Birds

Working with the eiders, I have developed more of an interest in birds than I had anticipated.  Of course, my occasional curiosity by no means compares to most of my colleagues, but I did learn a few fun facts, and I got to feed the puffins!

They eat fish, squid, and krill

Alcids are web-footed diving birds.  Tufted puffins, horned puffins, and common murres are among the alcid family.  The common murre is the closest relative to the penguin.  Penguins have become so specialized in the water, that they have lost the ability to fly.  Birds that “fly” underwater experience resistance many times that of air, and thus it requires much more energy for little reward.  They have adapted very large pectoral muscles to facilitate this need.  When comparing the skeletons of a common murre and an albatross (a much larger bird) it is obvious that the cavity for holding those muscles necessary for flying (under water or in the air respectively) are nearly the same size.  This added weight makes flying much more laborious, however translates to swift, strong movements in the water.  As a result, common murres can dive up to 600 ft!

Common murres have black and white coloring similar to penguins

By far the most popular birds at the SeaLife Center are the puffins.  Also a diving bird, these species produce exuberant breeding plumage that makes them quite aesthetically pleasing, to humans and their mates alike.  Both the male and female will molt into the same plumage for the breeding season, and there is no sexual dimorphism that is present in other species, such as the eiders.

Horned puffins

Tufted puffins

Female king eider

Male king eider

Among other birds in the SeaLife Center aviary resides the kittiwake.  This bird is a member of the gull family.  Although similar in appearance to the seagull, the kittiwake is smaller, and much more highly regarded than the pesky seagull.  Kittiwakes build their nests on the sides of cliffs, often where you wouldn’t think a nest would be possible at all!

If you are a bird person this is the place to go!  We had an 80-some-year-old woman travel all the way from Japan to Seward, Alaska just to see the spectacled eider.  The diving tank at the SeaLife Center is the deepest in the country, and watching the birds dive from underwater viewing is quite a sight to see.