[Maine-birds] Nova Star Ferry: Yarmouth, NS to Portland, 8/15/14 (6 species of tubenose)

Hi all,

I rode the Nova Star ferry to and from Nova Scotia this week. My trip over on Tuesday night-Wednesday morning was uneventful, as the dawn was enveloped in fog. Following two great days of birding in Nova Scotia, I returned on Friday, with fog off Nova Scotia giving away to an impressive array and goodly numbers of pelagics.  My total for the 10-hour trip (the first 3+ hours were in and out of fog) was as follows:

173 Great Shearwaters
167 Wilson's Storm-Petrels
131 Northern Gannets
105 unidentified phalaropes
55 (!!!) Leach's Storm-Petrels
10 unidentified storm-petrels
10 Laughing Gulls
7 unidentified terns
2 Sooty Shearwaters
2 unidentified jaegers
2 Atlantic Puffins
2 unidentified passerines
1 Manx Shearwater
1 Common Tern
1 Ruddy Turnstone
1 Yellow Warbler

Other:

4 Fin Whales

Harbor Porpoise, Gray Seals, Harbor Seals

9 Mola Mola

1 (breaching!) Blue Shark

My blog recounting the trip, my birding in Nova Scotia, and some photos of various things can be found here:

http://mebirdingfieldnotes.wordpress.com/2014/08/16/the-nova-star-ferry-to-nova-scotia/

  

-Derek

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Derek and Jeannette Lovitch
Freeport Wild Bird Supply
541 Route One, Suite 10
Freeport, ME 04069
207-865-6000
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com

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