Birds of New England- Atlantic Puffins, Common Eiders, Black Guillemots, Great Black-backed Gulls, Bald Eagles and More!

 

(Note: This post is a follow-up to my July 29 post "New England Vacation- Fireworks, Witches, Lighthouses, Puffins and More!")

During our July weeklong tour of coastal New England, we saw many references to Puffins. Puffins are described as “charismatic small seabirds” found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. They spend most of their lives at sea and come ashore to breed in large colonies on cliffs or islands. Their unique color combination earned nicknames such as “clowns of the sea” and “sea parrots.”

In this post, I’ll share my photographs of Atlantic Puffins and 16 other bird species I saw along the New England coast. I scored seven “lifer” birds, ones I had never seen before. 

An Atlantic Puffin model is in front of a gift shop next to the West Street Hotel in Bar Harbor, Maine, where we stayed two nights. Puffins actually have orange feet. Maybe the color faded on this figure. 

Puffins, of course, are much smaller than this. They are about the size of crows. 

Boothbay, Maine, where we visited a few days before Bar Harbor, offers boat tours to an Atlantic Puffin colony. The birds nest on Eastern Egg Rock, a small island about five miles offshore in Muscongus Bay. 

Puffin souvenirs are available at shops along the northeast coastline. This is one that I bought in Bar Harbor. 

I also came home with a shirt featuring an Atlantic Puffin. I bought this at a Boothbay Harbor shop. 

It would be Bar Harbor where we would do an excursion and see Puffins. We hadn’t planned to do such an outing. It was fortuitous that the West Street Hotel, where we stayed, is right across the street from the building seen here. It houses Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co., which offers a variety of tours.

In the course of walking around, we came across this operation, spoke to the guy at the desk about times, fees, and types of cruises.

We came back later in the day and bought tickets ($73 each) for the next morning’s 9:30-noon outing aboard the Friendship V, a large jet-powered catamaran with a capacity of 365 passengers. 

We were set for the Puffin & Lighthouse Tour. You can have a picture like this taken before you get on the boat, then buy a print of it for $20 when you get off. A digital version comes with the deal too. 

The Friendship V is the vessel on the left. The AtlantiCat, Bar Harbor Whale Watch’s whale cruise vessel, is on the right. It can hold 400 passengers. 

This photo and the one showing the Whale Watch building were taken from the top floor of our hotel when we went to the infinity pool up there. 

More on our excursion is in my July 29 New England post. I’m focusing this post on the birds I photographed. 

Aboard the Friendship V was comfortable, especially with our seats in the back of the top deck. I’m glad I read ahead of time to bring warm clothing, as it was needed when we were moving at a crisp pace to get out to sea. 

We would see three lighthouses. I enjoy lighthouses, so that was cool. My earlier post shows the seven or eight New England lights we saw. 

Petit Manan Lighthouse is Puffin territory. The colorful “charismatic” birds that some people think are related to penguins (they aren’t) have been nesting on this island for 40 years. May to September is when the tour boats bring people out here. 

I was pleased to get decent shots of  Puffins on the water and in their nesting crevices or burrows on the island. 

I kicked myself for forgetting to bring my trusty monopod for our New England travels. But I did OK without it, snapping these Puffin pictures with my Canon SX70 “Superzoom” DSLR. This is definitely a lifer bird for me. 

I read that in the fall and winter, puffins leave these waters and their nests on the island to go farther out to sea in the open Atlantic Ocean. They live solitary lives, away from their flocks, bobbing on the waves, swimming in cold northern waters. Two hundred miles off the coast of Cape Code, Mass. is where you might see some Atlantic Puffins in the winter. 

When it's spring again, the Puffin parents often return to the same burrows year after year. 

Glad to get this action image. 

The cruise crew was good about moving around so we are able to see the birds. We may have spent 30 minutes looking at Puffins.

I didn’t know if these two photos would actually show Puffins in their nesting areas also called burrows.

Look closely and you can see three of them. 

A few more Puffins here amid the rocks. The naturalist/scientist Julie who had binoculars directed us where to see the nests. I did my best and am satisfied with the results. 

Puffins usually lay just one egg during breeding season. After hatching, the “puffling” stays with the parents for about six weeks, then flies out to sea to begin life on its own. 

Black Guillemots were also floating in the waters around Petit Manon Island National Wildlife Refuge. This species is described as a striking coastal seabird known for its seasonal plumage changes, bright red feet, and deep- diving hunting habits. 

In the winter, Black Guillemots turn arctic white! 

The name Guillemot is believed to be of French origin, meaning William. The hungry chicks make “will will” calls hoping to be fed by their parents.

This was also a lifer bird for me. 

