Down East Maine Trip Report
Thank you very much for a great trip! I had to work on Sunday the 18th, so I only stayed one night at Tootsie's, but the trip was fun anyway.
The night before the trip was foggy, but I got in about 8 pm at Tootsie's. Mrs. Beal is very nice and a great hostess. We talked for about two hours until the other guests arrived. They were birders as well, from Colorado on business in Boston. Mrs. Beal served a great breakfast to begin the morning and it was only two miles to the dock from her house, so that left plenty of time.
We started at 7 am sharp, with fog all around and low visibility. The sea was "like glass", which was nice for a first-timer. Apparently the Sea of Maine is quiet as far as oceans go. Once we left the dock we were surrounded by fog, and remained that way all the way to the island. This did not prevent us from seeing birds, it just added a challenge. We got into slightly deeper water and saw our first Black Guillemots. Captain John Norton answered pretty much all our questions and knows his birds cold. One brief glimpse without binoculars, and *bam* one I.D. He was very helpful and great fun to be around. We saw Arctic Terns, Atlantic Puffins, Black Guillemots, and various large gulls on the way to Machias Seal Island, and we arrived in a storm of puffins.
On the island itself, there are thousands of breeding birds. The puffins are the most numerous and most noticeable. Arctic Terns breed on the island as well, along with Common Terns and possibly a few Roseate Terns as well. Finding a Roseate is like the needle in a haystack, and is much easier if you know the call. I didn't, and since August is after the majority of breeding season, it was even harder to pick them out. No one in our party was successful. However, we did get incredible views of puffins from the blinds. We were able to see puffins a few feet away, talking to one another (they sound like cows or chainsaws), fighting with one another (they grab beaks and twist back and forth), and pairing off with possible mates (sharing of brine shrimp is the key, I guess). Every few minutes a large gull would fly over, and the puffins would scatter... then regroup in the same position as before. The scattering was a good idea, considering that just before we left a Herring Gull caught a tern and ate it. The terns were very protective of their chicks, and would attack if you stood still for too long in proximity to their nests. I would advise against it, myself. Apparently Common Murres nest there as well, but they had left for the season.
After we left the island, we took a vote: look at seals, or head into the ocean to look for pelagic birds. We had a divided party, but more birdwatchers, so we went seabirding. We ended up seeing numbers of Greater Shearwaters in the air and on the water, quite a few Sooty Shearwaters, lots of gulls, a few puffins, eiders everywhere, and a flock of Red-necked Phalaropes in basic plumage. We also saw (briefly) a smallish looking black and white shearwater, which was most likely a Manx Shearwater. It had the bad taste to disappear into the fog after we changed course a few times to follow it, and goes under the "near-miss" category. And we got to see the seals anyway, as we went nearer shore to pick up Razorbills too. What was really nice was a Harbor porpoise following the boat for a few minutes. All in all, a really fun trip with good birdwatching. If you are ever in the area, by all means go.
Oh, Acadia National Park is nice too, but really crowded in the afternoon. Once again, thank you for the prize and good luck with your website!