One for Annie! – Snow Petrel

March 19, 2010   

Snow-Petrel-500x375

This is a picture taken by Claire Doc of a Snow Petrel (apparently there are only around a 1000 breeding pairs) which landed for a rest next to the door of Old Bransfield. They are one of only a handful of birds which breed in Antarctica. From wikipedia I got the following information.

“Possibly the most beautiful bird in the Antarctic, the Snow Petrel is pure white with black underdown and conspicious black eyes. They have a small black bill and bluish gray feet. They are restricted almost exclusively to cold antarctic waters, preferring pack ice, icebergs and ice floes as their main habitat. They feed mainly by surface-dipping while on the wing.

Snow Petrels tend to fly low over the water but very high over land to avoid predators such as South Polar skuas. Their flight is more fluttering than most petrels.

Unlike most of the petrel family, Snow Petrels are nervous at the nest and will desert their eggs if overly disturbed.”

 

3 Responses to “One for Annie! – Snow Petrel”

  1. Thanks………………..beautiful.
    A.

  2. Does Annie read this every day? Love mum

  3. Email her and find out 🙂 Pretty bird isn’t it.