South Polar Skua

Hella stoked to get a keeper frame of this barrel-chested bully, a kleptoparasite known for attacking other oceanic birds and stealing their prey. Related to gulls, the South Polar nests in Antarctica and retires to Northern Hemisphere oceans between April to October. They stay well-offshore during those non-breeding months, so pelagic birdwatching trips are the only way to observe them. Unfortunately, the birds are usually seen flying directly away from the boat, so I needed ~50 trips spread across five years before I was able to get a close-range shot with the required eye-contact, this unusually-approachable example lifting off the water and crossing directly in front of my bow vantage.

Pioneer Canyon, offshore San Francisco County, California, 9/22/21
Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II + 1.4x III on Canon R5
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800