Day 19 of 30 on our 2017 Canadian Maritime Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

Many of us have been wanting to see the famous puffins, often referred to as “the clowns of the sea.” Today, Friday June 23, 2017, will be our day to see them! We were split into two groups, rig numbers 1 – 9 and 11 – 18. The first group went on the Bird Island Boat Tour in the morning and the second group will go in the afternoon.

That gave us all a little downtime. I had some time to get housekeeping and laundry done. Jack and Jackie washed their rig at the self-service wash station.

Charlie and I also took a walk along the walking trail at the campground. John and his wife, keep it well maintained and nicely decorated. I have only included a few pictures! 

We departed the Arm of Gold at 12:45 pm for a 1:30 pm Bird Island Boat Tour. We heard that bird watchers from as far away as Europe and Australia reportedly have made the trip to Cape Breton to see the Puffin. Crazy, No?

The Bird Island Boat Tour was led by Captain Vince Van Shaick and his First Mate and son, Ian. The Van Schaick family are Dutch seaman and have been operating this tour since 1972, the longest running boat tour in cape Breton. These two are the second and third generations sharing the wildlife of is islands with visitors.

The currents are strong in the Bras d'Or channel, as this picture shows. Great Bras d’Or joins the ocean through a quarter-mile-wide funnel further squeezed by shoals. The currents can reach six knots there, and when they run against large onshore seas, they create a boiling cauldron. Our crew is well seasoned and a fair tide, which carried us swiftly between the buoys marking the deep water between the breakers.

The trip out to the Sea Islands, where the puffins nest, took about 40 minutes during which birds would come alongside the boat, to have a look. Maybe they are as curious about us as we are about them! Captain Vince was an awesome tour guide and you could hear the love of the birds in his stories and voice. Ian was as equally as vested in his craft. The first birds we spotted, were the Northern Gannet. These guys are a rare sight, as they do not nest in this area. The closest known nesting area is 50 miles west of Cape Breton.

On our way out to Bird Island, we passed a red freighter that was laying underwater electric lines from the Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric Generating Facility to Cape Breton Island. We heard about he Muskrat Fall project, while we were in Newfoundland. Construction began in 2013 on a hydroelectric generating facility at Muskrat Falls on the lower Churchill River, west of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador. The facility consists of a spillway, two dams and a powerhouse, and will be the second-largest hydroelectric facility in the province when complete. First power from the generation project is expected during the summer/early fall 2019 with full power by mid-2020. Almost 1,000 miles of transmission lines across the province, and the Maritime Link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The project also includes two 100 miles of subsea cables across the Cabot Strait.

The Giant Black-Backed Gull is the largest gull in the world. It has a yellow bill with a red dot near the tip of it. Immatures will peck at it, which means “Feed me! Feed me!” 

 

Great and Double-Crested Cormorants are very prominent at Bird Island. The Double Crested Cormorant has an orange or rust colored cheek patch. They catch fish by striking at it like a snake. They also have hollow quills which allow water to enter. This is why you will often see a Cormorant with their wings outspread, attempting to dry their wings.

Here is a picture of the Cormorants nesting area. During the breeding season the male Great Cormorant grows a white patch which is found underneath its wing.

We were lucky to see a nest of a Great Blue Heron on top of Bird Island. The great blue heron is found throughout most of North America, as far north as Alaska and the southern Canadian provinces in the summer months. However, their hardiness is such that individuals often remain through cold northern winters, as well, so long as fish-bearing waters remain unfrozen (which may be the case only in flowing water such as streams, creeks, and rivers).

The great blue heron can adapt to almost any wetland habitat in its range. It may be found in numbers in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines. It is quite adaptable and may be seen in heavily developed areas as long as they hold bodies of fish-bearing water.

Razorbills are members of the Alcidae Family. They are Pelagic, which means they only come on land to nest. They nest on Bird Island for three reasons: protection from the prevailing south-west winds; abundant food source and absence of land-based predators, rodents and humans.

We saw many Grey Seals. Grey Seals is an oxymoron, since the male is black, the females are grey spotted and the pups are grey and white. 

A large male seal can eat up to 60 pounds of fish a day. There is currently an overpopulation of the Grey Seals, due to the lack of natural predators.

The Herring gulls are the most common of the gulls. They are scavengers, they will even eat their young, if they are hungry enough! They will keep a Bald Eagle away by attacking it. This is called an Innate Releasing Mechanism. They will “dive bomb” a Bald Eagle until it leaves the island.

The Gull chicks can be found with their parents or wandering on their own. This might be the only time you say a gull is “cute!”

Puffins are only about 10 inches tall and weigh about the same as a can of soda. Their beaks are only colorful during the mating season. You can tell the age, by counting the grooves on their bills.

The puffins mate in a small cave in the rocks and only one egg is laid. A toilet or “guano pit” is constructed in the first bend of the burrow and used by the baby puffin so as not to soil its feathers. The toilet is moved closer to the entrance as the baby puffin matures, and when it leaves the nest, it follows its parents to the open sea where it will remain for up to three years before returning to the same island. The puffins’ greatest natural enemy is the giant black backed gull that will catch them in mid-air and rip them to shreds for a meal. Thankfully, we did not witness this event during our trip. They can live 10 to 15 years, which is long for a sea bird.

The puffins in flight. They have air sacs located under their wings which can inflate and deflate. So they can “puff” themselves up, hence the name Puffin. They can also use their wings to “fly” underwater. They can carry up to 10 capelin in their bill.

Eagle watching on the shores of Bras d’Ors from Bird Island. The eagles normally come to Bird Island after the Lobster season is over, because the gulls are hungrier and less likely to watch their young. When they arrive at the Bird Island, they make some of the smaller birds nervous and they tend to leave the island early.

 

We enjoyed dinner at the Black Spoon, at his catering facility. He has main venue is downtown Sydney at the Black Spoon Bistro. Some caravaneers went to lunch at another restaurant and they raved about the food at the Black Spoon, so we are all anticipating an awesome meal!  The meal selections were chicken fettuccine or haddock. Both were delicious!

Rod had arranged for music before and during dinner. Thanks to Darrell Keigan, he was an exceptional entertainer. He provided traditional Cape Breton Island music. The fellowship we enjoyed with our friends was awesome!