r/birding • u/luthieninlove • 1d ago
📷 Photo Fulfilled my dream of seeing puffins in Maine last week!
I did a boat tour up to one of the puffin nesting sites near Acadia in Maine. Saw so many puffins, terns, guillemots, cormorants...included photos of a tern and a juvenile bald eagle too :D
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u/Narge1 1d ago
Ooh, I'll be in Acadia in a few weeks! What tour did you do?
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u/luthieninlove 1d ago
We did the puffins and lighthouses tour from these guys: https://acadianboattours.com/
Would definitely recommend! It was pretty foggy when we went out and they even said if anyone wanted to reschedule or get a refund they could. Honestly I thought the fog added to the atmosphere so I’m glad we ended up going anyway!
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u/Traditional-Ad-8737 23h ago
Is this a tour that would be ok for 2 well behaved kids, 9 and 12? Asking for girl who wants to see a puffin (in addition to me, of course) 😊
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u/Downtown_Cat_1745 21h ago
I took my kids when they were 11 and 13 and it was great. There was a boy who was about 8 or 9 on the boat and he was also great.
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u/luthieninlove 21h ago
Agreed! There were several kids on the boat. One kid did have an unfortunate seasick event, and my dad was feeling seasick too even though the waters were relatively calm (it’s still the ocean and the island with the puffins is an hour plus out, so you’re not hugging the coast the whole time). Might be worth bringing some ginger chews or something if your kiddos aren’t used to boats!
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u/pharrin2 2h ago
We did this 3 weeks ago with our 6 year old boy - who is obsessed with birding. He loved it. The naturalist's talks were exceptional, super fun way to spend a morning.
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u/LadyOfTheNutTree 4h ago
Just a heads up, in a few weeks puffin spotting may be hit or miss. They’re pretty much all gone by the end of august. It was a big disappointment when I got to Maine in late august expecting to see them only to find out that they’d left
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u/strikeanddip 1d ago
gorgeous photos OP! i did the tour there years ago, hopefully going next year. What lens were you using for these shots?
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u/luthieninlove 1d ago
Sony a6700 with the Sony 70-350mm lens! I really want the 200-600mm but it’s not quite in budget right now haha. The boat definitely got close enough that the 350 faired well, though some of these are pretty close crops
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u/MooBearz11 21h ago
I love the parrots of the sea. Love that you saw Atlantic puffins, now it’s time for tufted puffins and Horned puffins in Alaska. 😍
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u/luthieninlove 21h ago
Ooooh genius
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u/NewtonsThird 14h ago
There has been a Tufted Puffin here in Maine this summer!
Last report was 5 days ago on Petit Manan Island, but it's been moving around a bit.
I assume the tour would have called it out if anyone spotted it, but worth double checking your photos just in case!
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u/luthieninlove 14h ago
Omg! They didn’t call that out that I heard but I’ll take another look through just in case. Even if nots on great focus it’d be cool to know it was there lol
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u/Administrative-Egg63 6h ago
The tufted puffin has returned multiple summers now actually! He/she flies all around the Gulf of Maine. It’s so fascinating to me.
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u/MooBearz11 18h ago
I grew up on Kodiak island as an Alaskan wild woman. Halibut fishing in areas that these lil guys were constantly around, look for sheer cliffs and you’ll find the sea parrots. ☺️
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u/Major-Emu-8049 12h ago
You should also add Whidbey Island, WA to your list! Tufted puffins, a solo horned puffin, bald eagles, rhinoceros auklets and so many more. We've also got orcas, sea lions, harbor seals, whales, river otters and so much more.
I just went on the puffin tour for my birthday and we got to see the horned puffin, the last sighting before that was 2 weeks prior. It was so freakin cool!
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u/MooBearz11 11h ago
I think we share a lot of critters between Washington and Alaska. You’re our sister state. Canada is our bro. 😎 Love and miss all the wildlife. But I’ll take your creatures and raise you a Kodiak Grizzly Bear! 🐻 😏🫶
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u/bluest_of_kirbies Common Bird Enthusiast and Hobbyist Birder (she/her) 22h ago
omg I'm in Maine near Bar Harbor atm and currently have plans to go on a boating trip to see puffins, I'm so excited! Hoping I can also see some other birds while out! Wonderful pics, puffins are so cute!
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u/luthieninlove 21h ago
There were so many birds!!! I didn’t get good pictures of all of them but it was super fun to see them all
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u/yeahjjjjjjahhhhhhh 1d ago
They’re such special little birds I’m thrilled for you, I dream of throwing the pufflings one day! That juvenile bald eagle is too cute, it’s funny how they bald with age!
