Some images from this season......using a Canon instead of a shotgun.

Amazing shots ! Thanks for sharing. Although I enjoyed everyone of the photos you posted, the seaducks really do "it" for me. Are those two Black Scoter hens with that flock of Eiders on the water? Have anymore seaduck photos you care to share?
 
done any pelagic bird trips.....looks like that Greater Shearwater is coming in for a "hot landing" in a chum slick....great shot on that one......

Fulmars have always been one of my favorites...

Were these from shore, pier or where you offshore?....

I went to Maine five summers in a row and two of those went to Bar Harbor after after staying with Bill Wasson in Rockland specifically to go out to the Puffin colonies.....three days one trip and four the second and we never left the dock.....so Atlantic Puffins are one I've not seen.....got lucky and saw Dovekies and Razorbills while hunting Eiders with Bill and a good number of other neat stuff, like Cahow's and TropicBirds and all manner of really neat ceataceans on trips offshore from NJ to Fla but no Puffins.....yet another reason to go back to Maine.....

Steve
 
some great photos Keith. all them eider makes have to make a trip up north. Also the shots with the shore birds in the decoys were cool!
 
Great shots Keith, thank God you figured out how to post the pictures. Can't imagine missing all these,thanks.
 
Steve, it appears you are I share a mutual fondness for sea birds. Here are a few sea bird decoy images I recently finished. I have a commission for a complete collection of seabird decoys carved in the influence of Elmer Crowell. These are some of that collection that I recently completed. (You mentioned the Leach's Storm Petrel) ....that is one of them, and it is already completed.

A little gull winter dress.....


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Greater shearwater.....


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Red necked grebe....transitional plumage......


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Long tailed jaeger......


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but I swear when I saw the little Gull I thought "wow, you must have been close to that one-great shot".....the picture and the caption got my attention prior to reading that it was decoy.....ya cudda fooled me.....

Question....you mention that keeling Speedy Alka Seltzer was going to be tough...I'm really looking forward to seeing how you keel a Storm Petrel in that "dancing across the surface of the water" pose.....floating will be nice but JEEEEEZZZ ALOUUUU a small raft like that one you have on the flying Eider pair with a half dozen Mothers Carries Chickens--you know one of each species--in various poses..HOW NEAT WOULD THAT BE?

Love that Dovekie....neat little birds that most people just flat overlook because they are so small......here's one of our "little guys"....

Marbled Murrelet in winter plummage....

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This one was between the Old Squaw rig and the boat...so close to the boat that the telephoto wouldn't focus and the lens had to be switched out to get it in focus....when you come to see Tom I can show you these guys....

Steve
 
Rick, since I live 5 minitues from the shore.....sea pictures I've got, and I will keep posting them; a favorite subject of mine.

Don't worry, I'vve got a half a million pictures and plenty of bs for everyone!!
 
You are welcome Jay.....my pleasure!

Thank you Bill, how have you been?? We both have a fantastic favorite bird......just love 'em!! I will give you a call when we are in Maine, I will let you know when we will be there!

Thanks again,

Keith
 
THank you Gary, I am glad you enjoyed them.....keep watching, I will have more coming! You are correct, there was two hen common scoters with the ediers. I have more sea duck images than anything else....what are you looking for??
 
Thanks Michael, you are welcomed anytime....just give me a call if you want to spend a day with the cameras.

You are most welcomed Fran, glad you enjoyed them.
 
Hey Carl, glad you took time away from your carving bench....how are those eiders coming out??? Can't wait to see them!!

Good talking with you and Kay today!!
 
Thank you Phil, you told me once I got the hang of it, the picture posting would be easy! THanks for all your help......I am getting the hang of it!! Glad you liked the images. Looks like you created a monster!!

Keith
 
I got to see these guys in the Pacific and help band the chicks....have you ever carved boobies before?

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Dani
 
Steve Thanks for the murrelet image, beautiful little bird! Now I cheated on the petrel.....I carved it as a floating decoy; it had to match the rest of them you know!! :) I have some interesting stories in my book with sea birds....you should enjoy them when your book arrives!

Here is another sea bird that I carved for my wife for her collection. This species to me is every bit as much my favorite as the gannet....tough call for #1. We make a special trip to the pacific coast of Costa Rica to Tarcoles just to watch them...fantastic birds!! Also carved with the Elmer Crowell influence.

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Those are great Dani.....I have only carved gannets, but I love the brown booby, and the red footed are beautiful as well....Jen and I are thinking of going to the Caymans so I can photograph the red footed boobies and the frigatebirds in Booby Pond. This pond has the largest population of red footed boobies in the Caribbean, and the second largest rookery of the frigates (Barbuda has the first largest) also in the Caribbean. I have an interesting story regarding a brown booby while codfishing off of Rhode Island which I will share later. I have a brown booby carved, but it won't be finished for a while. Would love to hear more about the banding....that fascinates me!

Thank you for sharing!!

Keith
 
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The banding was done on Palmyra...which is about 5 degrees north of the Equator and splat dab in the middle of nowhere Pacific Ocean. Palmyra used to be used as a stopping point in WWII for the Pacific Theatre and US ships and planes heading to wage war with Japan. Anyway, it was part of a school trip in college. I spent a semester out to sea through Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and our ONLY stop on land was in Palmyra. We left Honolulu, sailed south past the equator and sailed back north to Honolulu, via Palmyra. Lots of fun.

There was a USFWS biologist "stationed" on the island, he was working on his graduate studies regarding boobies and was going to go out banding, asking any of us if we'd like to go. As I recall, we only banded the brown booby chicks since the redfooted bobbies were still sitting on eggs and there weren't chicks to band. It was fun, messy, and those chicks....watch out for their bill because they sure could be vicious with them. But it took two people per bird to band...one to "subdue" the chick and the other to place the band around its leg (I don't know if that is true for all banding or not). It wasn't a very large nesting colony for either the redfooted or the brown boobies. Still fun though...very interesting...

Dani
 
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