Canada Cruise, Day 1 - 21 Sep 2012
We arrived in Boston just before noon and got a shuttle to Boston Harbor, where we boarded the Norwegian Cruise Liner "Dawn" for a 7-day trip of the Northeast US and Canada. Our gold-member status failed us during embarkation. We were first in a special line for registration, but computer problems delayed us a half-hour. The poor man that was trying to register us would have to make 4 trips to the other end of the terminal (100 yds each way) for administration help before we were able to board. No problem on our part, but the poor guy was pushing 80...
After a quick lunch and a beer we headed down to (required) sinking practice. This year the drill took place in the theatre, and noone was required to wear life preservers. Instead, they demonstrated the drill in case we needed to evacuate the ship.
The other side of the ship had a better view of the harbor. Great Black-backed Gulls were as common as Herring Gulls, with Double-crested Cormorants and a Belted Kingfisher rounding out my birding opportunity. I spent a few minutes photographing some of the Herring Gulls that cruised by. The GBBG's tended to stay to the opposite shore.
Our send-off was delayed an hour by a barge in the harbor. It was apparently trying to blow up a large rock in the harbor, but the charges failed to detonate. They had to send divers down to investigate, but had to make sure it was safe for them. So we went to dinner and didn't leave the harbor till after dark.
A passenger I met the following morning thought he saw a skua flying out of the harbor late in the day, but wasn't positive.
Boston Harbor, Suffolk, Massachusetts, US
Sep 21, 2012 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Canada Cruise Day 1; Disembarkment; NCL Dawn
3 species
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 12
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 12
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 12
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1 00386442
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Sep 21, 2012 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Canada Cruise Day 1; Disembarkment; NCL Dawn
3 species
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 12
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 12
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 12
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)