Subantarctic skua

Seabird watching: Subantarctic skua

Subantarctic skua
Subantarctic skua

On a whale watching trip in False Bay, we were visited several times by a Subantarctic skua (or brown skua), a large chicken-sized bird that can have a wingspan of up to 1.6 metres. We may have seen the same bird numerous times, or been visited by multiple specimens – it’s hard to tell. Each time the boat stopped, a skua settled down in the water nearby, probably hoping for a snack (they eat discards from fishing boats). I was charmed by the way he held position in the big swells, paddling delicately with his lovely feet.

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zFc8Ovwfz4&w=540″]

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Clare

Lapsed mathematician, creator of order, formulator of hypotheses. Lover of the ocean, being outdoors, the bush, reading, photography, travelling (especially in Africa) and road trips.