Burrowing bird

A grey-faced petrel contemplates the world from the entrance to its nest burrow

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Sep 16, 2017 at 12:55pm PDT

Burgess Island, New Zealand

The Chasm of Doom

Crossing the Chasm of Doom: must reach the storm petrel colony before nightfall (when thousands of White-faced Storm Petrels will whirl in, fluttering and squeaking, for a night of courtship on the cliffs)

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Sep 15, 2017 at 4:36am PDT

On Burgess Island in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf.

Cliff nesting

Seabird landing

It's official: my seabird sketching project has begun (this press release materialized mere hours after I touched down at Auckland International Airport).

I'm doing a Fulbright-Nat Geo Storytelling Fellowship in New Zealand. See more stories from the seabird capital of the world...

Old albatross

Today I start my desultory multiday trip from Maine to New Zealand, where I intend to sketch a lot of seabirds. My overseas flight isn't until this weekend, so in the meantime here's an albatross sketch from the archives!

A post shared by Abby McBride (@sketchbiologist) on Sep 5, 2017 at 5:03am PDT

Actually this was a drawing (based on photographic references) of THE oldest known living bird, Wisdom the Laysan Albatross, who continues to lay eggs and raise chicks at age 66-plus.