Seabird

Avg. speed

27 kn

Seabirds have been read as omens and navigation aids by sailors for centuries, from albatrosses that glide behind a ship for days to the petrels long nicknamed Mother Carey's chickens. They feed by snatching fish and squid from the surface or plunge-diving, and gannets crashing into the water like arrows are a sure sign of fish massing below. A large, working aggregation of seabirds is one of the very best surface indicators of subsurface wildlife activity, often marking feeding whales, dolphins or tuna. The sight of frigatebirds is especially telling, as these coastal soarers rarely stray far out and usually mean land is near.