Continuing from Part 1.
6 PM past and I kept refreshing my email to see if Sunday was a go. Finally around 7 PM I received the email that we were on and that the departure time was 7 AM. The next morning we made the 10 minute trek to Cutler and waited with the others that were going along with us. Over the four days in talking to the other photographers I kept hearing one theme, many were coming back for their second or third year because the trip was canceled due to weather in the past. I was glad I had four tries because I don't think I would want to drive the roughly 12 hours back to Maine just for this.
After boarding the boat and heading out of the harbor, Andy was telling us that he wasn't quite sure if we'd be able to land until we reached the island since the water was still rather rough. Andrea seemed to handle the boat ride good enough and after leaving the harbor behind we traveled the 10 miles out to the island which took around 45 minutes. When departing Andy said that we wouldn't see much during the ride out until we were within roughly half a mile of the island.
With not much to do, he started to talk to the group about the types of birds we would be seeing. Along with the local ducks there were four birds that we were guaranteed to see. Three of them were the main attraction, Common Murres, Razorbills and the star of the show, the Atlantic Puffin. The other bird we would see was the Arctic Tern. I'll go into more detail about them later, the cheeky little buggers.
As we closed to about half a mile from the island, as if almost on cue, we started seeing razorbills and puffins flying by the boat, usually no higher than 10 to 15 feet above the water. We circled the island to the landing zone and Andy wasn't optimistic on our chances of landing.
To make it to shore, we had to transfer to a small skiff and the ocean was still too rough for us to land safely at the small dock. After surveying the situation for a couple of minutes, Andy had a plan. There was a small outcropping near the dock that looked better protected and he could try to land there. The problem was that would would need to walk some 60 to 70 feet over seaweed covered rocks.
He put it to a vote and everyone said they were willing to try going over the rocks. So he took half the group and they headed in. It took a while but he eventually was able to get them on the rocks, so he came back for the rest of us. Soon we too were landing on the rocks. This is where the fun begins. I'm not the steadiest on my feet. If you watch me go downstairs, I am always grabbing the handrail since I'm afraid of falling.
To say seaweed is slippery to step on is an understatement. Every step needs to be carefully taken, often wedging your food against something to keep your balance. Multiple times I had to sit down or move across rocks on my knees and while it took me a good 20 minutes and with help from Andy, his daughter Anna and some of the other passengers, I was the next to last person to finally make it ashore. Welcome to some of the joys of wildlife photography.
Later Andy said this landing was a bad idea and he should never have tried it. While I kind of agree with him, I can't complain since I did make it to the island.
The next challenge was to make it to the photo blinds. This is where the Arctic Terns come in. Before heading up the boardwalk towards the helicopter landing pad and outhouse we were informed that terns lay their eggs right on the ground. No nest of any type, just on the ground. And we would be walking near the nesting birds.
As you can imagine, the terns don't really care for humans being nearby so after they are disturbed from their nest they start to make lots of noise and will dive bomb you. To help ward them off we were given tern sticks, which basically is a fancy term for a quarter inch round piece of PVC tube about three feet long.
You had to hold the stick straight up as you passed the terns and hopefully they will attack the stick and not you. While we were told that you couldn't use the sticks to hit the terns, they never did say we couldn't hit our fellow passengers. :)
Anna split us up into two groups and the first eight of us were off to the blinds. Part of the walk was on the grass, where the terns had “nests” so the barrage continued. Fortunately, the researchers had placed blue flags near the eggs so we knew where not to walk.
As we approached the blind all the birds sitting on it scattered and within a minute Andrea and I were joined by a grandmother and granddaughter in one of the blinds. Finally after a couple of years of planning we were photographing puffins.
To say the birds were close is an understatement. One of the popular rocks was only a couple of feet away so getting frame filling shots of puffins and razorbills was easy as point and shoot. We only saw a few common murres.
