Been reading and watching Bob Flood and Ashley Fisher's latest North Atlantic Seabirds instalment. As usual a masterpiece. Prompted me to look through a few of my Fulmar images and particularly ones I took on the North Atlantic Odyssey- a boat trip from Scotland to Svalbard which I went on with Darryl and Greg a few years ago. Flood and Fisher look at the colour variation in Atlantic Fulmars, a variation which includes a greater proportion of darker coloured birds towards the north. Here's a few birds we saw as we headed north.
For Atlantic Fulmar, Flood proposes different morphs from light (LL) to intermediate (L/D) and dark (DD). Interesting Pacific Fulmar have a wider range of variation with palest birds (LLL) to darkest birds (DDD)
A Fulmar off Seaford on the South Coast - LL
Another one off Seaford (a worn bird suggesting L/D?)
An indiviudal near Aberdeen -LL
A bird on Fair Isle -LL
Around the Northern Isles - LL
LL
Another couple of shots from around the Northern Isles-LL. The black nostrils (when present) are diagnostic of Atlantic Fulmars (as opposed to Pacific Fulmar)
An individual around Jan Mayen in the Arctic Ocean - DD?
L/D
L/D
L/D
A few individuals heading towards and around Svalbard
.......and a couple of other holiday snaps from the trip
Our boat
Grey Phalarope
Adult Glaucous Gull in breeding plumage
Some more trip pics here:
