Warming temperatures in the Arctic are keeping the Northwest Passage open longer, making it easier than ever for seabirds to move between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It's happening in drips and drabs (is that the expression? what the hell is a drab? No, I will not look it up), but it's happening. There's been a Northern Gannet on the Farallones. Ancient Murrelets have been seen off the coast of Maine and Iceland.
There's also been a Tufted Puffin in Maine. First seen in June 2022, the single bird has spent summers bouncing around various of the Gulf's seabird nesting islands, including Petit Manan, Seal Island, Machias Seal Island, and Eastern Egg Rock. The entire rest of its population spends the summer nesting in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, but this individual spends its breeding season wandering around Maine looking for a familiar face. In the winter, it presumably migrates with other Atlantic Puffins to the open waters off southern New England and the mid-Atlantic.
It's a mega rarity, and one that Maine birders would love to see. But the unpredictability of its movements and the difficulty of getting out there to even take a look (you need to pay to join a whale watch boat), means that very few folks outside island-based researchers have been able to see it.
I've tried at least three times. (One of those whale watch trips was free because we didn't see any whales the trip before and they give you a coupon when that happens.) No luck. But, the bird keeps coming back. It was first seen in late May, with a mind-blowing from-land record near Portland. [It's worth lingering on this record for a moment. It's crazy. Despite how famous Atlantic Puffins are in Maine they are NEVER seen from the mainland. I don't think I've ever heard of one seen from shore, though I'm sure there are records. The fact that Noah and Stacey spotted not just a puffin but THE Tufted Puffin -- the only individual in the entire Atlantic Ocean -- from shore is just bonkers.]
My family told me that I should go birding on Father's Day (love them), and so I booked a ticket on Cap'n Fish's Whale Watch out of Boothbay Harbor, which visits the Atlantic Puffin colony at Eastern Egg Rock. The Tufted Puffin had been seen a couple of days before by researchers at Seal Island NWR, about 40 miles away, so I didn't really think I'd see it at Eastern Egg Rock. Still, you can't win if you don't play, and I always love getting out into the Gulf, so it was worth the effort.
I was rewarded. Almost immediately after the boat arrived to the island (we don't stop and debark, only bird from the boat) I spotted a larger, all-black-looking bird flying down the island. It was the Tufted. I gasped, and fired off some out-of-focus photos (even more out-of-focus than normal). I alerted the crew, who were thrilled, not having seen this famous bird yet despite daily trips to the island. The boat also let the island's research staff know, who hadn't apparently seen the bird yet either.
It was awesome. The bird was almost constantly on the move, perching for a few moments on the highest rocks with Atlantic Puffins, then appearing -- almost if by magic -- in rafts of birds in front of the boat on both sides of the island. Great bird! Great day!
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| The first view of the Tufted Puffin, in flight past one of the island's bird blinds. I can't believe I managed to get any images at this moment, I was so excited. |
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| The bird seemed to appear everywhere - including at one moment in the water on the west side of the island. |
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| My favorite view of the Tufted Puffin - hanging out with Atlantic Puffins on the south end of the island. |