The ranger mentioned that the bald eagle looked as if it had just fed and I didn't pay much attention. After all it was a bald eagle and they are so common here. So it wasn't until it flew that I gave it a scan with my image stabilizing binoculars and that's when I saw it had a tufted puffin in its talons!
We were at Beehive Two,an aptly named island in the Chiswells. The islands are swarming with nesting birds, mostly black legged kittewakes, tufted puffins, glaucous gulls, horned puffins, and of course the occasional feeding bald eagle.
Along the waters edge a large flock of tufted puffins were resting between dives for bait fish. They swim better then they fly with short stubby wings, little bigger then a penguin. Their tufts are so prominent that they are easy to identify. The horned puffins are less so, although their feathery horn is obvious when they are standing near their nests.
I scanned the birds hopping for a glimpse of any scooter and of course we both missed it when the captain mentioned the flying white winged scooter. Common mures were floating serenely but we already had them.
So we didn't see any new birds, pelagic cormorants and not the red faced, but the other birds were a special treat and I know Renita's favorite is the horned puffin. For me it was seeing the bald eagle flying away with its prey and that made the one hundred and twenty mile cruise worth the time and money. Clear skies.
No comments:
Post a Comment