Witless Bay Puffins! - 02 Sep 2018

We awoke to overcast skies and temps in the low 50’s. Since we had an hour until breakfast we decided to walk down to Tim Hortons for a coffee. A short walk down to the bay gave an opportunity to watch Great Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls swimming next to the pier. Since we were standing at the entrance to a Marine Base facility (Def-Con 1) we had to watch through the iron gates. The walk up the steep hill had us breathless by the time we had reached the B&B, so we decided to hang out in the common room before breakfast.

We met one our hosts, Lisa, who served us a wonderful breakfast of potatoes, eggs, sausage, and cream sauce to go with our orange juice and coffee. Her friend Jill was visiting from Alberta, so we enjoyed a very nice visit. Robin and I then headed back to our room to prepare for our 2-hr boat tour through O’Briens Award Winning Boat Tour. Since their boat tour departs Bay Bulls, which is just next door to the prized seabird colonies of Witless Bay Island Park Reserve I was excited about the prospect of photographing Atlantic Puffins and possibly some Humpback Whales.

At 10:15 am Neil, our shuttle driver, arrived to drive us to Bay Bulls and the boat tour. Along with two dozen other passengers we embarked out to the Witless Bay seabird refuge. During summer months the four islands host up to 5 million Atlantic Puffins, Leach’s Storm Petrels, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and Common Murres. With September here most of the birds have departed, but we’d be promised some puffins.

In the meantime, I enjoyed photographing the flock of Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls swimming in the harbor next to the boat.

We followed the coastline as we left Bay Bulls and had an opportunity to photograph the rocky outcroppings that are reminiscent of the island’s geology.

Within minutes we were approaching the Witless Bay Reserve. The first of hundreds of Atlantic Puffins appeared on the water ahead of the boat. Lighting was an extreme challenge this morning. Skies were dark with overcast haze, and we were heading into the Sun that was trying to break through the misty skies. The birds were dark, the water bright gray to match the skies. I purposely metered the camera about -1.5 EV knowing full well that white birds would be overexposed against the dark blue waters once the sun broke through. But, in the meantime I’d be way underexposed shooting dark birds against a bright sky. So, I compromised at -1.0 EV and prayed for the Gods of Lightroom to rescue me. The puffins were flying by the boat so fast I wouldn’t have time to adjust settings. It would be like photographing dark tennis balls.

Luckily, there were plenty of birds to practice on. By the time we reached the main puffin colony we saw hundreds of birds flying everywhere. The sea was calm this morning, so boat tossing was minimal. 

We were able motor to almost the wall of the big island. Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls were scattered around the guano-covered rocks below the grassy burrows near the top of the island hoping to snatch a puffin as they flew in with beaks filled with minnows. We witnessed no harassment today, but our guide assured us that each gull may eat up to six puffins a day during breeding season. In the meantime everyone was focused on the Bald Eagles that were perched overhead and concealed among the rocks. Next to the dark walls were more gulls that challenged exposure capabilities of the camera.

Most of the puffins were flying, but we finally saw a few hanging out by their burrows.

Common Murres had all but left, but I managed to count 5 birds and photograph despite the boat captain being unable to spot any.  The Black-legged Kittiwakes were gone, as well, but I got lucky seeing one drift by the boat just as we were leaving Green Island.

The islands of Witless Bay were fun to photograph. So many features.

The puffins were the show, however.

We then cruised by the last two islands without stopping. Atop the larger of the two croppings was a small colony of Great Cormorants. I was able to spot their white throat patches as they perched on the rocks.

I was in front of the boat the whole trip, and managed to see a porpoise breach water before a spout was observed by one of the guides. As we headed in that direction I went to check on Robin, who was feeling a bit woozy inside the cabin. I would miss seeing a Humpback Whale breach on the other side of the boat as I walked around, but managed to watch its tail disappear below the surface. We would stick around for it to resurface, but it never did. These guys were leaving the area, as well.

We returned to port, but not before I finally got a few pics of a young puffin next to the boat.

Before Neil arrived to take us back to The Narrows B&B we stopped in the gift shop to buy a small puffin carving. Robin and I then grabbed a quick pizza at the Piatto pizzeria, and then took a quick drive to the top of Signal Hill where we got a panoramic view of St John’s on one side of the peninsula and a view of the Atlantic Ocean from the other side of the parking lot. By now it was beginning to rain, so we sat in the car sketching (Robin) and deleting photos (me).

We would have a nice dinner at Portobello’s Restaurant, which allowed us to get spectacular views of St John’s Harbour and the marine facility below.

Tomorrow we head  to Fishers' Loft for the remainder of our trip!

Witless Bay Eco. Reserve--Green Island, Avalon Peninsula-St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, CA
Sep 2, 2018 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     O'Briens Boat Tour of the Witless Bay Island Reserve
8 species

Common Murre (Uria aalge)  5
Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)  250
Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)  1
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  24
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)  24
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)  2     Two dozen cormorants atop 2 rock croppings. White throats help w/ ID of 2 birds.
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  22

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S152404618

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)