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. 

Maine Mariners Hockey Team's New Puffin Mascot

I was 9 when the Maine Mariners hockey team played their last game in the Cumberland County Civic Center. I wasn't there or anything, but I had been to a game or two and at one point had owned a t-shirt featuring their endearingly-80's "cyborg radiator" logo.

The Mariners left and were replaced by the Portland Pirates, who played until 2015 before leaving for the greener pastures of Springfield, Massachusetts (lol). But time is a flat circle etc. etc. and a new team is back to knock pucks along Casco Bay: the Maine Mariners.

Not the old Maine Mariners, the new Maine Mariners, with a new trident logo instead of the radiator. Not an improvement, if you ask me, but I'm rooted in nostalgia and there's not stopping it.

Nostalgia won again in the choice of the Mariners name, which was decided via a public vote. Mainers chose between Mariners, Lumberjacks, Wild Blueberries, Watchmen, and ... wait for it ... Puffins.

Can you guess which name I voted for? Here's a hint, in the form of a potential logo I child-scribbled with colored pencils:

Yeah, the Puffins. The Puffins would have been a radical name, and showcased one of Maine's most iconic wildlife species, a bird with a cool color scheme, and a chunky little cutie pie. Alas, Mariners won the day.

But there's more to this than just a name, and just this week the Mariners unveiled their new mascot: Beacon the Puffin. Right on. 

Looks pretty good! It's an Atlantic Puffin -- the species found in the Gulf of Maine -- and all the colors appear in their right places. You never with these sports logos whether they'll mix up colors or use the wrong species or something.

Sounds like the Maine Mariners have done it right. The "facts" about Beacon on this page tell us that he was born in Machias Seal Island, an important but controversial island in the Gulf, and that among his hobbies is raising awareness of Project Puffin. 

Welcome to Maine, Beacon the Puffin!

A Bunch of Photos From My Trip to Alaska

I don't like posting trip reports.  When I started this dumpy website, I wanted to fill the gap in the bird blogosphere between Hey Here's A Cardinal In My Backyard bird blogs and Here Is Some Insane Endemic Trogon I Discovered On An Island blogs.  Reports of my lame 30-species-days were not my area of interest.

But, dear reader, screw you.  It's my damn website and if I go to Alaska and see a ton of cool shit and lug around some huge lens everywhere to get pictures, then you're going to have to look at them.  So buckle in.

A quick note - my autofocus doesn't work.  I lucked into a Canon 30d camera body when my friend, it's previous owner, dropped it into a saltwater swamp.  He went to upgrade, I inquired about the condition of the damp body, he said it sorta worked, the rest is history.  Most of the time the thing works fine, but the electronic connections are rusty and there's not much communication between the lens and the body.  So some of the photos aren't that great and aren't in good focus but who cares.  Just so you know.

I traveled with my buddy Jake to Anchorage, Homer, Seward and Nome, Alaska.  I got 21 ABA lifers.  140 species total.  I drank a bunch of beers.  I saw musk oxen, sea otters, killer whales and guys smoking crack.  Here are some of the birds.


Northern Wheatear


Golden Eagle

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