Puffin Palagic Boat trip

Bucket found

That a girl . . . let that nice lunch you just had out . . . you shouldn't eat before a boat trip grandma says:)

Whew, we finally made it to Maine, and got a boat trip to take us out to see Puffins and other waterbirds. After some research, I located http://www.oldquarry.com/ out of Stonington that host several outdoor adventures. From camping and sea kayaking to light house boats trips and puffin boat trips. They schedule trips out to see the puffins twice  a month, from May until August. So we are set, now if it would not rain on us!!


The trips are usually 9am-2pm, five hours total and that Tuesday morning was perfect(see the Bar Harbor pics), but wouldn't you know it, the rain front coming up the east coast was hitting NE Maine around 2pm, but we had 16 people, a bird guide, and 2 crew . . . nothing can stop puffing us now!!!

the SS Nigh Duck

So it's 2 hours out,  one hour there, and 2 hours back, a 5 hour tour.  And it starts raining on the way out. We had rain gear so we stayed in the back of the boat and got great sights of Wilson's Storm Petrels, Northern Gannets, and Greater Shearwaters.

Having fun yet??

Wilson's Storm Petrel

Also the crew spotted this fin sticking out of the water?? What is it??  We slowed down and got closer to it.

What?

  

Ocean Sunfish

Turns out, it is a large Common Imola or Ocean Sunfish.  The heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight between 545–2,205 lb. The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

google images photo

Cool, a new life fish!!!  So by now the waves/swells are getting bigger, it's raining more, wind is picking up, and 4 people have now used the puke buckets . . . it's getting rough. But finally, after a little more than 2 hours, we see an island off in the distance . . it's Seal Island NWR

#T4P at Seal Island NWR

Once we get there, we cut the engines down to no wake speed and troll around the back side of the island, back and forth for about 30 minutes. Lucky the rain had slowed to a sprinkle, and the wind and waves where calm in the cove.

We're here!!

Navigation of iPhone working

16 Miles out from coast

No land in sight

Above is a one minute video I took of the island/boat trip, so you get an idea of the nicest part of the trip, and what it's like out there in the middle of nowhere. It' neat to think that Atlantic Puffins and Razorbills come out here to nest. Partly is because of no natural predators like cats, foxes etc can get to them.

After the 30 minutes, we make the turn to head back into land, this time riding the waves makes it easier on the boat and quicker.  We boat through Isle au Haut bay and island and see Gray Seals and Harbor Seals.

Seal

Atlantic Puffin

And this concludes my three part blog series of Maine, where I got 6 life birds now taking me up to #570 ABA birds.

Next up:  Viva Las Vegas!!!!  4th time a charm . . . can I get a lifer??

Lobster rolls?!?

Yes, Mickey D's serves LR

Maine, what a state to visit and bird in. We had a great time in the short time there, with lots of driving. This blog post, I wanted to share places visited and trip details.

We arrived late Sunday night in Portland, ME and got a free upgrade rental car. What to choose from?? Camaro, Mustang, BMW 3series, Camry . . . Hmm it's going to be gorogeous weather, and we are driving up the coast via Route 1 . . . let take . .

Mustang Convertible V6

#T4P

After waking up early for the 5:30am sunrise, we birded Scarbough Marsh and Jones Creek pointe for two life birds. Back for the continental breakfast and check out. This is great, the day has just begun. Time to hit the road, top down, Pandora radio and the scenery. Maine is beautiful. Up I295 North to Brunswick, then old school US RT 1 to the coast, small towns like Bath, Waldoboro, and Rockland for lunch. But looking at the navigation, I see Owl's Head. Let's stop there, we're birders and this is a bird town. Turns out there is a state park and old Coast Guard lighthouse. Bam, Black Guillimot, lifer.

Birder welcome

Gulf of Maine

Lunch!!

We stopped in Rockland and ate lunch at a locally owned shop. So I got some Lobster Roll, Clam chowder, slaw and pickle. It was very good and I like how they reuse all the plates, silverware and cups. Now back on US 1 North to Bangor for the night, but we have time to kill, so we stop at Camden Hills State Park. It's just north of Rockport and Camden, ME.

Mount Battie view

If you are get the chance, stop by the park and drive up to the top of the park. Views of Penobscot Bay and Mount Megunticook, the highest mainland mountain on the Atlantic Coast are spectacluar. But again, not a lot of bird activity. We did hear a Least Flycatcher up here and that's it.  So on through Belfast, then Bangor for the night.  Tues is going to be epic!!