We spent the next hour and a half watching and photographing the birds. One particular puffin landed on the rock right outside the blind and just stared at us. The rock was at eye level so the puffin could clearly see we were there. For about five minutes he just watched us and kept cocking his head to the side. He was probably wondering who these idiots were in this little gray shack.
Eventually the birds started landing on the blind and then started running around on the roof. Andrea and the two women kept laughing every time one of the birds scrambled around up there.
We saw a few razorbills with fish in their beaks, which is a sign that their young have hatched. They would land and seem to show off their catch before disappearing into the rocks. Only a couple of puffins had fish and they usually headed straight into their burrow, so getting photos of them with fish was difficult. Later Andy told us we were just at the start of when the puffin chicks hatch so not many would be bringing fish in just yet.
Soon Anna returned and told us our hour and a half was up. We headed back to the landing site and since the tide had risen, we were able to use the concrete dock to get back on the skiff. Thank goodness I didn't have to go over the rocks again.
The trip back to the main boat and then to Cutler was uneventful and I was glad that Andrea didn't have any nausea issues. I was told that the trip Monday would be leaving at the same time. It turns out the time was the same every morning.
The next morning the weather was slightly better, it was still cloudy but the waves had subsided a bit more. The trip out was just as uneventful, the biggest change was that Andy's regular first mate, Abbey, was now on board, but we were able to land at the regular dock, which I was really grateful for. This time I was in the second group and ended up at the other set of photo blinds. I didn't particularly care for this blind as much as the other one, but I still had a great time.
We saw a couple of Northern Gannets which seem to be nesting on the island as well. Later we found out the male had been coming here for a couple of years and finally attracted a young female but they probably wouldn't have chicks for another year or so.
The weather completely changed on Tuesday. Instead of cloudy skies and slightly choppy water, the skies were clear and the water was close to glass. Leaving the harbor, Andy again spoke about the Little River Lighthouse that sits on the island in the harbor, this time though, with clear skies, I was able to get the photograph I wanted.
I was able to talk to Abbey and asked if she could get me in the blind we were in on Sunday, if not today then definitely on Wednesday when Andrea would be back. I will say that she was absolutely wonderful. Soon we were again on the island and I was back in the same blind as Sunday.
I made sure to try and take the same type of shots I had the last couple of days but this time with more of a blue background. For the most part they turned out better, but now I had to deal with shadows. I found that the photos in the rocks and grass were better from the first two days when the light was diffused but profiles on the rocks with the ocean or sky behind the birds were much better with the blue background.
The other benefit of going on a sunny day was the realistic chance of getting decent bird in flight shot. While possible to do in the blind, it was very difficult. The birds are the size of a crow and you have to sight the bird a little ways out and track them if you wanted to get a shot. Even then it's hard because they could leave the sight line of the blind slot you're looking out of .
It was much easier to do while waiting for the skiff at the dock or better yet while waiting on the boat. It helps that puffins, razorbills and murres generally fly straight, not much need to avoid things when the ocean is the only terrain.
Finally Wednesday arrived and I was headed out for my fourth day on Machias Seal Island. The conditions were exactly like the day before. Clear skies, calm water and almost no wind to speak of. For Andrea this was a huge change from Sunday. Abbey again put us in the same blind and Andrea was able to get many of the same shots she had gotten Sunday, but like me, this time with a blue background.
The one extra we had this day was that the northern gannets were sunning on rocks nearby. So we were able to get some good shots of them as they towered over the razorbills and puffins. To put in in perspective, a puffin is roughly 11 inches in length, a razorbill is about 17 inches and the northern gannet is around 40.
Before we headed back on Wednesday, Andy took us a bit more around the island. I was able to get a few usable flight shots of puffins and razorbills. We also headed over to a nearby island where we saw seals sunning themselves. Finally we headed back to the harbor where we said our goodbyes and left for Acadia.
I consider myself very fortunate for getting on the island all four days since I had figured going in to have at least one of the days canceled.
If you ever have a chance to go on this tour with Captain Andy don't pass it up. It's definitely worth the effort.
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