Voyage to the Atlantic Puffins, and Murre

The last day of June came to an end on the east coast, just has it had on the first day of the year. This time I was in New Brunswick, which was the ninth province or territory I had visited in the first half of the year.  In order, not including revisits, I have have been to Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Newfoundland, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and on this trip, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. But my goal in New Brunswick, was to see Atlantic Sea birds, including Northern Gannet, Razorbill, Thick-billed Murre and, of course, Atlantic Puffin.

Birders Nearby

I had returned from Yellowknife just two days before, on a long and delayed flight through Edmonton and Calgary and count my lucky stars, as Samantha of Bewitched, and my mother often said, that my luggage followed me all the way to Toronto. 

Naturally, going to New Brunswick, I was on yet another delayed flight, but like a photon, I was traveling light this time around, so only had a carry-on bag and backpack, with the minimum stuff I needed for a week away, which included the Sea Watch Tours boat trip to see the puffins.  

My first stop when I arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick, was Rotary Nature Park and Water Treatment Ponds, as all the best birds are often found at sewage treatment plants.  I wanted to get in a little birding before heading to the hotel and a Nelson’s Sparrow had been reported from the park, so i gave it a try.  It was nice out and there were plenty of birds, particularly waterfowl, but the only sparrows singing were Song Sparrows.  

Beautiful, blue-beaked, breeding plumage Ruddy Duck:

By early evening I realized I needed to get my birdy sleep before I heading to the ferry docks in Blacks Harbor for my trip over to Grand Manan.  Sue had stayed there a number of years ago, and recommended the Compass Rose Bed and Breakfast for my accommodations on the island.  

I was up early for my drive to Blacks Harbor, hoping to get some birding in before getting to the ferry dock, and saw my first breeding plumage Black Guillemot of the year from the ferry, so that was fun.

Once on the island, I went in search of a Laughing Gull.  I tried some eBird Hotspots without any luck, and eventually checked into my room at the lovely Compass Rose.  I had to leave by 6:00am, for my puffin trip, so the host said they would put out some breakfast items for me to eat before I left, since the official breakfast wasn’t served until 8am.  They also serve dinner there, so I made a reservation for 6:30 and went birding at nearby Castallia Marsh.  

On a couple of occasions this year, in Ontario, I was unable to chase down a Laughing Gull during migration along the Great Lakes, and I could hear them laughing behind my back.  Lucky for me, a few spend the summer in the Maritime Provinces.  Just as I was heading back to my car to go for dinner, I heard a bird overhead “laughing.”  I looked up and saw the Laughing Gull circling, and taunting me.  But I did get the last laugh, a half decent photo, and species 381 for the year.  It was also another Canadian Lifer.

Laughing Gull:

The next morning I was up at 5am, grabbed some breakfast and coffee, and headed out a little early for the boat docks for the puffin trip, knowing I would manage to get lost along the way, which I did.  However, I arrived on time, even before a family who also got lost; they went to the ship captains house, that was printed on the brochure. Ooops.  

I was prepared for this trip, with a scopolamine patch behind my ear and anti-nausea meds coursing through my blood stream.  Once underway, the first bird that the guides called out were a pair of Willson’s Storm Petrels. I got a good look at them, but no photo, as they raced past the boat.  Not only was it a great bird for the year list, but yet another Canadian Lifer.

About 90 minutes later we’re approaching the puffin island and our guide asked us all, with a mischievous smile, “Seen any puffins yet?”  Seen any?  We all laughed.  There were hundreds, if not thousands of them. In fact, though I only saw a fraction of them, over 6000 breeding pairs are on the island.  There were also Razorbills and Common Murres. Though most of the birders on the trip went on the island, I had booked too late to get on the list, and instead, with one other birder and the guide, we circumnavigated the island on a small skiff.  I think we had a better time.  The guide even called in the puffins close to the boat with an amazing “puffin call.”

Common Murres:

The Clown-faced Cuties: Atlantic Puffin:

Razorbill:

Fledgling Razorbill:

One of the coolest things we saw from the skiff was a baby Razorbill trying to climb out of the nest, either looking for a parent to feed it, or just get to the water.  Razorbills build their nests close to the water, because the fledglings can’t fly when they first leave the nest.

The trip netted me three more species for the year: Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Razorbill and Atlantic Puffin, and by the time we were back on shore I was up to 384 birds.  But I wasn’t done yet.  I knew about some American Oystercatchers from eBird and I asked advice on seeing them.  However they were off shore, on Bill’s Island, not visible from land, and I needed to find someone with a boat to take me out.  

So, I headed to the ferry docks, where a ferry to White’s Head Island passed close to Bill’s Island and was going to do that. Meanwhile, I was messaging with Mitch Doucet, who I found on Facebook, and he suggested contacting Mark Morse, who had taken him out in his boat that very morning.  While waiting for the ferry, I saw a small motor boat come into the Harbour with a couple of people wearing binoculars.  I rushed down to the boat and who did I meet, but the aforementioned Mark Morse and his wife, Karen. They were nice enough to motor me out to the island to see my third Canada Lifer of the trip.  We got close enough to the island to get photos and they would have taken me out further for other sea birds, but the waters were getting too rough by then.  I thanked them and offered a small compensation for gas and their time and headed back for dinner.

American Oystercatchers, species 386 for the year and 444 for my Canadian Life List:

Sometimes, the best part of birding, 

is meeting the nearby birders along the way:

I spent the next day on Prince Edward Island and though it is beautiful and scenery is gorgeous, I was disappointed that the only access to the island by car is a single bridge, for which, the government of PEI extracts a $50.25 exit fee at a toll booth when you leave the province.  Not exactly the best way to encourage tourists to return.  I certainly will think twice before crossing that bridge again.  The sad part is that even residents who need to leave the island to shop, see family or for their business or medical reasons, have to pay the fee for the privilege of crossing the fancy bridge.

On my last day in the Saint John area I searched for Northern Gannets.  That should have been the easiest bird to see, but they kept eluding me.  I finally spotted one in the Bay of Fundy, flying toward Blacks Harbour, while I was birding at Saint’s Rests Marsh.  By then, it was a time to get to the airport, where, not surprisingly, both my flights were delayed and instead of getting home by 11pm I wasn’t in bed until almost 2am.  Just part and parcel of a Big Year in Post-Covid Travel in Canada.

Northern Gannet:

So, by the numbers, I have visited eight provinces and two territories in the first six months of the year and been away from home nearly 100 of the first 181 days of the year.  I’ve seen 387 species, of which 54 were Canadian Lifers, and 9 were new for the ABA List, making me a newly minted member of the ABA 700 Club.

Next stop, Union Station in Toronto, and a nostalgic train ride to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan…