Community Corner

Rare Sea Bird Spotted at Pacifica Pier

A Northern Fulmar, a rare species of Tubenose birds, was spotted near the Pacifica Pier.

This December, I went to Pacifica and walked along the Pier. Though I had been there when I was younger, as an avid birder I was excited about going back to Pacifica with its numerous habitats.

There were many gulls on the pier, including adult and juvenile Western Gulls, adult Mew Gulls, adult California Gulls and juvenile Glaucous-winged Gulls.

Among these many gulls, however, one bird on the water caught my eye. This sooty-gray bird normally lives 5-20 miles offshore.

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I had only seen a live one once before, and that was when I was on a boat on the ocean.

This bird was the majestic Northern Fulmar.

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I recognized this bird as such because of its distinctive look. The Northern Fulmar comes in two color morphs. Both have very thick, small necks, giving a no-neck illusion and have thick, short yellow bills. The light morph birds have a pale back and are white overall. Light morph individuals are less numerous in the Pacific than their dark morph cousins, but extremely numerous in the Atlantic.

The dark morph Fulmar (the one I encountered) is the most common morph in the Pacific.

The bird was sitting tamely on the water, an unusual habit so close to shore. When the birds are this close to shore, they're generally commuting from one place to the other, so are often on the wing.

This species generally gathers in loose groups when foraging, but there were no other fulmars in sight.

At the few places you can see this bird from shore, you may only see extremely distant views of them a mile or more away making this experience unusually special.

Northern Fulmars nest in the high arctic, but come each year south to offshore California and Baja. California is a favorite location for this species because of deep-sea upwellings which pushes microscopic food to the surface.

This birds’ Arctic habits means it prefers colder water, like that in Pacifica. Also, like surfers, these birds like the strong waves that are found in Pacifica, as they make it easier to get food that is stirred up by the strong currents.

Though rare or unusual birds are exciting to see, this bird was probably, and unfortunately, part of a massive die off of Northern Fulmars that occurs each November and December. 

If you wish to see a Northern Fulmar in Pacifica, the Pier is a smart place to go, but places like Pedro Point or any strip of land that sticks out into the water would be an ideal place to look for them.

--Logan Kahle, age 13


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