Friday 3 July 2009

Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

















I had a day off work today and spent most of it at Bempton Cliffs RSPB.

For some reason I was drawn to the Fulmars and spent the morning looking for flight shots of these great birds.

The Fulmar is a bird of the open sea and can glide effortlessly but then flaps its wing like a gull.

Fulmars have an exceptionally long period of immaturity and on average do not breed until they are nine years of age, they look at a possible nesting site for years before settling there and in their colonies eject a foul smelling fluid from their mouths at intruders.

3 comments:

Chris said...

Hi Mike.
These are terrific flight shots. It is a bird that I love a lot and that we can see by millions over here, but it is rather scared when we tried to take pictures, except if we go to some specific cliffs where tourists often go... Well done on this nice bird.

Mike Randall Bird Photography said...

Thanks Chris, Fulmars have a certain mysterious quality.
They were a bird absent from the British mainalnd over a 100 years ago.

FAB said...

Good flight pics of the 'tubenose' Mike. We saw one or two while on Jersey but far too far away for any photos. Amazing to see how the glide around with such little effort.