weekendnero.blogg.se - Puffin cruise maine

Preparing for the Puffins: What You Need to Know Making a last-minute reservation means you’re limited on tour days and times, and also makes it exceptionally difficult to find a decent local hotel with availability. I paid for the entire Maine coastal road trip out of pocket.Īlthough I was able to book a same-week cruise, I don’t recommend it unless you’re already planning to be near the harbor where the boat launches-in my case, this was New Harbor, across from Boothbay Harbor. An Audubon naturalist narrates each cruise, which gives invaluable insight into the birds and their habitat.Ī quick PSA: Hardy Boat did not subsidize this trip or compensate me in any way. Our tickets cost $35 per person, for a 1.5-hour Saturday-evening cruise. To date, Hardy Boat has donated $200,000 from its ticket sales to Project Puffin. They also partner with National Audubon’s Project Puffin, which helped create the first restored seabird colony in the world more than 40 years ago. Their tours are shorter, but the company guarantees puffin sightings-or you’ll be credited toward a future tour. Though there are several puffin tour operators, I chose Hardy Boat for a couple reasons. Given that I live only a few hours’ drive from Maine, I went with a US-based puffin tour.Īlso not my photo, and, man, do I wish it was.

Eastern Egg Rock, in Muscongus Bay, off the coast of Maine.

Tours for Machias Seal Island generally, but not exclusively, depart from New Brunswick, Canada.

Machias Seal Island, in the disputed waters between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine.

In North America, your two best options for seeing Atlantic puffins are: Here we’re going to get into the experience of the puffin cruise. I immediately purchased the tickets, knowing I’d figure out a coastal Maine road trip itinerary later.įind out more about the road trip and the best places to stop in this post. I got lucky: one tour company had an opening the very next weekend.

(Look for that in September.) Wanting to add firsthand experience to the piece, I started researching an Atlantic puffin cruise off the coast of Maine. One of my favorites was a story on the new Empire State Trail for National Geographic, and the experience of working with them was such a joy that I immediately talked my editor into a story on birding ecotours and conservation that I’ve been wanting to write for over a year. Speaking of photos, this one is not mine, but the work of Dino Garmy, via Pexels.įollowing the Black Hole of travel writing that was 2020, I’ve been fortunate-and hugely relieved-to have a steady flow of assignments since the early spring. Atlantic puffins are as beautiful in real life as they are in photos.