HOME | DD

Description
Yesterday, a group of birding friends and I set out on a trip to the continental shelf, 120+ miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Our targets were rare pelagic birds. Along the continental shelf, gulf stream associated waters rise the ocean temperatures to 75 degrees, and hold a wealth of wildlife. These birds and animals follow the warm water up the coast. The water turns an incredible blue color, the air temperature changes, and wildlife abounds. Despite the birding being relatively slow, we had an incredible day with other marine life. Highlights included a Whale Shark, a Tiger Shark, 2 Basking Sharks, several Finback Whales, Risso's and Bottlenose Dolphins, several Portugese Man-of-War, Manta Rays, and this Loggerhead Sea Turtle. The Loggerhead is an endangered species, rapidly declining due to becoming tangled up with unattended fishing equipment.

Continental Shelf
Massachusetts waters

July 16, 2011

Description
Yesterday, a group of birding friends and I set out on a trip to the continental shelf, 120+ miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Our targets were rare pelagic birds. Along the continental shelf, gulf stream associated waters rise the ocean temperatures to 75 degrees, and hold a wealth of wildlife. These birds and animals follow the warm water up the coast. The water turns an incredible blue color, the air temperature changes, and wildlife abounds. Despite the birding being relatively slow, we had an incredible day with other marine life. Highlights included a Whale Shark, a Tiger Shark, 2 Basking Sharks, several Finback Whales, Risso's and Bottlenose Dolphins, several Portugese Man-of-War, Manta Rays, and this Loggerhead Sea Turtle. The Loggerhead is an endangered species, rapidly declining due to becoming tangled up with unattended fishing equipment.

Continental Shelf
Massachusetts waters

July 16, 2011