[Maine-birds] Offshore birding aboard F/V Nor'easter (26 Feb 2021)...

Hi all,

Yesterday, Andy Aldrich and I joined a hardy bunch of fisherman aboard
the F/V Nor'easter out of Kennebunk with Capt. Mike Perkins. From the
Kennebunk River mouth we motored ESE more than 30 miles out to the
relatively shallow waters (~200-300') of Platts Bank where the bulk of
what we caught (and could keep) was Haddock, but also small numbers of
Redfish, Cusk, and one Monkfish. Fish that we had to release included
Cod and some small Pollock.

Andy and I tried to keep track of the birds throughout our trip, which
proved challenging. The combination of moderate seas and a low
position on a boat moving at 13-15 knots made it difficult to
photograph birds. Photography conditions improved somewhat while we
were fishing, but the number of birds seen at those times was
generally lower (plus we spent chunks of time fishing ourselves,
instead of only birding). A high percentage of the birds we saw were
recorded as large alcid sp., but we managed to identify an assortment
of species in three different counties (York, Cumberland, and
Sagadahoc).

While most of the alcids were seen poorly and therefore left
unidentified, we identified (at the time or from photos later) 2
COMMON MURRES, 2 ATLANTIC PUFFINS, some RAZORBILLS, a BLACK GUILLEMOT,
and a DOVEKIE. With few exceptions, the alcids were seen while
motoring to/from the fishing grounds.

Once we reached Platts, we passed a group of 8-10 NORTHERN FULMARS
that seemed to be associating with at least one unidentified whale.
1-3 Fulmars were visible for much of the rest of the trip. I also
photographed an immature ICELAND GULL at Platts, the only white-winged
gull of the day.

As many as 30 HERRING GULLS and 30 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS trailed us
nearly all the way back to Kennebunk, as mate Steve was filleting the
day's catch and tossing fish carcasses overboard. At one point, an
adult BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE made a quick pass by the boat heading the
opposite way.

Here are links to some of our checklists with photos:

Atlantic Puffin, Iceland Gull, and Northern Fulmar:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S82387037
Northern Fulmar: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82436757
Northern Fulmar: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82436756
Atlantic Puffin: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82386823
Common Murre: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82436751

Wildly,
Josh

237 Reasons to Go Outside... joshfecteau.com

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