Following closely alongside and beside us were many large scavenging dark-brown giant petrels with 6-foot wingspans and the smaller pintado, cape or "painted" petrels with black and white checkerboard patterns. Both of these petrels are from the colder sub-Antarctic waters, but are feeding in these fish-rich areas. All around the ship on the surface of the water were large groups of shearwaters and gulls as well as many smaller groups of Magellanic penguins either feeding or resting on the surface.
The true masters of the air, wind and waves, however, are albatrosses. Our companions today were the yellow-nosed albatross from the Tristan da Cunha Island group and the more numerous black-browed albatross, which is the featured bird of today's web page. Using a flight technique called dynamic soaring; these pelagic seabirds with 5-6 foot wingspans are scanning the ocean for food. We had mostly juveniles or non-breeding birds traveling with us from their huge nesting colonies to the south. As we head toward the Falkland Islands, we will most certainly have many more of these beautiful soaring seabirds grace us with their presence.
