Yep, we braved another boat cruise in the Atlantic Ocean..I bet you can't believe I'd go again...Yes! The only reason I wanted to go was to see the Puffins. We did alot of driving yesterday and in our travels, found this little boat cruise called Donelda's Puffin Boat Tours. But, because we got to her location in Englishtown fairly late yesterday, we said we would come back today to have a boat cruise. They said they wouldn't be going out if it was rough at all.
We stayed in Sydney, Nova Scotia last night and called Donelda this morning to see if she was cruisin today because it was overcast and starting to rain and she said probably just the 10am one as the afternoon looked too windy. So, we booked our four seats and then headed over for the 45min drive.
It was a cool little area as there were fishermen there catching mackerel and cleaning them and feeding the guts to the seagulls. No wonder the sea gulls here are twice as big as the ones in Ontario! There are also Bald Eagles flying around too...a spectacular sight for us!
We got on the cruise and headed out to Bird Island. It was a pretty interesting ride as she pointed out all the Bald Eagles watching us from the trees along the mainland. It was an enclosed boat with lots of windows, but I wasn't looking forward to shooting through glass, so we sat at the back of the boat which was open. We sat and chatted with another family from Ontario!
The Guide, Donelda told us when to come in as we would be getting wet and that it was going to get rough for a bit, etc.etc...at least we were a bit prepared and it didn't last too long, even though I think the waves were as high as the last one!!! Thank goodness for Gravol--nobody felt sick this time!!!
We then got to Bird Island and saw Seals, Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills, Black Guillemots, Black Legged Kittiwakes, Herring Gulls, Great Black Backed Gulls, Double Crested Cormorants, Great Cormorants, Bald Eagles (and youngsters), Northern Gannets and a Great Blue Heron. The trip was worth the price! We didn't get to tour the other side of the island as it was too rough and the boat would have gotten tossed right onto the Island I am sure!
So, here are some quick pictures for you...Sorry if they aren't that great---I was in a hurry and just grabbed the first ones (out of the 500+) that looked okay....
1st pic-lone puffin
2nd pic-a group of puffins
3rd pic-some small birds I can't remember the names of
4th pic-a seal watching the boat closely
5th pic- a lighthouse with lots of birds flying around
6th pic-the kittiwake
7th & 8th pic-the black guillemots
9th & 10th pic- bald eagles, (Donelda was throwing fish to them from the front of the boat...they are good at swooping down to get them!)
11th pic-the boat we went out in.
I think I need more zoom power for my Nikon---some of the birds were so far away, that I didn't get any good close-ups!!! At least, I got to see my Puffins! A dream come true for me!
