Maine Pelagic with the ABA
Yesterday I took a six-hour Pelagic trip out of Bar Harbor on the Friendly V with the American Birding Association. This was my first East Coast Spring pelagic, and it paid off: eight life birds out of roughly 24 species total.
Before we even boarded the boat, I spotted a Black Guillemot in the harbor, only the second one I’d ever seen. (The first was also on Mount Desert Island a couple of years ago.) We also had Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, House Sparrow, and Rock Pigeon.
Cruising out of the harbor, we spotted several more Black Guillemots. We passed a number of small rocky islands on which were perched numerous gulls. A dozen or so Common Eider were floating in the lee of one, the first of several small rafts we saw throughout the morning. Occasional Laughing Gulls flew by.
I spotted our first Common Loon swimming in the bay. Inspired by this success, I next called out a Bald Eagle only to have to retract it a minute later as the boat got close it turned into an obvious Great Black-backed Gull. I had egg on my face, and not eagle egg either. These two species do really do look shockingly alike from a distance: a big black bird with a big white head.
I was a little more adventurous this trip than the last and started out on the upper deck. The winds were heavy and cold, and the boat ran at 35 miles per hour. Birdchick loaned me some dental floss to tie my infamous Thor cap on. Otherwise I would have lost it. A couple of young Northern Gannets made an appearance, as would several others throughout the day. (The adults have all headed north to breed by now.)
Once we reached open water, the seas picked up and my stomach began to churn. The seas were running up to six feet, so I moved downstairs. We later learned our boat was the last to leave that day before all other trips were cancelled. I was just beginning to wonder why I subjected myself to another pelagic, when someone yelled out “Manx Shearwater”, and I forgot all about my turning stomach.
The Manx was the first and least common of three shearwaters we’d spot that day. I think a total of three were seen at various points throughout the morning. I saw two of them, though sadly quite a few people didn’t get any. However shortly after the Manx both Greater Shearwater and Sooty Shearwater appeared, my second and third life birds of the day. These were much more common, and I got great and repeated looks at both which is what you really need to be confident in a new bird.
Next up was Northern Fulmar, my fourth life bird. This one we didn’t see so much, but the first one was obvious. For the next hour, though, I was persistently miscalling Greater Shearwaters as Fulmars. I think I eventually got these straight in my head.
Further out to sea we spotted storm-petrels, first Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, then Leach’s Storm-Petrel. (#5 and #6 respectively) We had great looks at both species, often at the same time. They’re similar but distinguishable with good enough looks. I tried for a few photos I may post here when time permits if they turned out, but I’m not optimistic. The seas were much too high for even steady binoculars, much less cameras. We also had out first Razorbills and Atlantic Puffins flyby the boat, though there’d be more of those later.
By this point, my stomach was doing flip-flops, and I really thought I was going to lose it and have to chum over the side of the boat; but after a few dry heaves, I recovered. The Bonine must have worked. Not everyone was so lucky. There were quite a few people making frequent use of the sea sick bags the crew helpfully provided.
The boat turned around about 10:00 A.M. and headed in toward Petite Manan Island. This island is about three miles off the Maine coast. It took us about 35 minutes to get there. (This boat was fast.) When we did we were treated to thousands of breeding terns and gulls and hundreds of alcids. Specifically we had both Common and Arctic Tern (my sixth life bird). We kept scanning the tern flocks for Roseate Tern. Only about 9 pairs nest on the island compared to about a thousand each of Common and Arctic. However, we were lucky; and several were spotted (though I couldn’t have found them myself without help). Toward the end of our visit, two Roseates flew over the boat calling so everyone got good looks.
Petite Manan also serves as breeding grounds for the threatened Razorbill, of which I saw more than I’ve ever seen in my life. Usually Razorbills are a speck in the distance in a scope. These were up close and personal, as were two other alcids: Atlantic Puffin and Common Murre. We also spotted a Bald Eagle (a real one this time) perched on some rocks.
The boat headed back to Bar Harbor about 11:30, passing along Schoodic Peninsula. We picked up one more species on the way though nothing unusual; just American Crow. Then it was back to dry land. We had a little time to shop or eat in Bar Harbor, but I was glad enough to get solid ground under my feet that I spent it all napping in a park bench. We took a brief trip in the buses up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the eastern seaboard, where we added Common Yellowthroat to the day list and took in some spectacular views.
Birds seen by others that I myself did not see included an Iceland Gull, Tree Swallow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and a Great Blue Heron. There was a claim of Bonaparte’s Gull, but I’m not convinced it wasn’t a misidentified Laughing Gull. It was definitely worth it, despite the nausea and near-chumming. There’s still one pelagic to come out of New York in September where I could pick up some phalaropes, jaegers, and skuas. I may check the marine forecasts before signing up though. Calm seas make a huge difference in the pleasantness of the trip.
