M is for…

Posted on September 19, 2013September 19, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Wow, Did you realize there are 8 states that start with the letter M? I am not going to do all 8 in one post, especially since a couple of them are going to be crossed off as visited. So before I start can you name all 8 states?

Alphabetically Maine is first. So while you’re thinking about the other 7 states I’ll tell you a little bit about my neighbor to the north. I fell in love with Maine last year when I had the chance to take 2 “mini” vacations.

Maine

YES.

First thing that come to mind when I think of Maine is the gorgeous, rugged coastline. And if you have a rugged coast you need lighthouses. More than 60 lighthouses dot the Maine coast from the well known Nubble Light in York to West Quoddy Head, the easternmost lighthouse in the United States. I’ve seen and photographed a bunch of them, Nubble, Spring Ledge, Portland Head, Pemaquid and more but I’m a long way from all 60!+

Maine is for “Lobsta” or lobster if you want to be accurate. Everyone’s either heard of or eaten Maine Lobster, those feisty crustaceans that are so good boiled, fried, rolled, baked, in salad, well just about any way you want to eat them. Did you know that lobster were once so plentiful that they were used as fertilizer! Native Americans used them as bait to catch more appealing fish. They were considered poverty food and fed to servants and prisoners. You’ve come a long way , baby!

Maine is for wildlife.

I saw a big bull moose there while walking a nature trail.

I braved the sea to get a glimpse of puffins, crazy little clowns. I never realized how tiny they are until I saw them riding those crashing waves.

Maine has the first National Park east of the Mississippi, Acadia National Park. The park includes Mount Desert Island and Cadillac Mountain.

I still want to try a train ride from Boston to Portland. It’s called the “Downeaster”. It can be done in 1 day but it might be nicer to stay over in Portland a night to see a bit more.

By the way, I wrote a lot of posts on Maine last year. Here’s a link to just one of the many :https://aroundustyroads.com/2012/08/29/day-is-done-gone-the-sun/

Perishing Puffins

Posted on July 27, 2013July 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Ah Puffins, those cute, colorful and comical sea birds , full of character and playfully known as “sea parrots” or even “clowns of the sea”.

I chased them last year in Maine on 2 different occasions. It was an educational experience. Before Maine my exposure to these funny little birds had been National Geographic photos, close ups of the colorful beaks loaded with herring or eels.

With their bright colored beak, white breast and black back, these birds look like a cross between a parrot and a penguin. They are a major tourist attraction since being brought back to the northern Maine Islands about 40 years ago.

I was surprised about how small they are. It makes getting an iconic photo like Nat Geo’s almost impossible. You need access to the islands, not a rolling deck on a tour boat. You need a large telephoto lens and a tripod but I don’t think you need a lot of luck. I saw many puffins and many had the fish hanging from their beaks but they were tiny and distance made capturing that “money shot” a long shot.

Fast forward to this year and a cruise to Alaska. On the maps showing our cruise route were places marked with Puffins. I was hoping that I’d get to see some of the little birds here, maybe sitting on an iceberg or two but if any were in the area they got by without fanfare and I missed them.

Puffins have been on my mind lately. I still want to find a way to get that special photo. The Mass Audubon Society (of which I am a member) had an overnight excursion with special access to the Puffin Colony but the cost was too rich for me at the moment so I let the idea pass so it was with some concern that I watched a news clip today on the state of the Puffins in Maine.

According to the release young puffins died at an alarming rate last season because of a shortage of herring, leaving adults to try to feed them another type of fish that was too big to swallow. Some chicks died surrounded by piles of uneaten fish.

I didn’t hear any of this last year. Maybe it wasn’t shared with the tourists as we tried to line up the perfect shot.

This summer, the chicks are getting plenty of hake and herring, said Steve Kress, director of the National Audubon Society’s seabird restoration program and professor at Cornell University but the report went on to say that researchers are still concerned because occupancy rates in the nest burrows are down this year. Puffins were nearly wiped out in Maine about a century ago. Reintroduction was begun only about 40 years ago.

Puffins raise only 1 chick, known as a Puffling, in an underground burrow. Puffins are less adaptable than many other seabirds so the health of a puffin colony is a good indication of the health of the sea and certain fish stocks.

I hope the colonies recover fully and continue to grow. After all, like so many tourists to Maine, I haven’t got my perfect photo yet!

(The wonderful close ups came from the web. I can’t offer credit for them as the photographer wasn’t Identified nor were the photos watermarked. But these are exactly what I want to take!)

Do you know the Puffin Man?

Posted on September 5, 2012September 5, 2012 by Dusty Roads

The Attendant in Pemaquid Lighthouse Park was full of suggestions for possible cruises so with her directions and brochures in hand I was off to locate New Harbor, Maine.

I wasn’t able to find out much about New Harbor, ME. Wikipedia has only a few lines. It’s home to Pemaquid Lighthouse and Fort William Henry. I saw that sign for Fort William Henry and wanted to detour to check it out. I grew up near a Fort William Henry but that was in New York. I guess if there can be 2 Fort Knox then there can be 2 Fort William Henry. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have time if I wanted to catch the lighthouse Cruise so I passed it by and continued on toward the little village.

Wikipedia goes on to say “The town’s lobster fisherman and “Back Cove” were featured on an episode of the Discovery Channel’s “Sunrise Earth”.

I love that show. It’s one hour of natural sounds and sights, no background music, no talking, just ambient noise. The photography is outstanding. I like to lower the lights and use it as “quiet time”. It’s hard to find the show. Even Rocky and Smokey like to watch it. It seems to move around in the schedule and I haven’t seen it for a while now so I don’t know if it’s still on, but nature lovers, if you can find it, definitely tune in.

