How I Found Puffins in a Pandemic
Eastern Egg Rock Island, Maine
ATLANTIC PUFFIN HAVE RETURNED TO EASTERN EGG ROCK ISLAND AFTER 100 YEARS THANKS TO AUDUBON’S PROJECT PUFFIN. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU.
MARY AND JAMIE SAUVAGEAU
By Jamie Sauvageau
As the boat approached the Island, our excitement grew.
Suddenly, puffins were all around us, wading on the surface, and swooping through the air. The puffins were drawn here by the rocky shoreline of Eastern Egg Rock Island, Maine. An Atlantic Puffin nesting area.
The Atlantic Puffin of Maine does not disappoint.
PUFFINS ARE NICKNAMED “SEA PARROTS” FOR THEIR BEAKS THAT BECOME BRIGHTLY COLORED ADULTS DURING MATING SEASON IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU.
✔︎TRIP TIPS
WHERE: Eastern Egg Rock Island, Maine
WHEN: April to October WHAT: Puffin Watching
HOW: 2 - 4 hour cruise on specialty boat
COVID: Limited capacity & masks required. Check websites or contact us.
Sometimes called the "Sea parrot," Puffins are small, with our Atlantic being the smallest puffin species. They have a prominent beak that turns beautiful colors during the mating season. They resemble a penguin with a black cap and back, white and grey face, and belly. Puffins are excellent swimmers and can dive underwater up to 200 feet, often pulling up a mouthful of small fish to feed their young.
Neighborhood Birds Ignite Two Passions
BLUE JAY, ONE OF THE “NEIGHBORS” WHO REGULARLY VISITS OUR BIRD FEEDER. WE HAVE SPENT HOURS STEALTHILY WATCHING (AND PHOTOGRAPHING) THE BIRDS FROM OUR WINDOWS. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU.
My wife, Mary, and I first got into birding by caring for our local birds. Mary has great empathy for our feathered neighbors, conscientiously filling our bird feeders throughout the harsh New England winters. When we moved into our new home, we set up an area for bird feeders and baths and have spent hours watching the visitors from our living room window. And I began taking photos of them, which ignited my love for wildlife photography.
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER IS ONE OF THE SHORE BIRD WE FOUND AT MILFORD POINT, CONNECTICUT. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU.
On a family trip to Cape Cod a couple of years back, we watched piping plovers running from the waves as they fed along the shore and decided we had to research our own Connecticut shorebirds. That is how we discovered Milford Point. We often visit there to capture images of birds and, at the same time, pick up any garbage found along the way. We became members of the Connecticut Audubon, and even with COVID-19 interrupting or delaying the rest of normal life this year, we've still been able to get outside and enjoy the shoreline.
ONE OF THE PLACES I ENJOY PHOTOGRAPHING SHORE BIRDS, LIKE THIS PIPING PLOVER, IS MILFORD POINT COASTAL CENTER IN MILFORD, CONNECTICUT. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU.
How We “Discovered” Puffins
Our first introduction to Puffins was a YouTube story. Families in Iceland were rescuing lost Puffins and returning them to the sea. We fell in love with them. But without knowing anything about the Puffins in Maine, we didn't think we'd ever get to see them unless we made a special trip to Iceland, Scotland, or Great Britain.
Then, in 2019, I came across an article about the Atlantic Puffin of Maine.
The article spoke about Machias Seal Island. This Island is a still-disputed territory between Canada and the United States, and one of the few known nesting sites of the Atlantic puffin. Tourism is highly regulated and limited to protect vulnerable birds.
Bold Coast Charter Co. in Cutler, Maine offers these tours, but they fill up very fast due to both Puffin popularity, and the limited number of tourists allowed. So, we thought we would have to wait another year to get a reservation when we struck out in January of 2020.
AFTERNOON SOCIAL DISTANCING, PUFFIN STYLE ON THE WATERS OFF EGG ISLAND, MAINE. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU.
Since we had a "bucket list" trip to Argentina scheduled for February, only a month away, we didn't dwell too much over the missed chance at Machias Island. We were way too excited about seeing the Magellanic Penguins, which is a story for another day…. However, a couple of months later, June found me researching pandemic-possible weekend getaways for our anniversary. It was then that I discovered Eastern Egg Rock Island in Maine and Puffins!
Bringing Puffins Home To Eastern Egg Island
Puffins were at home on Eastern Egg Rock Island long before Europeans settled North America, but as they did, the new arrivals hunted Puffins for their feathers and eggs. By the late 1800's human activity had destroyed the Puffin nesting colony. The Puffins were gone and not coming back.
PUFFINS HAVE SOMETIMES BEEN DESCRIBED AS LOOKING LIKE FLYING FOOTBALLS. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU
In 1973 The National Audubon Society started Project Puffin to restore the Puffin colony on Eastern Egg Rock Island. They transplanted young Puffins from Newfoundland, Canada, onto the Island. As the young birds fledged, they headed out into the open sea. [Note: After fledging, puffins spend the first 2 to 3 years of life in the open sea]
The Audubon team used decoys and recordings to simulate puffin activity with hopes of returning the following April. But, it was four years later, in the spring of 1977, that some Puffins returned.
