I took a trip to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, to photograph the Atlantic Puffin colony:
With those big colorful beaks, dark soulful eyes and a penguin-like appearance, it’s hard not to like them. Puffins can typically be found in the very chilly waters of the North Atlantic, in places like Iceland and Norway. Lucky for us then that not far from Boothbay Harbor is the southernmost Atlantic Puffin colony in all of North America – Eastern Egg Rock.
In Maine, Puffins are rare, and are actually listed as a Threatened Species. On Eastern Egg Rock, however, there are about 90 nesting pairs, along with perhaps a thousand pairs of Terns and other unusual seabirds. During the summertime, Puffins come ashore to raise their young, and the female lays her egg in a crevice under the tumble of boulders that line the shoreline of Eastern Egg Rock Once the chicks are full grown – usually by mid-August – all the Puffins leave their nesting island and fly out to sea to spend the winter. And they don’t come back to land til next April.
More info: www.mainepuffin.com and www.projectpuffin.org
3 Comments
These are awesome. Your photography skills take my breath away.
Thank you, Diane, much appreciated!
Incredible shots as usual! The last shot of the Puffin on a strafing run is fantastic!