Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Seabirds

Watching for seabirds along our route is always fun for us as we travel by ship.  We enjoy trying to identify each seabird order and their respective family.  In our current location along the southern coast of Australia, there is always plenty of opportunity to see the large Albatross who travel along the lower latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere.  Late yesterday we were lucky enough to see several White-capped Albatross flying alongside of the ship.  This bird is a Diomedea Cauta.  They are the largest black-backed albatrosses, approaching Wandering Albatross in size.  They have a wing span of about 8 feet.  Here are few photos of these magnificent birds.