Great Black-backed Gulls, seen here on Petit Manan Island, are another new bird for me. The males with their dark back feathers bookend the females of the species in this photo.

I photographed these Gulls elsewhere in New England and will share later in this post. 

Our cruise naturalist pointed out Common Terns when she saw them. I snapped this photo as we looked for Puffins. In the past, in different places in South Carolina and the Caribbean, I have photographed Least Terns, Forster’s Terns and Sandwich Terns. 

I believe this to be my first Common Tern. Like the Puffins these Terns breed on Petit Manan Island. 

In the middle section of this photo on rocks in front of green grass you see three or four Terns. The one second from the left is a Common Tern. My Picture Bird app identifies the one in the middle, below the greenish structure, as a Roseate Tern, which would also be a lifer. A few Atlantic Puffins are in nesting crevices in the lower section. The Roseate name comes from this Tern having a rosy-pink blush on its white chest. I have photographed Roseate Spoonbills on several occasions in South Carolina. 

Earlier in the tour, we came upon this island. On it is the Egg Rock Lighthouse. 

It’s a rather unconventional lighthouse, one of Maine’s shortest, dating to 1875. Some have said it is the state’s homeliest, as this article claims. That’s saying a lot given Maine has 65 lighthouses. It looks like it was constructed with children's building blocks, the author says. 

Look closely and you see that many birds don’t mind its looks. 

The guide spotted a juvenile Bald Eagle off by itself. I was only able to get off a couple shots of it. 

A colony of Double-crested Cormorants occupies some high ground. Some Herring Gulls are in a line at the lower level. Herring Gulls are lifers for me. I have some better photos of this bird to show later in this post. 

A pair of Herring Gulls and about a dozen Harbor Seals enjoying a rest on the rocks of Egg Rock Island. 

The third lighthouse we saw on the cruise is the Winter Island Lighthouse. 

This is another unique-looking light. It fits right in with the home next to it. The beacon was built in 1856, was decommissioned in 1933, and has been privately owned for some years. 

Since it is someone's residence, we didn’t see much bird or other wildlife activity on or around this island, just this Great Black-backed Gull. In the world of Gulls, of which there are 54 types, this is the largest in the world. 

We did have an exciting Humpback Whale encounter during our cruise. Please see my previous post for my photographs of that. 

Common Eider? Not common to me! The word Eider has Old Norse and Icelandic roots. It is believed to have entered the English language from Swedish, wording for the bird’s soft down feathers. 

I saw male and female Common Eiders in a few coastal Maine locales. This excited female was spotted when we stopped in Ogunquit to see the Lobster Point Lighthouse. While there, we walked some of the Marginal Way paved coastal cliff walk. 

That’s a male Common Eider on the right. Audubon describes them as “big, lethargic heavy-bodied ducks of northern coastlines.” 

Quite social, their flocks can number in the thousands. 

The male has a distinctive look. I knew I was seeing something new. 

The female’s coloring is more subdued and could be mistaken for the lady Mallard. 

I also photographed Common Eiders in Kennebunk, Maine. We stayed one night there at the splendid Beach House Inn located just steps away from the Atlantic Ocean. I was up super early, a little after 5 a.m., seeing firsthand how Maine receives the first sunlight in the Lower 48 because it is the easternmost U.S. state. 

Also up early was this family of Common Eiders. 

I read that the male Eiders do not stay with the family. they leave the nest well before the eggs hatch. Sometimes, as may be the case here, a non-breeding female (called an “aunt”) will help the mother with her brood. 

This was at around 7:30 p.m. the night before. Such a pretty area. 

Common Eiders are common in these parts.

 This male Eider has a meal in his mouth, a small fish, perhaps a sardine. 

One of the collective names for this species is “quilt”- a nod to their soft, insulating down feathers. Another is “crèche,” which is a biological term used when females and their combined ducklings gather into communal group-rearing care systems. It really does take a village! 

Mixed in among the many Common Eiders was this duck with a slightly different look, especially the white bill. My Picture Bird app identifies this as an American Black Duck. These Maine waters are part of their range. I only took this one photo. Glad I did since American Black Duck is another lifer bird for me.   Another note: the male of the species has a yellow bill. The female's is lighter, so this must be a female. 

So you have seen my seven lifer birds: Atlantic Puffin, Black Guillemot, Common Tern, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Eider, and American Black Duck. Now I’ll present the other birds I photographed, in chronological order. 

OK, I’m not a bird. I’m an Eastern Gray Squirrel that Patrick photographed in Cambridge the day he and Alesia arrived on July 3. He told me I look bigger and healthier than the scrawny squirrels he sees in his yard back home. 

We weren’t sure if the campus would be open to the public on the Fourth of July, but fortunately it was and we walked around the esteemed college for a bit. 

