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Grand Manan 2011 |
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By the numbers: Over a 14 day period in
August, 34 birders divided up into 3 tour groups and spent a total
of 9 days on Grand Manan island in New Brunswick watching
1,000,000,000,000 birds. And whales. It all started in 2010 as the York County Audubon Society enjoyed a long weekend in downeast Maine. Inevitably, they gazed across the channel toward Grand Manan. So when it came time to decide where to adventure in 2011, the choice came quickly. Indeed, the first tour scheduled for August 12-14 filled so quickly that a second tour was added on the following weekend. That also filled immediately, so four birders from Illinois booked a third tour a couple of days later. And that's the interesting part. Each of the three tours was dramatically different from the others. Tour ONE was the York County Audubon group from southern Maine. Tour TWO consisted of nine birders from Maine, four from Connecticut, and three from Virginia. Tour THREE featured birders from Illinois. Arguably, ONE got the best weather. It was sunny, windless, and warm for most of the tour. The whale watch boat had no need to venture far from shore, since several humpbacks and finbacks were lolling around the surface very near the island and we spent a lot of time with them. They put on quite a show: Most of the time, we were surrounded by huge numbers of Great and Sooty Shearwaters. Wilson's Storm-petrels were abundant. We snagged a Common Murre while leaving the harbor, and added Razorbills and Atlantic Puffins to our alcid list later. Tour TWO had theoretically worse weather, as a warm southerly flow of air enveloped the island in three straight days of fog. The whale watch almost cancelled. But the tides were fortuitous and the boat ventured out to a spot near White Head Island where the concentration of birds was phenomenal. Red and Red-necked Phalaropes were present in uncountably huge numbers. Northern Fulmars accompanied the abundant Shearwaters around the boat, and we had our best looks at Razorbills and Puffins close at hand. On the way out, we scored a Pomarine Jaeger and on the way back we almost sailed right over a Manx Shearwater. Tour THREE had a completely different whale watch adventure. This time, the tides favored a trip farther offshore to where the Right Whales congregate. The whales put on quite a show. Customarily, a group of male Right Whales surround an affectionate female and spend many days lavishing attention. We watched this amorous activity from very close to the pod. At one point, a particularly large whale swam right under the boat, nearly within touching distance. Nor was that the only marine adventure. A whale-sized Basking Shark breached completely out of the water right in front of us. An Ocean Sunfish (also called Mola Mola) floated just below the starboard rail, its fin reaching high in the air. We saw many Northern Fulmars on this trip, and enjoyed plenty of shearwaters and storm-petrels, but fewer phalaropes and alcids. Tour THREE also had a little more time on Grand Manan - enough to take the free ferry over to White Head Island for an afternoon on the third day. That added Great Cormorants to the trip list and a better variety of shorebirds. Also at this time, the Red-necked Grebes began to return from their breeding grounds in the subarctic, still resplendent in their breeding plumage. THREE was the only group to score Boreal Chickadees, which is odd since they are relatively easy to find on the south end of the island. So there you have it. Every visit to Grand Manan is unique, but never ceases to amaze. |
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