Newfoundland Day 2 Whale and Bird Cruise

Day 2 was highlighted with a boat cruise from Witless Bay out to Gull Island with the guarantee of seeing thousands of birds and the hope of spotting a whale.  It was a pretty calm day, at least according to the captain of our boat.  However once we got out of the bay and onto the open water even the gentle swale of the ocean waves made both Lori and I a bit nauseous.

Somebody spotted a water spout and a whale breaking the surface so the chase was on.  Out to sea we go Billy.  We headed out putting the mainland and gull island further behind us.  The rolling boat and my roiling stomach made it impossible to stand and get a shot of the brief glimpses we had of the whale but it was there.  Every few minutes it would break the surface and we would catch a glimpse of its back or a flipper.  At this point all I wanted to do was head back towards shore. 

Finally we turned back and headed for the relative sheltered waters on the leeward  side of the island.  There we settled in for a great view of tens of thousands of birds.  Taking pictures on a boat with a 400mm lens at a high ISO and then having to crop those shots does not make for crisp pictures, however, while not photography masterpieces they do tell a story.   

The only mermaid we spotted on this day. 

Passed a fishing trawler on our way out to sea. 

Once we got past the point the birds were every where. 

Hard to make out but all those white spots among the
grass are Puffins plus a few gulls in flight

Each Puffin seems to have its own personality
and watching them is often comical. 

Puffins are kind of like big hummingbirds.
Squat, fat bodies with little wings flapping 400 times per minute
to keep aloft.  There is no gliding when your a Puffin.  
Wings stop they plummet to the sea. 

They nest in the little burrows in the hillside

The Common Murre were as plentiful as the Puffins

No songbirds on the island and if there were we wouldn't have heard
them over the screeching of the Puffins, Murre, Kittiwake and other gulls.
About as enjoyable a sound as nails on a blackboard.  

Really couldn't make out the details of what was happening from the
boat but once I cropped my pictures there were lots of interesting
conversations going on between Puffin pairs.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5,... 714, 715....

Puffins use their wings for propelling themselves underwater. 

Where's the Puffin amongst the Murre's.
I found 5.  

So where is Junior.  
I leave you in charge for 5 minutes and we are chickless.  
You know we can only have one chick per year.  
My mother warned me about you and now I'm stuck with you for life. 

Watching them land can be interesting.
Often its ass over teakettle. 
The phrase "graceful as a puffin" has never been uttered. 
See the Puffin butt below the flying Puffin

 Look who is wearing his new sporty racing goggles. 

We leave Gull Island behind. 

The coastline is rugged, often uninhabited by humans and
we mostly had the hiking trails and lookouts to ourselves
and a few other adventurers .
So different than many of the tourist hotspots. 

That's it for the first stop on Day 2.  Lunch at Petty Harbour is our next stop if my stomach would only stop doing flip flops.  Maybe there will be an Alan Doyle sighting.  That would make Lori's day.