That’s a statue of John Harvard, the school’s namesake. People lined up to takes pictures there. 

We did our selfie from a distance to avoid waiting in that line.

An American Robin is the first bird I photographed during this trip. It was on the Fourth of July as we walked around the campus of Harvard University. For more on our Harvard visit, see my post that precedes this one. 

Also on the grass at Harvard, I saw a European Starling. An urban legend that may or may not be true is that in 1890 a British Shakespeare enthusiast brought to New York City and released every bird Shakespeare mentions in his books. Perhaps this European Starling feels comfortable living on the Ivy League campus. 

The next day in Salem, Mass., we visited Charter Street Cemetery, one of the nation’s oldest dating to around 1637. Birds on grave markers can make for interesting pictures. 

I have a grave (ugh) interest in graveyards and cemeteries, having written several books on this topic. See the top of my blog for more information on all my books. 

An American Robin filled the bill for such a composition. Maybe this one followed us from Cambridge. 

After a few hours in Salem, we drove up the Massachusetts coast to Rockport, where the beach was bustling.  

A raft of Mallards was also enjoying the refreshing water. 

Here’s a better look at the male Mallard’s green head.

Wow, the life expectancy of Mallards is 29 years! 

As we explored this quaint fishing village and lunched on a lobster roll, some birds enhanced the scenery such as an American Herring Gull on the chimney of Rockport’s iconic little red fishing shack. It is America’s most painted building, according to some sources.

Another Herring Gull was nearby and ready for its closeup.

A Great Black-backed Gull was also hanging out at the marina. This gull type is considered the largest in the world.

The lighthouse setting at Cape Neddick in York, Maine is as pretty as it gets, idyllic and charming. Known as the Nubble Lighthouse or "The Nubble," it was erected in 1879.

But there’s darkness nearby, black birds on white rocks. 

A colony of Cormorants 

Double-crested Cormorants have laid claim to this rocky fortress. During breeding season, a second crest or tuft of feathers grows on, presumably, the male's head, hence the double-crested name. 

 Cormorants are large, long-necked, fish-eating water birds known for their expert diving and swimming. We see them regularly here in coastal South Carolina. 

House Sparrow males are striking in their own way. They are wide-ranging, seen in urban areas, farms and coastal areas. If there are human food scraps to be had, you might see House Sparrows eager to pounce. This one was on the grounds of a restaurant near the Nubble Lighthouse. 

This Herring Gull was floating on the ocean in Kennebunk. It was among the many Common Eiders shown earlier. I like its eyes with the red outline. 

A male Mallard heading in the other direction.

Anhingas on some sort of structure.

An American Robin at dusk.

A Mourning Dove perched on a power line. 

This is where we stayed in Kennebunk. The Beach House Inn was built in 1891 in the Victorian style popular at the time. I highly recommend this place for its comfort, style, location, parking, and gift shop. 

A couple more Common Eider photos before we leave Kennebunk for our next stop.

While visiting the Portland Head Lighthouse, I spotted a House Sparrow in some shrubbery. I’m surprised to read how this small avian is considered a nuisance bird, an invasive species that harms other birds in their nests or tree cavities and can damage property.  Yeah, I'm talking about you! 

The Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth is Maine’s oldest, going all the way back to 1791. It was the first light built by the U.S. government. In 1865, the tower was raised to its current height of 80 feet.

In Boothbay Harbor, I photographed a few birds from the convenience of a chair outside our hotel room early in the morning while drinking coffee. 

The red coloring of the House Finch is always nice to see. And the sun was just right for good, faraway photos. These are both males. 

I also saw a Herring Gull on a nearby building…

…and another Herring Gull on the water when we walked across the footbridge, built in 1901, at the Boothbay Harbor marina. 

Pretty place is Boothbay Harbor. I hope we will return someday.

Bar Harbor, Maine is impressive too. 

More details and photographs of Bar Harbor, Boothbay Harbor, and the many other New England places we saw in my previous New England post. Click here to see it. 

At Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor at the end of our vacation, I was fortunate to take one of my favorite photographs of the trip. We stopped at the cove or inlet shown above. I wanted to look for shells or interesting rocks. 

Better yet, I spotted a pair of Bald Eagles high in a tree, maybe a pine or fir tree.

I noticed a couple on the bridge seeing the eagles too. The man is pointing up at them. 

On a special trip on a special birthday for the United States- the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence- this was the perfect bird to see at the end of our New England trip that began with July 4th fireworks in Boston. And a perfect picture to end this post. 

God Bless America! 

For more of my recent New England photography, please see "New England Vacation- Fireworks, Witches, Lighthouses, Puffins and More!"