Great Shearwater

[Isaac Grant]

• Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)

Here is a shot that shows just how tough and brutal nature can be. There was an extended offshore storm that coincided with the peak Shearwater migration. For 2 days we had a strong onshore wind that funneled these seabirds in record numbers to the coast. I went out to Nickerson Beach to see the shearwater show but things quickly took a sad turn. There is a trail that heads out through the dunes and opens up to the beach. About 75 feet from there and still a long way to the water an exhausted Great Shearwater flew into me and then kept going inland. After a short walk I found another that had been beached. Took a quick photo while I was being sand blasted from the 30+mph winds to show some of the misery that these birds deal with. As the night went on more and more were coming ashore and I helped rehabbers take many of them away. Even after the sun set I was pulling them from the surf as they were too exhausted to even move. Very sad. In all it was a pretty sizable wreck and not what I was hoping to see when I went out there. Was hoping to see some of the seabirds and if lucky take a few pictures. Was not expecting to be holding them in my hands. Others who were seawatching nearby recorded over 600 seen from land that day which was more than 10 times the record number ever recorded from land in NY in a day. Hopefully some studies will show if the birds were suffering from exhaustion or if malnourishment played a role. The day before a Brown ****y was seen at Nickerson and was found dead that same morning. Not a good sign for the health of our oceans.

Canon 1dx and Canon 500 f4ii + 1.4x iii. F8, ISO 500, SS 1/2500

Processed with DPP 4.6 and PS

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

I really like the image Grant you have captured the scenario extremely well, I like the green top!

 

[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely moody image, you have captured the conditions you describe perfectly. Thank you for sharing, Isaac.

 

[Alex Becker]

Very nice capture to show the harsh conditions. Very sad to read about the struggles these guys faced, and I have been getting increasingly more concerned with the ocean's health. I hope you find a way to get this photo and corresponding story to a wider audience (photo contest, perhaps? really not sure) as it is quite moving.

 

[Isaac Grant]

I got the word out to the whole NY State birding community. Sent out an email on the spot. Just as an fFYI I have been a birder my whole life. Was raised by a birder. I am in the top 10 for NY State birding life lists. I pretty much know everyone. People got organized and walked most of the surrounding beaches to try and get a feel for how many birds got wrecked. Some of the top NY ornithologists are involved as well. Also got people chiming in from other parts of the coast who were also sea watching. We have info now from Long Beach to Montauk. When the results of the autopsies come back then they will have a better idea of what happened. These guys nest in the southern Atlantic and winter in the north Atlantic. So any number of things could have happened. Could have eaten plastic in large quantities. Could have covered long distances with inadequate food supplies, could have just hit that storm at the wrong time when they were weakest. Don't really know. But I think it is a really sad photo. Almost didn't post it but at the same time the strong blowing sand and the hunkered down bird was really powerful to see and really put into perspective what they have to deal with. I posted a shot this winter of an Iceland Gull that was hunkered down like this in the middle of a snow storm. Single digit temps and high winds. It is one of my favorite shots I have taken. Not because it was difficult to take a picture of a bird that was sitting still,but because of the story it told. I feel the same about this shot. Here is the link to the shot I was talking about. http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/138626-Iceland-Gull?highlight=iceland+gull

 

[John Whaley]

It is a sad story that goes with the excellent image. I am curious why you left the green bg across the top? It seems to contradict the conditions in the rest of the image.

 

[Isaac Grant]

I'm not sure what you mean John. Why does the green grass of the dunes contradict the rest of the image? For me it shows just how far up the beach the bird was pushed. Plus it is the natural surroundings and is where all of the common terns nest at this location.

 

[John Whaley]

For me the green adds warmth to an otherwise moody, harsh, even brutal, to use your word, image. All good. Any word on the current condition of the Shearwater that came ashore during the storm?

 

[Isaac Grant]

No new word on the birds other than more bad news. 6 more dead birds were found yesterday in East Hampton. Not good signs at all.

With regards to the green I see what you are saying but really I think it adds to the scene. In that green area is a thriving (and perhaps the most photographed of any) Common Tern and Black Skimmer colony. Yet the harsh reality is that these shearwaters were really struggling despite the thriving colony just behind where the bird was beached. But I could see a version where I cropped or cloned that out I guess. Wonder what others think of that.

 

[John Whaley]

I live south of you on the coast, close to Ocean City MD and have seen seabirds and seals taking refuge from a storm but don't recall finding any casualties in the aftermath. Really interested in what the studies show.