Tuesday its 5:30am, the sun is coming up. Time to hit the road. The Puffin boat trip is later at 2pm so we have the morning to head to Acadia National Park. The first place to stop is a marsh for a reported Ruffed Grouse. After several minutes of little activity producing juvenile Common YellowThroat and RubyThroated Hummingbird, JK spots the grouse moving off the road. Bam-another lifter!!

Beautiful

Mount Desert Island

We take Route 3 out of Ellsworth, McD's breakfast in belly, and make the loop down and around the isle up to Bar Harbor, Maine. The place everyone's heard of. There are cruise boats and birding palagics out of the harbor and it is touristy place to visit.

Agamont Park

DT Bar Harbor

Expensive yachts

4 mast sail boat

After BH was done, we decided to head back down to Stonington for the Puffin trip at 2pm.  The morning was gorgeous, but there was a storm a coming my friends, this might be a bumpy ride on the seas today fellas. That blog post will be the next and final one of the trip.

Yea

 Trip Stats:
63 hours in Maine
508 miles driven in a Stang
25.7 MPG
75 total species
18  FOYs--Notables
(BlackScoter,GreaterShearwater,Wilson'sStormPetral,NorthernGannet,GreatCommorant,RuddyTurnstone,Red-neckPhalarope,GBBG,RedbreastedNuthatch,
  6 LIFERS, now at ABA#570


Next up:  Does anybody have a bucket?? Pass up the bucket . . .

Maine +6 Lifers!!

Welcome back home to good old Ohio, wow what a trip to the northeast. My 60 hour trip to Maine paid off, as I added six new life birds to my ABA list. The next three posts will be about the trip, 1) Life birds  2) places visited 3) Puffin boat trip.

Lifers needed & seen:

• Atlantic Puffin, code 1, Seal Island NWR boat trip 

Welcome to Seal Island

Atlantic Puffin, #570

Group of Puffins

Fratercula arctica

A natty black-and-white seabird with a huge, multicolored bill, the Atlantic Puffin looks like a clown of the sea. It breeds in colonies on rocky islands in the North Atlantic and winters at sea.

There are two places off the coast of Maine to see the Puffins. Both Machias Seal Island and Seal Island NWR have nesting Puffins each year.  My father, grandparents, aunt/uncle have all been to Machias Seal Island to see the birds, while I just went to the southern Seal Island NWR to see them. Many pelagics out of Bar Harbor, Maine see them also while out at sea. But I wanted to see them on the nesting sites. Look forward to the boat trip post soon. 

• Black Guillemot, code 1,  Owl's Head Lighthouse  & Seal Island NWR boat trip  

Black Guillemot #567

Cepphus grylle

A Black-And-White bird of the northern seas, the Black Guillemot breeds along the coasts of Canada and Greenland. Unlike other members of the puffin family, it prefers to forage in relative shallow near-shore waters. This was a good bird to get, I just saw the sister bird, the Pigeon Guillemot #560 in Washington last October.

• Common Eider, code 1, Saco Bay, Owls Head, Puffin boat trip

#565

Somateria mollissima

 A colorful duck of the northern seacoasts, the Common Eider is the largest duck in the Northern Hemisphere. The male's bright white, black, and green plumage contrasts markedly with the female's camouflaging dull striped brown. We saw many of these sea ducks along the trip, and even a family with ducklings on the boat trip. But we never saw a male in full breeding plumage, those are gorgeous looking.

• Artic Tern, code 1,  Seal Island NWR 

#569

Sterna paradisaea

A small, slender white bird, the Arctic Tern is well known for its long yearly migration. Its travel from its Arctic breeding grounds to its wintering grounds off of Antarctica may cover perhaps 25,000 miles, and is the farthest yearly journey of any bird. Crazy this little tern flies pole to pole each year. We saw them sitting on the rocks out on Sea Island.

•  Nelson's Sparrow, code 1,Scarbough Marsh

#565

Ammodramus nelsoni

Nesting pair

A secretive sparrow with a brightly-colored face, the Nelson's Sparrow breeds along the edges of freshwater marshes and in wet meadows of interior North America, and in salt marshes along the northern Atlantic Coast.
We saw these sparrows at the marsh, but it took some time. One the way back out, after looking a several Savannah sparrows, we saw these orangish sparrows on a stump. Clear as day these where different, and then we heard the distinct call of the Nelson's. Bam!! Life bird time

• Ruff Grouse, code 1, Prey's Brook Marsh on Aciada NP island 

#568

Why did the Grouse cross the road??

So we could get a life bird picture!!

The dappled, grayish or reddish Ruffed Grouse is hard to see, but its “drumming on air” display is a fixture of many spring forests. It can come as a surprise to learn this distant sound, like an engine trying to start, comes from a bird at all. This plump grouse has a cocky crest and a tail marked by a broad, dark band near the tip. Displaying males expose a rich black ruff of neck feathers, giving them their name.