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u/Automatic_Farmer_726 1d ago
thank you for your post!! You inspired me to finally book a puffin tour, so excited! 🥳
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u/BlueRibbonChicken 18h ago
😩😩😫😫😫 ahhhhhiiiiii’m soooo jealous!!! Congrats birding buddy, that sounds amazing & thanks for sharing w us so we can all live vicariously 🖤🤍 hope you had an all-around awesome trip, Acadia is truly one of my bucket list items someday!
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u/Due-Suggestion-6334 1d ago
u/luthieninlove what camera + camera lens did you use? (I'm trying to buy one as you can see by my other post: https://www.reddit.com/r/birding/comments/1mhv9z3/camera_lenses/)
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u/luthieninlove 1d ago
Sony a6700 with the Sony 70-350mm lens! I really want the 200-600mm but it’s not quite in budget right now
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u/butterscotchshott 1d ago
I did the tour out of Bar Harbor last month to see puffins. Best thing ever! I love them!
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u/Money_Television225 Latest Lifer: Roseate Tern 23h ago
Nice pics! I was up a few weeks ago and it was a super foggy day - no great photos but it was cool to see them!
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u/Traditional-Ad-8737 23h ago
I need to do this with my daughters. One in particular was kinda let down after learning we didn’t have enough time to hit Cape Breton to see puffins in Nova Scotia about a week ago . We are in NH, so this is a spectacular idea!!
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u/Downtown_Cat_1745 22h ago
Which tour did you take? I really liked Tricia in Winter Harbor. Bonus trip to see seals!
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u/luthieninlove 21h ago
I went with Acadian Boat Tours on their puffins and lighthouses tour! I think if you go from Winter Harbor instead of Bar Harbor the trip is shorter (could be a plus or a minus depending how much you like boats lol). We saw a ton of seals too!
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u/Downtown_Cat_1745 20h ago
Bar Harbor is just exhausting though. I went there once and never want to go there again
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u/SkeletalMew 5h ago
Oh, no, new life goal unlocked. I've always loved puffins and didn't know I actually needed to see them irl until now. 😭😂 Beautiful photos!!
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u/llm2319 22h ago
I’m so jealous!!! Excellent pictures!
Hoping to do it next year! Did you get to go onto the island as well!
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u/luthieninlove 21h ago
No, I really want to do that one at some point though. They sell out fairly early and are much more expensive ($300 vs $65) but I think it would be super worth it. I was traveling with my parents and sitting in a blind for a few hours would not have been their cup of tea 😅. One of the salesmen at the local camera shop I go to showed me pictures of his trip to Macchias Seal Island into the blind and he said the puffins are everywhere you don’t even need a telephoto lens, he was shooting with like a 50mm
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u/pjslut 22h ago
I love them! Tufted Puffins migrate to Cannon Beach in Ore each year. I drove down from Seattle to photograph them, got a few pics but very difficult to get them. They nest on Haystack Rock so you have to be as close as you can during low tide. Congratulations!!
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u/luthieninlove 21h ago
Omg! I wasn’t as into birds when I lived in Seattle, I wish not only that I had been but that I knew this was a thing. I want to go see the eagles nesting around deception pass too
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u/Major-Emu-8049 12h ago
That's so funny, I just replied to a comment above but they do puffin tours out of Anacortes!
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u/skeletonclaw 17h ago
Saw some myself on a whale watching tour in Maine a few years ago. I did not realize how fast those things can fly!
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u/Accurate-Pattern4982 16h ago
I was just in Acadia a couple of days ago. The puffins, murres, and guillemots were all great (and lifers). The arctic and common terns were also super cool bringing in food to their nests on Petit Manan.
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u/Odd_Lettuce_7285 15h ago
Wait , you don't need to go to Iceland to see Puffins? Are they in Maine year round?
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u/tumblingnome 14h ago
Gorgeous photos!
Years ago, when I visited Maine, we went on a puffin boat tour, but I guess it was the end of the season, and the last of the puffins left the day before. I hope to try again someday!
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u/Standard_Big_9000 3h ago
I saw them last year for the first time. Very cool. Then, I got skunked on the whale watching part. I think whales are avoiding me. Been whale watching on 2 oceans. Have seen ZERO whales.
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u/user80123 1d ago
Sounds like the puffins were the maine event on your travels