After churning through Atlantic waters off the coast of Maine for about an hour, the island appears in the distance.  At first it is nothing but a dark speck on the horizon, but it grows and grows until you come to a stop a few hundred feet off the shore.  By this point Atlantic Puffins are already swarming all around the boat, and huge rafts of the birds float through the water closer to the island.  After being transported by small motor boat, everyone exits onto the main ramp up to the top of Machias Seal Island.

Machias Seal Island

This is the scene I was engulfed in on a brisk August morning.  I had decided long ago that I would need to visit the famous Machias Seal Island during our week-long trip to visit a friend’s family in Eastern Maine.  So I woke up at 3:30am one morning and set out for Jonesport.  Now, sitting in the boat and watching the first Atlantic Puffin coast by just above the ocean couldn’t prepare me for the next 90 minutes.

Lots and lots of Puffins

The rocks outlining the island were literally covered in puffins.  This was the last tour of the season, so many birds had already started their pelagic journey for the winter, but thousands upon thousands remained.  It was exciting enough being this close to so many birds that are usually miles offshore, but our trip to the blinds would bring us even closer!

The Canadian gentlemen who stay on the island for the breeding season make it very clear that following the rules is serious business.  The windows of the blinds (two pairs of small brick bunkers that fit about four people uncomfortably) should not be opened on opposite sides at the same time – this would cause the puffins to see light coming through and may startle them.  Once you leave, you leave.  No going back – you head right back to the lawn in the middle of the island and wait for everyone else.  This was all, understandably, for the safety of the birds.  Each time a group approached the blinds, which happened to be in the middle of prime puffin real estate, all of the birds within a certain radius would flush.  This puts stress on the birds, and of course it happens again when people leave the blinds.

Atlantic Puffin with a turtleneck

So we were walked into the blinds and left in darkness.  I quickly opened up a few of the windows facing outward and began playing the waiting game.  It was a short game.  We were told within 20 minutes the puffins would start returning to the rocks around the blinds – in actuality it took about 2 minutes.  A bird would whiz past the small window and land out of the sight.  Another.  Then we began hearing the pitter-patter of puffins on the roof of the blind as they landed.  More and more began coming into view, closer and closer.

Atlantic Puffin

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the entire area was surrounded again with Atlantic Puffins.  We carefully switched windows and watched as the birds hopped around on rocks no more than five or six feet away from our noses.  It was a photographer’s dream, too, as each set of windows offered different settings and backgrounds.  Some revealed blooming flowers that puffins would bumble around in.  Others looked out onto rock outcroppings that the birds would perch on with a clear blue sky in the background.

Fratercula arctica

Clown of the Ocean

Puffin in Bloom

The proximity to the birds was the real treat, though.  Being able to study their morphology from that close and watch their behaviors was exciting.  I watched as a pair of puffins chased each other back and forth across a rock – each nipping at the other bird’s tail feathers when they gained a strategic advantage.  We giggled as a young puffin passed by, strutting oddly and barely keeping its balance.

Knock it off, you two!

Did you hear the one about the two Bald Eagles?

Mind if I cut in?

Puffins are typically silent while at sea, except for a soft purring sound.

Eventually I noticed a pair of birds take off from one of the rocks.  Then another group – and then the mass exodus.  Thousands of puffins lifted off from every conceivable crevice…and the doors opened.

Take-off!

There are a very limited number of companies that have landing permits for the island – the one I took being Norton of Jonesport.  I strongly suggest landing on the island, as I just can’t imagine the experience staying out at sea and circling the island is quite the same (or even close, actually).  Visiting Machias Seal Island was undeniably a fun and exciting experience.  It was a rare and up-close glimpse into the lives of birds usually only found on pelagic trips with no land in sight.

Sea Parrot

The brightly colored bills are used during courtship rituals.

Thanks for reading, everyone!  You can view all of my puffin photos at my Flickr site: http://flickr.com/photos/billysbirds/