Feeding birds

Rafts of feeding birds in an area indicate that there may be fish, squid or other animals which birds (and cetaceans) feed on under the surface of the water. Rafts of birds circling in what can appear a frenzy  is a particularly good signal that there is something interesting happening under the water so during Shorewatch this activity is recorded whether cetaceans are sighted or not.

Make a mental note of any rafts of feeding birds seen during your watch; confirm and record it by marking a Y in the feeding bird’s column on your data sheet after the 10-miunte watch. In the notes column record the species, distance, and bearing where possible.  If no rafts of feeding birds are seen during your watch mark N in the appropriate column on your data sheet.