Tufted Puffin in the Gulf of Maine

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! 

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.

The bird seemed to appear everywhere - including at one moment in the water on the west side of the island.

My favorite view of the Tufted Puffin - hanging out with Atlantic Puffins on the south end of the island. 

Shearwaters in the Gulf of Maine

There are four regularly-occurring shearwaters in the Gulf of Maine: Great (the most numerous), Cory's, Sooty, and Manx. Telling them from one another can be tricky, especially when the boat is rocking and/or you're actively barfing. I took a whale watch boat out of Boothbay Harbor this week and got pretty good looks at all four species, and so wanted to take a moment to compare them for you. 

Shearwaters are encountered offshore, usually seen resting on the water, skittering awkwardly out of the way of your tour boat, or flying incredibly gracefully low over the water. I think it was that old philosopher, Wikipedia, who said it best: "These tubenose birds fly with stiff wings and use a "shearing" flight technique (flying very close to the water and seemingly cutting or "shearing" the tips of waves) to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight." 

Sooty Shearwater

These guys are the easiest so I'm getting them out of the way first. Sooty Shearwaters are all brown. They're the only all brown ones. Their underwings are flashy silver, which may help in certain lighting conditions or when you see one far away, but their all-brownness is the thing. They're about the same size as Greats.

Great Shearwater

The Great (not Greater!) Shearwater is the most common shearwater seen in the Gulf of Maine, oftentimes by a factor of 20 or so to 1. It's the default species, and so getting a good mental image of their size, plumage, and structure is important to use as a baseline to compare other species.

The most notable field mark, I've found, is the white on their head. Both in flight and on the water, Greats have white feathering that wraps most of the way around their neck, giving them a capped appearance. For me, that cap is the first thing I look for when seeing a shearwater: if it's got a cap, it's a Great. 

Cory's Shearwater

These shearwaters are bulkier than Greats, without a capped appearance and all-brown on top. Their yellow bill, if you can see it, is a cherry on top. On our recent trips these birds numerous, and for some stretches about equalling the number of Greats. 

There are two subspecies of Cory's in the Atlantic: the borealis subspecies (the expected on in the Gulf of Maine), and the diomedea subspecies, known as Scopoli's Shearwater. The easiest way to separate the two is by the amount of white in the underwings, with Scopoli's showing more white in the primary feathers near the tip of the underwing. 

Manx Shearwater

Manx Shearwaters are the smallest regular shearwater in the Gulf. They are, oh I dunno, 2/3 the size of a Great? That feels about right. Though they have white on the face, it's much more limited than on a Great, and doesn't really give them a capped appearance in flight (thought it does on the water a little bit). They're a darker brown, close to black. The bottom photo shows a Manx taking off above a Great, making for a helpful comparison.