As I rounded a corner I saw a big sign…Parking for Hardy Boat Cruises. There was a parking attendant kiosk and a port-a-potty and an open field. Parking was $3.00 and you had to walk the rest of the way to the docks. It seems there was a restaurant on the docks that had cars towed if you were not a patron of the restaurant.

When I arrived at the ticket booth another older woman was arguing that being forced to park so far away was a hardship for her but her arguments were futile. There was no bending the rules. I bet someone could run a golf cart back and forth and make a bunch of money.

Anyway, it was my turn at the window and Maine quirkiness was in evidence once again. I asked for tickets on the lighthouse cruise and was told it had been moved to 11:30am. Well it was after 11:30 now so I guess I missed it. I showed the girl the brochure and she shrugged and said “I guess they changed it”. It wasn’t an old brochure . I really had to laugh then. So since I was there I asked her what cruises were available. She suggested the “Puffin Tour”. Now that got my attention. I remember that on the Puffin Tour in Bar Harbor they said that was the southernmost part of the Puffin’s range. When I mentioned that she said “Be sure to tell the naturalist. He’d want to know that.”

So here I am on another Puffin Cruise and without my seasick meds. Here’s hoping it won’t be too rough.

I took a seat on the upper deck. And soon we were heading out into the harbor.

The naturalist said he “hoped” we’d see puffins but that he couldn’t promise. We were heading to a chunk of rock called Eastern Egg Rock. Seems like every harbor has an “Egg Rock” and the story as to how it got its name sounded really familiar too. Early settlers used to go out to the island to collect the eggs to eat. Yup heard that before.

When we reached the island we could see lots of birds on the island but they weren’t all Puffins.

There were laughing gulls, the only kind Puffins will co-exist with, and guillemots.

Guillemot colony at Egg Rock

There were more guillemots than puffins but according to the naturalist the guillemots were far more rare than the puffins.

No one was seasick on this trip and we saw puffins, not as many as on the Bar Harbor trip but there was still plenty to see.

As we turned back toward New Harbor the day was coming to an end giving us a front row seat for the setting sun.

Tomorrow my trip is done. I’ll be heading back to “real life” . I was pleased with quite a few of my pictures but still haven’t got the shot I envisioned for the Pemaquid Light. I may have to return.

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If you are in New Harbor, Maine and want to have a nice tour, check out the offerings from the Hardy Boats: www.hardyboat.com

It was a 3 hour tour…a 3 hour tour

Posted on July 9, 2012July 9, 2012 by Dusty Roads

“Just sit right back and you’ll hear tale

A tale of that fateful trip…..

…5 passengers set sail that day

on a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour…..”

Ah Gilligan how I missed you on that cruise. Remember how the Minnow was lost? Little did I know what an adventure lay ahead of me as I stood in line to board the tour boat.

The sun had burned off the fog and haze and it was a beautiful afternoon. The sea was calm, what more could anyone ask for. Well maybe a bigger boat?

There were 2 boats tied up to the dock as I stood in line. One was a fair-sized boat with a sign “Nature Tours”.

The other was a smaller boat. I took a picture of the larger boat thinking that was the one I would be on…wrong it was it’s smaller cousin the Islander. About that time the theme song from Gilligan’s Island began to play in my head. This tour was supposed to be around 3 hours…a 3 hour tour…

What a happy little group we all were as we motored out of the harbor past picturesque islands, the water a sparkling blue. On board with us tourists were the Skipper, his mate, and a naturalist/guide.

We no sooner left the protection of the harbor when the seas began to roll and chop. Spray off the bow had me soaked in no time and that water was cold! I noticed many of the other passengers heading inside. I thought it was to get warm but in fact that was where the main mass of tourists went to share their misery…seasickness! Oh boy, it was not a pretty sight. So far I was hanging tough but even as cold as I was, I didn’t want to press my luck by staying where I was surrounded by barfing , green faces. At least the sun was still shining…for now.

We slowed down as we passed Bear Island with a very pretty lighthouse. Then picked up speed again to head for another island that was several miles out to sea. This island, known as Petit Manan Island, also had a lighthouse and this was where we hoped to find the Puffins.

The farther we went from land the rougher it got and more and more passengers retired to the “sick” room. Then the fog rolled in. The Gillian’s Island song started playing in my head again! 🙂 Louder this time.

Finally we spotted the island. The skipper brought us in as close as he could safely go and dropped anchor and there were the puffins. My they were tiny! Only about 10 inches and they were almost lost in the surf but there were so many of them.

They were on the land, in the water and in the air. Along with the puffins were laughing gulls, arctic terns and a few other sea birds whose names I have forgotten. On land and at a distance they made me think of penguins.Naturalist/guide broke away from his nursing duties long enough to explain that this island was the most southern point of the Puffin’s range. They don’t do well with any sea gulls except the laughing gulls so a few years ago the scientists removed all of the gulls, dug holes for puffins to nest in and put fake puffins around the island. Then they broadcast puffin calls.

The first year a few puffins stopped by to investigate but didn’t nest. The next year a few pairs came and they stayed this time. Now there is a thriving colony large enough that it can protect its territory from gulls and other invaders.

It was soon time to head home. I didn’t get the ” National Geographic Shot” but at least I saw real live Puffins.

I learned about them and about another location where you can actually go on the land to see them. Sounds like a plan for another time. Heading back we were going by one last island, Egg Rock Island, where there were seals and possibly eagles.