July 12th - 28th

Bird activity in the West Isles of the Bay of Fundy has increased in the last couple weeks. Latest arrivals include numerous RAZORBILLS with their chicks as well as COMMON MURRE. We have still been seeing the odd ATLANTIC PUFFIN on some of our trips.  A few GREAT-BLUE HERONS have started to show up in the islands.

A few hundred BONAPARTE'S GULLS have arrived recently and are feeding in the tide currents around Eastport and the Western Passage. There have been many groups of LEAST and SEMIPLAMATED SANDPIPERS moving through the area.

Whitehorse Island has been very active with many of the young gulls fledging. This is a big attraction for the BALD EAGLES in the area and we have seen as many as a dozen of the birds hunting for young gulls on the island. Most of the BLACK LEGGED KITTIWAKES appear to have finished their nesting effort, but a few still seem to be hanging on. We have only recorded one hatched chick so far for the entire colony and as of today he/she was still in the nest.

Shearwaters are still absent from our area, in fact, the only tubenose I have seen so far is the odd LEACH"S STORM PETREL.

Sightings of interest by day are as follows...

July 12th - an adult PEREGRINE FALCON was seen flying towards the gull colonies off Northwestern Harbour, Deer Island.

July 17th - a LEACH'S STORM PETREL was seen in Passamaquoddy Bay

July 24th - 40+ RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were sighted off Bliss Island Lighthouse and the first and only known Kittiwake chick was seen at Whitehorse Island. Many groups of small peeps, mostly SEMIPALMATED and LEAST SANDPIPERS were seen moving through the area and resting on floating rafts of rockweed. A CASPIAN TERN was seen feeding in the waters off Green's Point. One of the only NORTHERN GANNETS seen so far this season was sighted off Campobello Island. A group of 5 COMMON TERNS were seen near Green's Point.

July 27th -  5 adult BALD EAGLES were feeding at the same time on a herring ball just off Head Harbour lighthouse on Campobello Island. The birds took turns swooping down to grab multiple fish in each talon and proceed to eat them on the wing. One bird even plunged into the water and swam around in the mass of fish before managing to take flight again.

Here are some photos from recent trips!

Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin

Immature Bald Eagle

Adult bald eagle perched at the Raven nest on Whitehorse Island

Bald Eagles on Campobello Island

Bald eagle feeding on herring

Bald eagle feeding on herring

Bald eagle feeding on herring

Bald eagle feeding on herring

Bald eagle feeding on herring

Bald eagle feeding on herring

Bald eagle feeding on herring

Black guillemot

Black guillemot

Black guillemot with rock gunnel

Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged kittiwake with chick on Whitehorse island

Black-legged kittiwakes

Black-legged kittiwakes

Black-legged kittiwakes

Caspian tern near Green's Point

Common murre

Fledgling great black backed gull

Great black-backed gull feedin gon Wolfish taken from a gray seal

Great-blue heron

Great cormorant

Gulls feeding on herring

Gulls feeding on herring

Gulls feeding on herring

Gulls on Whitehorse Island

Adult herring gull with fledgling. Flight lessons?

Juvenile bald eagle

Semipalmated sandpipers

Semipalmated sandpipers

Peregrine Falcon

Razorbill chick with father

Razorbill chick with father

Razorbills

Razorbills and Common murre

Whitehorse Island

The 2014 Season has started!

After a slow start to our 2014 season we are now running regular trips, three times daily, at 10AM, 130PM and 5PM.

2014 has brought quite a few surprises to the Bay of Fundy and nearby areas so far, including a TUFTED PUFFIN that has been sighted numerous times around Machias Seal Island as well as a YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSS and a FEA'S PETREL sighted in the Gulf of Maine by the Seven Sea's Whale Watch Company. With rarities such as these showing up in the North Atlantic we could be in for an interesting season!

Bird activity in the West Isles of the Bay of Fundy (Deer and Campobello Island areas) has been fairly low so far, with most of the usual species present in low numbers. Tropical Storm Arthur seemed to blow many birds well offshore and bird activity was very low in the days after but is now returning to normal.

Groups of several hundred herring and black-backed gulls have been feeding in the tidal currents off Eastport and Southern Deer Island. Careful inspection of these groups often turns up the odd LAUGHING GULL. There has also been a few small groups of BONAPARTE'S GULLS beginning to show up in the area.

Alcid numbers have been fairly low overall. As usual,  BLACK GUILLEMOTS are very common throughout the area but only small numbers of RAZORBILL and COMMON MURRE are being seen. Recent trips have sighted small numbers of ATLANTIC PUFFIN.

The nesting birds of Whitehorse Island are well into their breeding cycle. Herring and Black-backed gulls have chicks, and some are beginning to fledge. The BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES had a promising start to their nesting, with many new nests and pairs on the island. However, in mid-June we saw two COMMON RAVENS raid the nests and devour many of the eggs. It seems like many of the birds have relaid eggs but no hatched chicks have yet been seen. BALD EAGLES are a regular sight over the island and are a constant threat to any young birds. A few GREAT CORMORANTS are regularly seen roosting on the island and the DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS are nesting in their usual spot, although in smaller numbers then past years.

The first COMMON EIDERS broods are on the water, after Tropical Storm Arthur hit on Saturday I found a few dead chicks washed up on the shore around the St. Andrews harbour. However, it was amazing to watch a small group of eider chicks feed in a raft of rockweed in 120km/h winds, apparently unphased by the power of the storm.

Yesterday, July 8th, we saw the first RED-NECKED PHALAROPES of the season, a group of approx. 20.

Looking forward to the 2014 season and I hope that some of you come out to join us aboard the Quoddy Link! Be sure to check out the images below, taken on our recent trips.

Cheers,
-Nick

Below is a list of birds regularly being sighted on our recent trips:

Bald Eagle
Black-legged Kittiwake
Bonaparte's Gull
Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Black-backed Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Black Guillemot
Razorbill
Atlantic Puffin
Common Eider
Common Loon

Images from Recent Trips:

Atlantic Puffin

Bald Eagle on Campobello Island

Bald Eagle nest on Campobello Island

Black Guillemot

Black Guillemot in flight

Black Guillemots in flight

Bonaparte's Gull

Common Eider brood

Nesting double-crested cormorants on Whitehorse Island

Mating double-crested cormorants on Whitehorse Island

Blue mouth of breeding double-crested cormorant

Great-black backed gull on Whitehorse

Great Cormorant on Whitehorse Island

Great Cormorant on Whitehorse Island

Herring gulls on Whitehorse Island

Herring gull chick on Whitehose Island

Herring gull nesting on Whitehorse Island

Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake nesting on Whitehorse

Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Whitehorse

Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Whitehorse

Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Whitehorse

Black-legged Kittiwake nesting on Whitehorse

Black-legged Kittiwake nesting on Whitehorse

Razorbill in flight

Razorbill in flight