Thanks to Ebird.org there was reported sighting of the grouse on the island, and the comments and pictures proved this to be a pretty tamed bird, perhaps from people hand feeding it. We walked the road after the marsh produced zero, when JK spotted this brown chicken like bird moving in the brush. From there on, the bird only got closer and pictures galore. It even pecked at his shoes!! This would have to do as the closest life bird even seen. Wow!!



Missed:

• Razorbill, code 1 -- boat trip on 8/4 saw the last 3, they where gone and headed south
• Red-billed Tropic Bird, code 3 -- bad weather day, hasn't been reported since 8/6
• Roseate Tern, code 2 -- nope
• Parasitic Jaeger, code 1 -- nope  but did see Greater Shearwaters
• Saltmarsh Sparrow, code 1 -- nope  are there but takes time and ID skills

Maine Hit List

#T4P

Current ABA list list: 564
Last one seen: Aplomado Falcon 3/4/15 Code3

I will be visiting the north east coast of America soon and get to relax, eat some shellfish, probably get seasick on a boat, and of course see some #lifebirds.  #Bigyear2015 begins


Lifers needed:

• Atlantic Puffin, code 1, Seal Island NWR boat trip
• Black Guillemot, code 1, 
• Common Eider, code 1,
• Razorbill, code 1
• Artic Tern, code 1
• Red-billed Tropic Bird, code 3, Wow--11 years running at the same cove
• Roseate Tern, code 2, tougher than Artic to ID
• Ruff Grouse, code 1, in Ohio too, still never seen
• Parasitic Jaeger, code 1, only seen Pomarine Jgr so far
• Nelson's Sparrow, code 1, found a good location
• Saltmarsh Sparrow, code 1, will be with Nelson's

Year Birds:
 Have not started a year list so far, but I have my Texas list and #24hrs of Birding list, so I think I can still make one for the year, maybe vacation time I will. I'll do a trip list for Maine

Goals:
50 birds for the trip
6 life birds; puts me at an even #570 ABA

Next up:  Dirigo!!  The state motto of Maine is Dirigo (Latin for "I Direct" or "I Lead")

1st time in Maine, 1978 August

 Red & Louise, grandparents

Summer time blog reading

It's been a long, cold, wet, hot, wet, and more wet summer here in Columbus. Actually, we've only had 5 days in the 90s, and that was back in early June. But boy has the rain come down, something like 30 of 37 days have had rain. So with a combination of a wet summer and not a lot of rarities, its been more of a reading summer. I want to share some of the birding bloggers I follow and resources I use for birding information.

http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/

Jim is our local Ohioan, a guy that has a love for the outdoors, a true naturalist. From bugs and birds to trees and history of all things, this is a great blog read to always learn MORE.

http://thespeckledhatchback.blogspot.com/

Dorian is the man!! I mean MAN, the guy did a BIGYEAR2014 all on his bike. From beginning to end, day to night, sleep to eat. He never rode in a car, flew in a plane or any gas powered vehicle. He bird in the morning, then bike to his next pit stop, slept and start over again in the morning. Oh and he saw a record 617 total species - - - on a bike!?!  This hatchback blog he has, is his 2015 updates with pictures, Costa Rica trip, and environmental topics. He's cool and a great birder.

http://slowbirding.blogspot.com/

Chris Hitt saw 704 species in the lower 48 in 2010, and he is one of only 14 birders to ever get 700 or more in a year. He regularly updates this blog with his special trips, life bird chases, migration and Big Year updates. Right after his big year was up, in January 2011, he travel to LGRV Bentson SP to see a rare code 5 Black-Vented Oriole. He saw the bird and meet my grandparents Red & Louise Gambill during their morning walk. Retracing the Steps!! http://slowbirding.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html


http://seagullsteve.blogspot.com/

Just found this by accident one night, SeaGull Steve is listed as the #7 birder in the nation by Global Birder Ranking Scale . . . . what ever that means. Any way, he's a guy from the Golden Coast and doesnt' get to bird the midwest or east coast very often. So his stories are fun, well written, talks like a salior . . . and he knows he's birds.  But his recent post was on a trip to Maine with is buds . . . which got me to thinking . . . I need some bang for the buck birding trip?? Shall we???

Resources:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org

http://birding.aba.org/maillist/OH

http://www.aba.org/

For Fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaX7i1Q7-Rw
Things Birders Say

Next up:  Seal Island NWR, Acadia NP, Maine birding #T4P