Frequent shallow diving by a Northern Fulmar feeding at Shetland

Abstract

We studied the diving behavior of chick-rearing Northern Fulmars ( Fulmarus glacialis ) in Shetland, U.K., in July 1998. Seen birds were caught oil nests and fitted with data loggers attached to a plastic ring on one leg of each bird. Only one data set, spanning tell days was recovered. Dives (N = 972) were generally shallow; the maximum dive depth was 2.6 in. Maximum dive duration was 8 s. Dicing took place most often in the afternoon; hardly any dives occurred during the night. Diving activity was irregular over the study period with a peak activity of 0.9 dives/min over many hours