flesh-colored bill. Head, neck and chest while. Wings black with a large white wing bar. 

Personal Notes: Seen in flight off the coast of Melbourne, Australia. Later photographed at the Melbourne Zoo and then seen again in the wild in Manly, Australia.

Bronze Shag

Scientific Name: Leucocarbo chalconotus

Population Estimate: 5,000 - 8,000, Vulnerable status

Range / Habitat: Endemic to New Zealand. Found year-round near rocky costal areas of Stewart Island and the southeastern portion of the South Island of New Zealand.

Field Notes: Large cormorant, unmistakable in range. All phases with orange base to bill. Pied phase with white stripe on shoulder, which doesn't overlap in range other, near-by, similar cormorants. Bronze phase all dark. Great Cormorant has yellow at base of bill and white on face. Little Black Cormorant has no color on face.

Personal Notes: Seen on Stewart Island.

Little Black Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

Population Estimate: 110K - 1M

Range / Habitat: In lakes, estuaries and harbors in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Paupa New Guinea.

Field Notes: Small cormorant, all black with sculpted appearance, grey bill, and green eye. Juvenile phase of Little Pied Cormorant has longer tail and yellow bill. 

Personal Notes: Known in New Zealand as Little Black Shag.

Spotted Shag

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax punctatus

Population Estimate: 35K - 150K

Range / Habitat: Endemic to New Zealand, where found in estuaries, harbors, and coastal waters of both islands.

Field Notes: Large, slender cormorant with long brown bill, long tail, and yellow feet. Broad white stripe from above eye and down sides of neck. Light brown wings with darker spots. The white stripe and spotted wings differentiate from Great Cormorant and Australian Pied Cormorant.

Personal Notes: We first saw this bird on the Otago Peninsula, later found it in Wellington Harbour, and finally found a "colony" at Oamaru (top photo). Maori name Parekareka.

White-faced Heron

Scientific Name: Egretta novaehollandiae

Population Estimate: 25K - 1M

Range / Habitat: Year-round in a variety of wet coastal and inland environments throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the islands of the sub-Antarctic, and Australia. 

Field Notes: Slim blue-grey heron with yellow legs and white face and neck. Bill black. Plumes apparent during breeding season. 

Personal Notes: Seen in Napier area. Self-introduced to New Zealand in the 1940s. Subsequently seen in Australia.

Brown Booby

Scientific Name: Sula leucogaster

Population Estimate: 200K

Range / Habitat: Breeds in sea cliffs and rocky offshore islands in tropical areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Pelagic otherwise.

Field Notes: Large seabird with brown head, neck and back contrasting with white belly. Yellow bill and feet.

Personal Notes: Seen offshore from Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Pink-backed Pelican

Scientific Name: Pelecanus rufescens

Population Estimate: 50-100K

Range / Habitat: Breeds in wetlands throughout sub-Saharan African and parts of Arabia.

Field Notes: Small, dull pelican with grey back and white belly. Pink back is only seen in flight. Great White Pelican is larger and brighter.

Personal Notes: Seen at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Pelagic Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax pelagicus

Population Estimate: Unknown, but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: A seabird of the northern Pacific. Found in maritime habitats off California (USA) in the east, round Canada, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Russia to the southern tip of Japan. Also found north of the Bering Sea. It's name is misleading, since it prefers inshore areas to open ocean.

Field Notes: Small, slender cormorant with thin / long neck and bill. All black with glossy green sheen. Subtle red patch on gape. Breeding adults have large white flank patch (not shown here). Double-crested Cormorant is larger, with a thicker bill, and conspicuous pale / orange facial skin and blue eye. Brandt's Cormorant larger with heavier bill, buffy throat patch, and thicker neck.

Personal Notes: Seen off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island near the Campbell River. I love my Matee for slopping through the low tide muck to get these photos and rescue the day!

Hamerkop

Scientific Name: Scopus umbretta

Population Estimate: 170K - 1.1M

Range / Habitat: Year-round in wetland habitats of sub-Saharan African, Madagascar and parts of the Middle East.

Field Notes: Only member of its genus. Medium-sized wading bird, all brown. When neck extended, head resembles a hammer.

