Whales and Puffins

whales
Whales

Whale watching has become an extremely popular activity all along the northeast coast during the summer months. The Mount Desert area is a particularly good place to see these spectacular creatures of the deep.

While whales are plentiful here beginning in about mid-June, it is highly unlikely that you will see one from the shore. They usually feed on the plankton which is brought to the surface by upwelling currents along the continental shelf, about 20 miles offshore near Mount Desert Rock. The most common sightings include finbacks, humpbacks and minckes. Occasionally, right whales and other rare species will be spotted.

Humpbacks are especially fun to watch because they are quite acrobatic; rolling, breaching and diving frequently as they feed and play.

Several boats take visitors out of Bar Harbor on half-day whale watching trips from June until early October. See our recreation pages for more information.


Puffins

Puffins, sometimes called "sea parrots", are small, duck-like northern seabirds which are part of the Auk family. People find them particularly appealing because of their brightly colored triangular bills and their droll expression.

While puffins are plentiful in the far north Atlantic around Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland and northern Europe, they are relatively rare along the downeast coast of Maine. In the early 1900's, the few puffin colonies in this area were decimated by hunting. Only in the past two decades have puffins been re-established on several off shore Maine islands, largely through the extraordinary efforts of Dr. Steven Kress and his "Project Puffin".

Today, small puffin colonies exist on Eastern Egg Rock, Machias Seal Island, Western Egg Rock, Seal Island and Petit Manan. These interesting birds live at sea most of the year but return to rocky islands to nest in the spring. They sometimes build their nests in crevices between the rocks, or by burrowing in any soft soil which might be present. They return to sea when the young birds fledge - usually by the first week in August.

Because of the risk of disrupting the colonies, people are not allowed to go ashore on islands where puffins are nesting. The one exception to this rule is Machais Seal Island near Jonesport where a tour operator holds a permit to take visitors on the island to view the puffins from blinds. Several boats from Bar Harbor take visitors to see the puffins near Petit Manan during the early summer months. Often, these trips are combined with whale watching. See our recreation pages for more information.
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