Death by Storm-Petrel...

WHOA...
THAT WAS CLOSE.....

Ok, so maybe I'm being a little bit overly dramatic....
One of the cool things about being out here is seeing Storm-Petrel birds.
They are small birds that are often out here doing their thing... You can read more below...

Anyway, I was out for a walk on the deck and I saw one flying around.. They kind of look like bats because of the patern that they fly in.. its quite neat to see... anyway, I was watching this bird and its going off to port, and back... up to the Radar tower... back down over to port again... all this time I am on the Heli-deck...

So the bird makes a hard turn back towards the boat and right at me...
it turned off when it was only a couple of meters away.. I was sure it was going to hit me....And these little suckers are FAST....

Anyway, it missed me.. but it was cool...
It looked black and yellow to be, but it must have been the night sky, because apparently they are only black and white...

Here is what I found out about them online....

The Storm-petrels

While storm-petrels are almost unknown to people on shore, sailors have had superstitions about the hoards of these small birds for centuries. These seabirds spend their days feeding far out on the ocean. Usually they only approach land under cover of darkness. They are small, starling-sized seabirds with sooty brown plumage and a white stripe on the tail. They have a tube-shaped nose and clawed, webbed feet which aid them in digging their small burrows in the grass of offshore islands. A storm-petrel produced a rich oil from its seafood diet to feed its single chick. Many small islands off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador are honey-combed with tens of thousands of their burrows The common name of "Cary chick" or "Mother Cary's chickens" or "Mother Cary's children" is believed to be derived from an ancient Norse tale about a spirit that moved on the water and terrorized Viking sailors. And old Irish legend holds that the birds are the souls of lost sailors. The mysterious songs, oily odour, and unfortunate habit of crashing by the thousands onto ships at sea provide some modern understanding of these ancient superstitions.

The Wilson's storm-petrel is slightly smaller than its close relative, the fork-tailed Leach's storm-petrel. The Wilson's storm-petrel flies up from the southern hemisphere by the millions to feed off the province's coast. Both storm-petrels are among the most abundant birds in the world.

The wings, feathers, and bones of storm-petrels are often found along headlands and in other areas where gulls land to eat. Storm-petrels are seldom seen except far out at sea and at night around their many colonies. Occasionally summer or fall storms will drive them close to the shore during daylight hours, but it is a lucky birdwatcher who catches a glimpse of this secretive seabird.

Here is an artists interpretation of the Storm-Petrel.