Outdoors
The BDN outdoors section brings readers into the woods, waters and wild places of Maine. It features stories on hunting, fishing, wildlife, conservation and recreation, told by people who live these experiences. This section emphasizes hands-on knowledge, field reports, issues, trends and the traditions that define life outside in Maine. Read more Outdoors stories here.
Every year, I advise readers to get on board at least one of the adventures. Every year, 99 percent of readers ignore my advice.
The Gulf of Maine is a unique place. Its cold, oxygen-rich water feeds an abundance of sea life. Plankton, krill and copepods are at the bottom of the food chain. Small fish, such as herring and capelin, feed on them. Larger fish feed on smaller fish, and so on. Maine’s offshore waters teem with animals ranging from microscopic plankton to fin whales, the second-largest creatures on Earth. Our little piece of ocean is one of the most productive seafood buffet tables on the planet.
The Gulf of Maine is a summer destination that attracts sea mammals and birds from across the Atlantic Ocean, from as far east as Europe and as far south as Antarctica. It’s why Mainers should get out on the salt water and see for themselves all the blessings nature has given us.
Any of the daily trips on Bar Harbor Whale Watch can offer this wildlife experience. But these five upcoming cruises deserve special mention, especially for birders.
Downeast Offshore Seabird and Lighthouse Tour — July 18
I’ll be the onboard naturalist for this one, along with whale expert extraordinaire Zack Klyver.
We’re heading out on a nine-hour voyage traversing some of the Gulf’s best whale and seabird habitat. We’ll scoot up to Machias Seal Island, home to the biggest colony of puffins, razorbills and murres in the Gulf. From there, we’ll visit Mt. Desert Rock, the most remote lighthouse on the East Coast of North America.
Matinicus Rock is the next stop. It’s Maine’s most remote puffin colony — an island so far from the mainland that it’s the only puffin island not regularly visited by tour boats. It’s been more than 20 years since I visited Matinicus Rock. I can’t wait.
Brier Island/Lurcher Shoals Pelagic Trip — Aug. 16
If you have to miss this tour, consider joining me on the next.
We’re heading over to Nova Scotia to search the waters around Brier Island and the legendary Lurcher Shoals for rare birds, whales and dolphins. Few trips from the United States have ever ventured that far. In fact, I don’t know of any.
Maine Audubon is chartering the boat in partnership with Flukes, Zack Klyver’s international whale tour company.
Maine Audubon Pelagic Trip — Sept. 13
Maine Audubon has also chartered the boat for its annual pelagic trip. It’s a yearly event eagerly anticipated by the Maine birding community — part boat trip, part birder family reunion.
I waited too long to book the last time and had to beg my way on as a “crew member” and expert spotter, although, to be honest, I was neither. I must work hard to identify all those exotic jaegers, skuas and fulmars out there.
Cashes Ledge Wildlife Cruise — Sept. 26
Bar Harbor Whale Watch will reprise last year’s daylong excursion to Cashes Ledge, arguably the most geologically unique spot in the entire Gulf of Maine.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Bar Harbor Whale Watch has two of the biggest, fastest whale-watch boats in North America. These jet-drive boats can do things no other boats in Maine can do.
Cashes Ledge is an undersea mountain range located 80 miles offshore, closer to Cape Cod than Bar Harbor. Even though it’s far from shore, the tallest peak is only 27 feet below the surface.
The combination of shallow water and surrounding depths creates exceptional spawning habitat for sea life, and the birds and whales know it.
I was on the trip last year. Cory’s shearwaters nest along the coast of Portugal. After breeding, some migrate across the Atlantic to these food-rich waters. While we were over Cashes Ledge, I saw more Cory’s shearwaters in one hour than I’d seen previously in my entire life.
Midcoast & Monhegan Lighthouse Tour — Sept. 5
Now, a bonus tip. If these bird-heavy trips are too exotic for the faint of heart, consider the all-day lighthouse cruise instead.
The boat will visit a whopping 19 lighthouses from here to Monhegan, including four light stations that even Bar Harbor Whale Watch has never visited before.
The Midcoast & Monhegan Lighthouse Tour still has vacancies, but don’t wait long. Lighthouse fans from all over the country will be on this one.
