Sea bird behavior and what it tells us
I started this in response to an answer I gave a guy who seemed to be frustrated with the birds he was following in his boat. Here's my experiences. Remember there are lots of additional variations of what I have seen.
"When you see birds, try to classify in your mind what they are doing. Birds will organize themselves around bait, even if there are no fish feeding, so that's why you will see them sitting in the middle of the water sometimes.
The circling and sporadic diving signifies they have found bait they can reach, while just circling can signify they have found bait that is not yet accessible.
The easiest bird behavior to identify is when they are diving on fish that are blitzing, but as mentioned previously, there are other behaviors you can look for, and variations of the ones I mentioned, that will also help you to find fish. Hope this helps. "
If any one else has perspectives or experiences to add to this, I would appreciate hearing them.
Gannets and gannet behavior
I'm posting this to help to educate us about what kinds of birds gannets are, what they eat, and what their behavior means.
I decided it was necessary because at a few other places there are some people talking about the following:
1. Gannets diving on adult bunker.
2. Gannets being in the RB on small bait "like bay anchovies".
I don't want to get into pizzing contests with anyone here or in cyberspace. If the above scenarios are what the people reporting them believe they saw, it's certainly possible. But realistically, I think we need to educate people as to the behavior and feeding habits of gannets so people have a better idea of what they're seeing and why they're seeing it...
(and if they saw gannets at all. :huh: It's quite common for some people to confuse seagulls with gannets.)
However, if you have been around and fishing for a number of years, you learn to distinguish the difference. To me, there is no mistaking the dive bombing Kamikaze ferociousness of gannet behavior. :learn:
I love watching them crash on bait, knowing that often there are big bass underneath. Frequently the gannets are the only indicator that the bass are there, as feeding bass will sometimes not even break the surface if there are only a few bass and the school of forage fish is large enough.
To begin with, gannets take a high speed dive into the water to get their food. It's a pretty cool sight to watch. They primarily feed on herring and similar sized bigger bait in the ocean because that's the right size food for them. They could kill themselves if diving on tightly packed schools of horse bunker. They do eat adult bunker given the right conditions.
As for smaller bait like anchovies, it might be possible, but they would rather eat herring and bait in that size range. The ideal size range is indicated in bold below. I did this to show that all things are possible, but you have to ask yourself as a fisherman which scenarios are likely.
That's why when spotted in early Spring and late Fall they're a great indicator of herring schools. You see them a lot early and late season when the herring are moving through an area. As mentioned, they could also be on bunker, if the bunker are not densely packed.
You can see them in the deeper bay waters, or the ocean. Whenever you see them, it's an awesome sight. :thumbsup:
Re: Sea bird behavior and what it tells us
Birds and Winter Herring......
Back in late December when the water was a little warmer there were schools of herring......
Most of these schools didn't have bass under them, they just moved up and down the coast....
As opposed to bunker, which sometimes stay closer to the surface as they feed, these herring were only visible by looking for a dark stain....
The birds could see them, though....with crystal clear clarity and perfect vision they would gather around the schools waiting for something to happen...it often never did, but the birds would wait anyway......
The following are pics I took one such cold dreary morning....
Thought some of ya's might like to see what I saw, the subtle signs......