Think fog, lots and lots of fog! As we made our way out of the harbor, the drizzle began. There was a 75% chance of rain that day, with 90% cloudcover. On our first day, we didn’t have good weather. The ten-mile trip to the island takes about 45 minutes in good weather. Cutler Harbor, where the puffin tour begins. It was a pleasure to listen to him as he pointed out the various pelagic species that we encountered, and he told us a lot about each of them. Andy has been leading tours to Machias Seal Island for the past 25 years, and he’s very knowledgeable both about his boat and about the birds. You call him the night before your trip to find out what time he’s leaving in the morning it’s usually between 7-8am and it varies with the weather and tide. His boat, the Barbara Frost, comfortably takes about 20 people. Captain Andy Patterson owns the company and does dozens of visits to the Island during the puffins’ breeding season, from June to August. I used the Bold Coast Charter Company from Cutler, Maine for the boat ride to Machias Seal Island. For photographers and non-photographers alike, this was an incredible experience! Photographing the puffins from the bird blinds on Machias Seal Island Machias Seal Island is one such place, and it is the only island (to my knowledge) that lets birders land on the island to observe the birds from blinds. In the United States, there are only a few islands where the birds come to breed. (Their cousins the Tufted Puffin and the Horned Puffin live on the Pacific Ocean.) Atlantic Puffins are fairly common birds in the northern frigid oceans, but they are most commonly seen in places like Iceland and Scotland. Atlantic Puffin with Wings SpreadĪtlantic Puffins are the only puffins that can be found in the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Puffins are commonly known as the “clowns of the sea”, due to their brightly colored bills in their breeding plumage. Can you image living your entire life at sea? They swim and fly all day, catch fish to eat, and sleep bobbing on the waves. They only come to land to breed and raise their young. Puffins are pelagic birds, meaning that they live their lives out on the open ocean. During my recent trip to Maine I had the great privilege to visit a breeding colony of Atlantic Puffins on Machias Seal Island.
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