It was just too nice out! Really, on Saturday, warm temperature and complete calm air actually worked against us on our ½-Day Pelagic birding trip out of Portland, sponsored by the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth and See-Life Paulagics.

Simply put, there was no wind for shearwaters to be shearwatering! As pleasant as conditions were for us, the lack of wind is unfavorable to energy-efficient shearwater-style flight. No doubt there were hundreds of shearwater loafing on the surface somewhere out there!

In fact, I don't think I have ever seen only ONE Greater Shearwater! Sure, it was a great close-up look of it sitting calmly on the glass-calm water, but still - ONE Greater Shearwater? Sooty Shearwaters were only slightly more numerous - five in total, including some great looks of two different birds that came into the chum slick. But, speaking of the chum slick, even the attendant gulls (Herring, Great Black-backed, and a few Laughing Gulls) were sparse. Wilson's Storm-Petrels were also rather scarce, but we slowly amassed a total of 33 over the course of the trip.

While the lack of wind was indeed one of the problems, the bigger problem was likely the Herring trawlers out working the very same banks where whales and seabirds were abundant earlier this week. We've seen this far too often # a lot of life, followed by a few trawlers scooping up everything around, and then a dearth of activity for weeks.

We dipped on Roseate Terns around Outer Green Island, although admittedly, we spent very little time looking. Common Terns were abundant all day, especially in and around Outer Green, but the tern highlight were the fair number of very well seen Arctic Terns fishing far offshore.

Twenty Northern Gannets were tallied, along with five oversummering Common Loons, and a total of 25+ Black Guillemots, mostly around Whitehead on Cushing Island and near Outer Green. Shorebird migration was also evident, with two groups of Short-billed Dowitchers totaling 18 birds, one flock of 12 and three other Black-bellied Plovers, two unidentified Peep, and 13 other unidentified shorebirds. The avian surprise of the day were two Great Blue Herons flying low over the water, heading due west (towards land) about 8 miles off of Biddeford Pool. What the heck were these doing way out here at this time of year? (Presumably early migrants leaving Atlantic Canada?)

Although this was, technically, a birding trip, we do in fact look at everything else. And while the birding was really pretty darn slow today, the whales and fish more than made up for it! And, I am not saying that as a Tour Leader looking for a silver lining - I mean it! The "other" marine life seen today was really absolutely amazing, and in some cases, providing once in a lifetime looks.

First, there were the whales. We had a number of Minke Whales, being their usual furtive selves. However, the Fin (or Finback) Whale show was the best that I have ever seen. The second-largest animal that the Earth has ever seen put on a show that will not be forgotten.

We had a total of at least 10 or 12, including two mother and calf pairs. However, one pair was so close, that we could see their eyes below the water, and as they passed under the boat, the 30-ft long "baby" surfaces within 15 feet. Naked-eye, you could see the asymmetrical head pattern with the whitish chevron on one side of the face.

It looked like that would be the highlight of the day, until Doug spotted a Basking Shark fin over a mile away. We turned towards it, and Captain Dan cut the engine as the shark (about a 20-footer; rather small actually) "basked" at the surface, within 20 feet of the boat, and at one point passing under our pulpit. We watched it for over 15 minutes. At one point it was so close - and the water was still so calm - that we could not only see white, circular Remora scars on its back, but we were able to see one huge Remora hanging on just below the dorsal fin!

Lots of Harbor Seals - including quite a few well offshore, and two small groups of Harbor Porpoise added to our mammal list, which was really better than our pelagic bird list! But, ‘tis the nature of pelagic birding. It is indeed always a crapshoot, and some days are better than others. One thing is sure, it will be real tough - and perhaps impossible - to beat the crippling looks at Fin Whales and Basking Sharks that we savored today! I think most birders will agree that the best part of this hobby/passion/sickness of birding is the OTHER stuff that you get to see - from mammals and fish to people and places - just by being out birding. Today was a perfect example. It may have been one of my worst days of pelagic birding, but quite possibly my absolute best day on the water.

The list:
American Black Duck: 2
Common Eider: 100+
Common Loon: 5
Greater Shearwater: 1
Sooty Shearwater: 5
Wilson's Storm-Petrel: 33+
Northern Gannet: 21
Double-crested Cormorant: 100's
Great Blue Heron: 2
Osprey: 1 nest with young in Portland Harbor
Black-bellied Plover: 15
Short-billed Dowitcher: 18
Unidentified Peep: 2
Unidentified Shorebird: 12
Laughing Gull: 11+
Ring-billed Gull: 8++
Herring Gull: 1000's
Great Black-backed Gull: 100's
Common Tern: 100's
Arctic Tern: 10++
Black Guillemot: 25+
Bank Swallow: 20+ over Outer Green Island.

Mammals:
Fin Whale: 10+
Minke Whale: 8-10
Harbor Porpoise: 4+
Harbor Seal: 30++

Fish:
BASKING SHARK: 1
Dogfish: 2++
Tuna: one school
Mackerel: 1 school
Unidentified baitfish schools: 3+

Photos from this trip by Kirk Rogers will soon be posted on his website.

Unfortunately, we also witnessed a fishing boat catching fire, and heard the desperate calls for help. We were too far away, and too slow, to offer any assistance, so the feeling of helplessness # our Captain was certainly wanting to do more than watch the plume of smoke rise above the horizon. We could even see the flames as the fire presumably reached the fuel tank. We were glued to the radio, as boats converged on the scene, and we were relieved to hear that the one person aboard was rescued by another boater. Here's a link to the story.