OUT TO SEE

When you think of heading out to the Gulf Stream, you usually think of fishing. But going offshore is also a way to take in some legendary birdwatching.

BY STEVE HANF

Out TOSee

At first glance, it might seem like just another charter boat heading out of Oregon Inlet loaded with visitors eager to land that trophy fish.

Study the scene a bit more closely, though, and it’s easy to spot the differences aboard the Stormy Petrel II. Expensive cameras, high-powered binoculars and thick field guides fill the passengers’ arms as they clamber aboard, not fishing poles, tackle boxes and coolers of beer. And as the trip gets underway, their eyes are glued to the skies rather than the waves, seeking out life above the water rather than below it.

The Stormy Petrel II is named after a bird for a reason, after all. Over the years, this Outer Banks gem has become one of the top seabirding vessels for bird enthusiasts the world over, and it’s part of an enterprise that’s all run by Captain Brian Patteson off Hatteras Island.

“You get to a point where you’ve seen about all the birds you can reasonably see onshore – so eventually, the only thing left is to go looking for what we call pelagic birds – open-ocean seabirds – most of which don’t nest within even a few 100 miles of the Outer Banks,” Brian explains. “You’re basically looking at birds from all over the Atlantic Ocean.”

Some of the species may be vaguely familiar to the average person – including varieties of petrels and gannets and shearwaters – while others, such as the great skua, are better known only to avid bird-watchers.

But it may surprise many to know that puffins can also be spotted off the coast of the Outer Banks. Yes – those puffins, the fan-favorites at zoos and aquariums.

“Most people don’t know that puffins are here offshore in the wintertime,” says Kate Sutherland, who has worked closely with Brian for more than 20 years. “We have this really dynamic offshore ecosystem because we’re so close to deep water – and you just never know what you’re going to find out there.” Brian’s interest in birding first developed thanks to an aunt and uncle who got him started around the age of 12. Growing up in Central Virginia, he took to the ocean in the 1980s after running out of interesting species found on land – initially heading to Virginia Beach and then traveling farther south. Because pelagic birds migrate on a path along the Continental Shelf, Oregon Inlet is the perfect starting point for bird enthusiasts since it’s only 25 to 30 miles from deep water instead of 60 or more in other areas. When Great shearwaters congregate at sea near the Outer Banks Brian started leading tours in Hatteras in 1995, he initially (above). A white-tailed tropicbird soars (inset). Photos courtesy chartered boats until he was able to get his own – the of Kate Sutherland. Stormy Petrel – in 2005. A year later, he upgraded to the Stormy Petrel II: a 61-footer with room for 25 passengers, a full walk-around deck, a comfortable salon space and even two real bathrooms. Kate was one of Brian’s early guests who never left. Also from Virginia, Kate became interested in birding while earning an associate’s degree in natural resources management when a biology professor suggested checking out an offshore seabirding trip in Hatteras. That was in February 2000. “I went out on a trip [with Brian] and fell in love with the whole concept,” Kate recalls. “The idea that there are all these birds that spend their entire lives at sea was incredibly fascinating to me.”

Some of the many birds Brian Patteson and Kate Sutherland have encountered over decades of operating pelagic tours off the coast of the Outer Banks include Fea’s petrels, brindled terns, northern gannets and even Atlantic puffins (pictured top to bottom). Photos courtesy of Kate Sutherland.

On impulse, Kate asked Brian if he ever needed someone to help collect data on his trips – and, as luck would have it, Brian had just lost a crew member who previously filled that role. After helping him add up the thousands of birds they encountered on that trip, Kate mentioned that she’d like to come back later and do it again.

Which is exactly what she did, traveling down every weekend from Virginia to learn the ins and outs of Brian’s operation and record the data they collected on their trips. By January 2001 she made a permanent move to the Outer Banks, and although she earned her bachelor’s degree in marine biology at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington several years ago – where she’s also currently working on her master’s – she still divides her time between Wilmington and the Outer Banks in order to continue collecting data and organizing bookings with Brian.

These bookings are year-round events and they often come from all over the world. While the Stormy Petrel II spends a lot of time doubling as a charter boat, it’s booked by birders multiple weekends during the winter, spring and fall, as well as full weeks during the busy season of May, June and July. Some guests come back year after year. Others take multiple trips in the same week. Just about all of them share their sightings and photos in online birding communities, which helps new guests find their way to Hatteras.

They come from the other side of the state and other side of the country as well, including lots of folks from California. There are also visitors from Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and South Africa. Sometimes there are celebrities aboard, such as British TV wildlife host Nigel Marven. Other times there are scientists, including renowned Israeli ornithologist Hadoram Shirihai, who wrote The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife. They’ve helped tag birds for scientific research and even monitored beaked whale numbers – while not the main event, whales, dolphins or even sea turtles can often be sighted on each trip.

“Being able to run our own vessel looking for seabirds has kind of made us the best in the world at what we do,” Kate says. “We know where to go to look for them, how we need to cross paths with the birds, and how to put them in the best light for photography. We’re super flexible with all those things, and we’re also able to operate at a much lower cost by doing it ourselves.” Today’s success has come thanks to plenty of trial and error in Brian’s early days, however – and he was lucky enough to be helped along during that time by perhaps the original Outer Banks seabirder, the late Captain Allan “Big Al” Foreman, who founded Roanoke Island’s Pirate’s Cove Marina in the 1970s. And there was plenty to learn: Figuring out the wind and the Gulf Stream currents to maximize sightings and passenger comfort (seasickness can be a problem for some).

Because pelagic birds Discovering the best bait to toss to attract migrate on a path along the birds (frozen blocks of Continental Shelf, Oregon chum and shark liver are favorites according Inlet is the perfect starting to Brian). And perhaps point for bird enthusiasts most importantly, using the endless amount of since it’s only 25 to 30 miles data they’ve collected from deep water instead of 60 over the years to make each trip a memorable or more in other areas. one. For Brian, the thrill of simply seeing a new or rare species has faded over the years, and he enjoys the scientific aspect more than anything now. “The distribution of birds is fascinating, especially the seabirds, because we see birds that are many thousands of miles from their nesting areas out in the open ocean,” Brian says. “Being able to spend a lot of time out there in that habitat, you really get to know those species pretty well.” Brian cites birds such as the black-capped petrel from Haiti and the Dominican Republic or the Bermuda petrel, which was thought to have gone extinct before being rediscovered in 1951. Others include the Wilson’s storm petrel, which nests on Antarctic islands and circumnavigates the ocean each year despite being as tiny as a purple martin, and the wedge-tailed shearwater, a common Pacific species that was sighted on a Hatteras trip last year. “It doesn’t matter how many times I see them or how fleeting a glimpse it is – it’s always kind of humbling,” Kate adds. “When I started, I never imagined I’d still be doing this more than 20 years later, but now there’s absolutely nowhere else I’d rather be.”