CRUISES (Day 7 - part 2)

Puffins used to inhabit many of the islands in this area. But extensive hunting caused them to leave, and by 1943 they were all gone. This allowed for gulls to take over. These birds could get very large and they ate everything... rodents, reptiles, other birds, even adult puffins. In 1984, a successful gull-eradication project made the island attractive to nesting terns.

Terns are very aggressive and will actively swarm to defend their breeding grounds. This encouraged the puffins to return, since the terns weren't threatened by them and the puffins could benefit from the free protection. Puffins can now be found on seven islands in the area.

Bird viewing stations ... Terns use a "swoop and poop" defense strategy.

A mob of terns attack a poor scientist out collecting data. Not only would they swoop and try to peck him, they also bombarded him with poop. Bird poop is actually a formidable weapon against predators and other birds. It can stick to an animal's fur or feathers, potentially leading to a festering infection or the feathers getting waterlogged and impairing flight.

It's clearly a messy job!!

Common Terns

The black guillemot or tystie

Different types of gulls

Atlantic puffins can dive down 300 feet and fly at 50 miles per hour.

There were several colonies of nesting birds (including puffins and common murres) but we weren't allowed to get very close to the island. Several other tour boats could get right up next to them, however.

My telephoto lens could only do so much... especially on a bouncy boat far away.

We continued on...

A beach with Gray Seals. These are much larger than the harbor seals, getting up to 7 or 8 feet. They have darker, splotchy coats.

There are 30 pairs of nesting Bald Eagles in the bay.

Bell buoys

A much better view of the Winter Harbor (or Mark Island) Lighthouse that we saw on the scenic flight...

Mark Island (the right red arrow, where the dock is) is connected to Ned Island (the left red arrow) at low tide. Unfortunately for the keepers who once ran the lighthouse, only Ned Island has fresh water.

return • continue