On 6/10 I took the high-speed ferry from Yarmouth, NS to Portland, ME, and of course birded the entire time on the 5 1/2 hour ride. I was concerned that traveling at 35 knots would limit birding potential, but conditions were great and I saw lots of birds. I stood at the stern on the passenger deck, giving a 180 degree view of the waters surrounding the back of the boat. Realistically there were no birds directly behind the ship since the waters behind the engines were extremely rough (but most impressive). So I alternated looking toward the port and starboard sides at the back of the ship. The only problem was that by the time we reached Maine waters the winds had dropped to nearly full calm, meaning conditions were bad for shearwaters and others to be flying. Though the flat seas allowed me to pick up a couple species sitting on the water that I likely would have missed under choppier conditions.
In NS waters -
Seas initially 5-8 ft diminishing to <3 ft. Winds NW 5-10 initially then near calm. Ship had only a slight roll
Great Shearwater - 30
Sooty Shearwater - 27
Cory's Shearwater - 2
Shearwater sp. - 27 (birds sitting on the water a bit too far away to ID)
Fulmar - 1
Gannet - 12
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 7
South Polar Skua - 1
Common Loon - 1
In US/Maine Waters -
Seas from <3 ft to nearly calm. Winds nearly calm
Puffin - 1 (sitting on the water)
Red Phalarope - 5 (sitting on the water)
Gannet - 14
Sterna, sp. - 14 (a bit too far away to ID Arctic vs. Common)
I would highly recommend this ride if your travels take you to Nova Scotia in the near future.
By the way - I was coming back from a 10-day birding trip in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. I will eventually post summaries to my blog, but I'm way behind on my paperwork. It was a great trip featuring -
21 Warbler species - a great study in learning those songs!
9 species of gulls (all in 1 day)
23 waterfowl species
8 species of flycatchers
Boreal species like Red and White-winged Crossbills, Evening Grosbeak, Gray Jay
Rarities discovered like - Little Gull, Wilson's Phalarope, Kittiwake, 3 Glaucous Gulls, Common Gallinule in both NB and NS, etc.
Working hard to locate "rarities" from the south like Phoebe, Great Crested Flyc, Upland Sand, Turkey Vulture, etc.
And then there was the challenge to find locally rare House Sparrows, House Finches, Swifts, Nighthawks
Mike Resch
Pepperell, MA
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