I’m heading back to Cape St. Mary’s in Newfoundland today and when I was there last spring watching the arrival of the Northern Gannets, I was quite surprised when this handsome looking guy flew in and landed on the cliffs across from me. This is a seabird known as a Razorbill (Alca torda) and apparently a few do nest in that location, but greater numbers nest in other areas around the Newfoundland coast. This sighting was a first for me and I was really pleased to see him looking so fine in his breeding black upper plumage, with that telltale nose and bill stripe. Colloquially these birds were sometimes known as ‘tinkers’, not because of their travelling ways, but because they would often look like they were deep in thought or contemplation – thinkers!