Personal Notes: Seen at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Neotropic Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax brasilianus

Population Estimate: 2M

Range: Year-round throughout Mexico, Central and South America.

Field Notes: Like most cormorants, all black bird with hooked bill with a dull yellow on the base and throat. Eye is blue. Only a small overlap in range with the Double-crested Cormorant and in comparison the Neotropic Cormorant is smaller with relatively longer tail.

Personal Notes: We loved the bottom photo of the cormorant scratching his head!

Blue-footed Booby

Scientific Name: Sula nebouxii

Population Estimate: 100K to 500K

Location of Sighting: Galapagos Islands

Date of Sighting: Approx 1995

Notes: Aptly named birds....

Magnificent Frigatebird

Scientific Name: Fregata magnificens

Population Estimate: 200K

Location of Sighting: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Date of Sighting: January, 2010

Notes: Readily identified by its imposing silhouette with long, forked tail. The first photo is a female = white throat and belly with black head. Second photo is a male = all black except for the red gular pouch whose loose skin was sometimes visible in flight. The third photo is a juvenile = white throat, belly and head. Richard had taken the bottom photo of mating / roosting birds, with the characteristic red inflated throat pouches, many years prior in the Galapagos. Females also seen roosting off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.

Anhinga

Scientific Name: Anhinga anhinga

Population Estimate: Unknown but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Warm shallow water and wetlands throughout southeastern US, Mexico, Central America, South America.

Field Notes: Large black bird with long thin neck and bill. White in wings. Females have a pale neck and head. May be mistaken for a cormorant but longer tail and longer, thinner neck and bill are distinctive.

Personal Notes: We have seen this bird multiple places, but especially enjoyed observing it in a boat crossing of Arenal Lake in Costa Rica.

Brown Pelican

Scientific Name: Pelecanus occidentalis

Population Estimate: 300K, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Found along southern and western sea coasts of the US. Also along Caribbean, Mexico and Central America coasts.

Field Notes: Large brown water birds with white head and yellow forehead. In flight they glide just above the water and have a roller coaster pattern when they flap their wings (rising up) and glide (falling down).

Personal Notes: A lovely surprise at the Salton Sea in California, they only place these birds are reliably found inland. 

Pygmy Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax pygmeus

Population Estimate: 85-180K

Range / Habitat: The largest distribution is in south-east of Europe, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Balkan countries, Turkey, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Israel, Syria

Field Notes: It has a long tail and short thick bill. Adults have small white feather tufts on the head, neck and underparts in the breeding season. Non-breeding birds have a white throat. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and browner.
Personal Notes

Great Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax carbo

Population Estimate: 1.4M - 2.9M

Range / Habitat: Wetlands throughout Europe, Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Atlantic coast of the US.

Field Notes: Large, common all-black cormorant with yellow at base of bill and white check patch sometimes extending to throat. Breeding adults have white thigh patch as in the top photo.

Personal Notes: Known as White-breasted Cormorant in sub-Saharan Africa. Known as Black Shag in New Zealand. Maori name Kawau.

American White Pelican

Scientific Name:  Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Population Estimate: 180K, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Breeds in isolated areas from Manitoba, Canada and Minnesota west to northern California. Winters in California, Mexico, Central America, along the Gulf Coast and in Florida.

Field Notes: Huge, all white water birds with unmistakable large yellow bill and orange legs. Black tipped wings in flight. 

 

Personal Notes: We loved the above photos taken at Salton Sea, particularly together with the Brown Pelican.

Double-crested Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax auritus

Population Estimate: 1.5M, Least Concern status

Range: Winters in the southern US interior, and more extensively on the coasts. In summer it is widespread throughout North America.

Field Notes: Most common cormorant in North America, found along coasts but also inland. All black bird with hooked bill that is yellow at the base. Juveniles more pale, as in top photo. Often found in groups, these are heavy fliers that cruise just above the water. Great Cormorant and Brant's Cormorant have very limited overlap. The Neotropic Cormorant has a shared range along the Gulf Coast in Mexico, but the Double-crested Cormorant is larger with brighter yellow bill base, and relatively shorter tail.

Personal Notes: The drying of feathers is my favorite pose.