Puffin Paradise on New Brunswick�s Machias Seal Island� �
If you like puffins, Machias Seal Island is simply the top spot in North America to get up close and personal with these clowns of the sea. It�s the only place to experience the rare privilege of venturing right inside a puffin colony to watch and photograph them from viewing blinds.
Part of New Brunswick, Machias Seal Island lies between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine. Covering about 20 acres, the treeless rocky island has a population of two�its lighthouse keepers�plus several thousand birds, including Atlantic puffins, razorbills, common murres, Arctic terns, Leach�s storm-petrels, among others.
Getting there entails a 1.5-hour ferry ride from the New Brunswick mainland to Grand Manan Island, a worthy destination in its own right, with rugged coastal cliffs, picture-perfect fishing villages, nature preserves and an extensive trail system. From here, Sea Watch Tours runs a daily trip to Machias Seal Island during the summer nesting season, roughly between late June and early August.
Trips take around five hours, with most time spent travelling to and from the island on the 45-foot boat, Day�s Catch. The boat anchors offshore and passengers are shuttled to the island using a 16-foot skiff, Little Catch. Once on the island, you have one hour inside the blind.
Plan Far Ahead
This isn�t a trip to take on short notice. The tour boat is only allowed to bring 15 visitors per day to the island, so demand is extremely high. It is essential to book as soon as reservations open, usually in winter or early spring, since they sell out fast. Monitor the Sea Watch Tours website for announcements.
Even with a reservation, the trip is still weather-dependent, since rough seas or fog can jeopardize a safe landing on the rocky island. On our July trip, we left in complete fog with limited visibility and light winds. Later the sun slowly appeared, paving the way for a remarkable welcome on arrival, with puffins, razorbills and Arctic terns filling the sky around us
In the Midst of the Colony
While we gathered at the top of a slick seaweed-covered ramp, our tour guide Glen explained how to walk to the blinds. In groups of four, we had to stick to the boardwalk and continue non-stop to minimize disturbing the birds. The puffins and razorbills seemed fairly comfortable with our presence but the Arctic terns were not as hospitable. We were all handed sticks about a metre long to hold straight over our heads during the short walk. This would give the terns something, rather than our heads, to swoop at if they became aggressive.
With four people, the outhouse-shaped blinds are fairly cramped when at capacity, but there is enough room to move around to see out all sides. The small sliding openings at different heights are large enough to rest a camera lens, but with the mesmerizing view, you might be too overwhelmed to decide where to point your camera.
We saw puffins and razorbills busily scuttling among the boulders, perching atop rocks, and flying every which way above and around us. Your eyes will be getting quite a workout from chasing the action, but if you listen closely, a tap dance of webbed feet on the roof can amuse your ears as well.
Few birds are so endearing as puffins. You can�t help but smile, looking at their fluorescent bills, tangerine-coloured feet and even their awkward way of flying, which has been likened to potatoes with wings. While the black-and-white razorbills don�t have the same pizzazz, they make up for what they lack in appearance through their elaborate displays of courtship�when male razorbills gaze up at the heavens.
The hour in the blind flew by and we were reluctant to go when Glen knocked on the door. But after leaving Machias Seal Island, we were treated to one more wildlife encounter as our boat circled nearby North Island, an even smaller chunk of rock almost covered in lounging harbour and grey seals.
Flying the Flag
Machias Seal Island has two lighthouse keepers, not to keep the light burning but to maintain a presence for sovereignty reasons. While the island flies a Canadian flag, is staffed by the Canadian Coast Guard and is part of a Canadian Migratory Bird Sanctuary, the U.S. claims that the island is an extension of its state Maine.
The border dispute has been ongoing since the War of 1812. The Treaty of Ghent settled the border after the war, with Great Britain claiming that Machias Seal Island and North Island were theirs as part of the settlement, while the US argued that they weren�t. New Brunswick built a lighthouse on Machias Seal Island in 1832 and has been operating one here ever since.
These remote pieces of rock weren�t considered significant enough for a full-blown border dispute to erupt, though in recent years, the growing importance of the lobster fishery has caused complications. Since each country has different lines on the map marking the border, there is a narrow �grey zone� surrounding Machias Seal Island where fishermen from both countries operate.
A tour operator from Maine is allowed on Machias Seal Island with the same rules and restrictions of only 15 people per day, but the tours run at different times in order to avoid overlap. Passengers coming from the U.S. don�t need passports. As far as they�re concerned, they�re still in Maine.
Choosing Camera Equipment
Bird photography normally entails using a long telephoto lens, but here, a zoom helps to cover subjects both near and far. We each had zooms on our cameras, a 180-600 mm and a 70-200 mm. With this range, we could take distant or frame-filling shots and include wider perspectives. Some birds were so close that practically any camera or lens could do the job.