In 1981 the Audubon Team recorded four matching pairs on Eastern Egg Rock, and by 2012, 104 Puffin pairs were recorded nesting on the Island. The experiment was a real success story.
To Visit or Not to Visit,
A Pandemic Driven Puffin Predicament
We initially dismissed the option of visiting Maine this summer as the state enacted a 14-day quarantine rule for any out of state visitors. However, after randomly checking back in July, we learned that Maine had opened its doors to visitors from a few states, including ours, Connecticut.
Research into possible boat tours to Eastern Egg Rock Island revealed two options: Hardy Boat Cruises out of New Harbor, Maine, and Cap'n Fish's Cruises at Booth Bay Harbor. Both have websites with schedules and a reservation tool to reserve a spot, but I called to check in with each of them, to be sure.
THE PINK LADY, ONE OF CAP’N FISH’S BOATS, COVID COMPLIANT WITH MASK WEARING GUESTS AT 1/3 CAPACITY. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU
We booked the Hardy Boat Cruise for our first day and then reserved with Cap'n Fish's Cruise for the following day.
Once we had the tours locked in, we sought out a place to stay. There are many options available, but we decided on the historic Spruce Point Inn at Booth Bay Harbor. Its secluded location on the water would provide a beautiful setting for our anniversary weekend.
It was also a complimentary setting for our anticipated visit with the Puffins at Eastern Egg Rock Island. The Inn offers many activities on-site such as two swimming pools, an ocean dock with kayaks and paddleboards, a giant chess/checkers game; a reck room with games, and a s' mores station every evening for the after-dinner sweet. All those activities are fun, but we especially enjoyed our time walking around Boothbay Harbor's quaint shops.
GUESTS HAVE BEEN WELCOMED AT THE SPRUCE POINT INN AT BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MAINE SINCE 1892 IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU
The weather forecasters predicted a scorching weekend, but the heat was offset by the cool ocean, making the temps on the coast of Maine just perfect.
Guest count on the boats is restricted to 43% capacity to help meet pandemic prescribed social distance guidelines. Even so, on Saturday night, we set out early for the Hardy Boat cruise to make sure we could find a great spot on the boat. We found it on the top deck.
I brought along my Canon 5D MIV with an 800mm super-telephoto lens with my tripod. The ride out of New Harbor toward the Island with the sun starting to descend behind us was beautiful.
THE BAY WAS FULL OF SAILBOATS IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU
The boat ride alone was worth the price of admission. Breathing the fresh Maine Atlantic air chased away any thoughts of the pandemic and current conditions. However, we were wearing our masks the entire time, which was required.
The tour was made even better by a representative of the Puffin Project, who shared the history of the Island and identified the many shorebirds we encountered. Along with the Puffin, we were able to see Common Terns, Laughing Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Herring Gulls, and Black Guillemots.
PUFFINS RETURN TO THE PLACE THEY HATCHED AFTER SPENDING THE FIRST TWO TO THREE YEARS OF THEIR LIVES AT SEA, IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU.
As we got close, the birds seemed to be calling out for us, welcoming us to their little Island. The star of the show, the Atlantic Puffin, was there among them. We watched them dart through the sky and float in the water just off the rocks. Several seemed relaxed, hanging out along the rocky shoreline. We had a limited time, so I got to work, taking as many images as possible. The rocking of the boat, people, moving around to get better looks, all while trying to capture a bird in motion, proved to be a challenge. Still, I was able to capture several nice shots during our 30 -minute tour around the Island's coast.
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY EXPLAINS “THE PUFFIN PROJECT” THAT BROUGHT THE BIRDS BACK TO THE EASTERN EGG ISLAND. IMAGE: ©JAMIE SAUVAGEAU
The next day Cap'n Fish's Cruise was planned for earlier in the day. We again headed to the top deck to claim a spot, and again, the weather did not disappoint. We enjoyed watching all the sailboats and lighthouses as we passed out of the harbor.
On this trip, I decided to use a different strategy to capture the Puffins in flight. There would be plenty of opportunities.
Puffins filled the shoreline in groups, others basked on the water floating in the bright sun, and then took off, appearing to walk on the surface until they could get enough wind under their wings.
The Puffins were enjoying the warm sun as much as we were, coming out in full force to celebrate the day.
For 30-minutes, I hardly let up on the shutter on my camera. It was another fantastic experience. Taking a second Puffin tour was well worth our time and money, and an added plus: a portion of the proceeds went to support the National Audubon's Puffin Project
A Pandemic-Proof Puffin Perfect Anniversary Weekend
Finally, it was time to return to Boothbay Harbor, and a delicious lunch from a deck overlooking the water while watching boaters come in and out of the harbor.
Later, after sunset, from the deck of our Inn, we watched the Neowise Comet in the Western skies. It was a perfect weekend.
And we made sure to bring home some tasty Maine specialties to surprise a few family members. We encourage everyone to support the National Audubon Society. Even during the pandemic, there are opportunities to get out and participate in all their excellent work. The Atlantic Puffins belong on everyone's bucket list.
