Puffins on Canada/New England Cruise?

[Grannycb]

Without taking a tour to Bird Island from Sydney, are there other places to see puffins? Our cruise goes from Quebec City, St. Lawrence Seaway, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor, and Boston.

Thanks.

[martincath]

Without taking a tour to Bird Island from Sydney, are there other places to see puffins? Our cruise goes from Quebec City, St. Lawrence Seaway, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor, and Boston.

Thanks.

I assume this is a Fall cruise? If so, your chance of seeing puffins anywhere is remote - after the young'uns are fledged by early summer they literally live on the ocean, spreading out across the whole Atlantic - I think they average a single bird per square kilometre. There probably won't be a single puffin anywhere on Bird Island by July.

 

'Puffin islands' by various names are found throughout their breeding range, but they're only used for that - spring through early summer then they're gone. If seeing puffins is a big draw for you, I suggest a spring trip to Iceland where over half of all the puffins in the atlantic are found packed onto a few key breeding sites well-known to local tour operators. Quite a few are also caught for eating - free-range, organic, and extremely tasty especially with something tangy like a blueberry gastrique.They're one of the fattiest birds, and everyone knows fat is where the flavour lives...

 

If you time it right you can see the Northern Lights, Puffins, and whales all on one trip (April/May) though the best whale watching is after the nights become too light for reliable aurora-spotting (or the best aurora-spotting is before the most reliable whale-watching if you prefer).

[Grannycb]

The cruise is in late May. We were too late to see Puffins when we visited Iceland, but we enjoyed the Northern lights.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Grannycb

[martincath]

Well so much for my assumption! You should be visiting at pretty much perfect time to see the puffins nesting, which means you'll need to get close to the island (I'm not familiar with this one, but assume Joe Q Public is banned from setting foot there at least in peak nesting season) for your best chance to spot them - because of their flight patterns they're hard to spot when they're hunting food, sticking low to the water, and even after hatching they go as far as 30 miles out to sea to feed.

 

Actually a quick Google confirms that puffins can still be seen May through August on these islands. I expected an earlier breeding cycle in a colony this far south, my apologies. It looks like the islands are far enough away from Sydney that no other tour is likely to get you up there in time, so the dedicated puffin tours out of Big Bras d'Or and Englishtown are your only options (though you could compare the cost of a rental car plus booking the tour direct with the cruise ship excursion version... I found Donelda's and Bird Island Boat Tours so it's probable the ship is booking one but not both of their boats).

[Grannycb]

I appreciate your helpful comments. I'm thinking a different activity closer to Sydney might be the better option. Do you have any experience with either the Mi'kmaq reserve or the Gaelic Highland Village? The cruise line has a tour there that is well rated.

[martincath]

Personally no - but I'll be very surprised if Maryann isn't along with some local insight soon...

 

Is your port stop short? If you have enough time (6 hours or more), hands-down the best things we ever did touring NS were the miners museum at Glace Bay and Louisbourg fortress - you can drive a loop including both plus a nice bit of scenic coastal road in a little over 2 hours, and both are worth spending at least that amount of time in each (especially if you want to take a guided tour which I cannot recommend enough at the mining museum especially). Probably longer than you would need to do the puffin tour actually though so this might be totally off the mark for you recommendation-wise...

[maryann ns]

A good day from Sydney would be to rent a car and drive to Baddeck (Alexander Graham Bell Museum) and then on to Iona and the Highland Village Museum. This is a lovely drive and the route I have put here takes you back along another shore of Brad D'Or Lake. See post #5 here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2094409

 

http://capebretonisland.com/

http://sydneyport.ca

www.cbisland.com

Edited February 4, 2015 by maryann ns

[Grannycb]

Thanks for the suggestions! It is going to take some time to figure out what is the best route for us. There are simply too many interesting things to see and do at Sydney.

[midwestchick]

Thanks for the suggestions! It is going to take some time to figure out what is the best route for us. There are simply too many interesting things to see and do at Sydney.

 

 

And what would those interesting things be? I'm looking for something to do in Sydney but really don't want to rent a car. We are in port for 8 hours but that would probably end up being 7 hours when you figure getting off the ship and then back on at the designated time.

[maryann ns]

Pretty well all the interesting things are outside of Sydney, though some people spend the day in town. I think you could get help at the cruise pavilion.

 

There are some useful posts here with a few ideas for Sydney itself: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1863077

 

http://www.tomsportguides.com/Sydney-NS-02-05-2013.pdf

[Grannycb]

Thanks again, Maryann. I've read everything you have suggested, as well as have gone to Youtube to see videos of Sydney's locations. TripAdvisor was also a good source. There are so many things to do in and around Sydney that a return visit would be nice.

 

We ended up booking through HAL for the Bird Island Tour. There was no choice as HAL had purchased all seats on the boat tour for that date. Seeing the puffins was the one activity I wanted to do on this cruise. Hope the weather and birds cooperate!

[Grannycb]

And what would those interesting things be? I'm looking for something to do in Sydney but really don't want to rent a car. We are in port for 8 hours but that would probably end up being 7 hours when you figure getting off the ship and then back on at the designated time.

 

Here are some of the things I ran across while researching Sydney attractions. Many of these have been mentioned here on CC and TripAdvisor.

Miner's Museum

Jost House

Immigration Museum

Maritime Museum

Highland Village

Cabot Trail

Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Sailing on the Bra d'Or Lakes

Fortress of Louisbourg

Two Rivers Wildlife Park

Bird Island

 

Some of these weren't open for our May cruise, others required a car or shore excursion. I can't recommend any of these as I haven't been there yet. TripAdvisor is a great place to see reviews from people who have visited them.

[Alberta Quilter]

Is it possible to see puffins in Gaspe? I've booked the Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island boat tour to see the gannets. Any idea if we might be able to see puffins there, in mid May?

 

We'll also be in Charlottetown and the Iles de la Madeleine, after Sydney. Any chances of seeing puffins there?

 

The HAL tour in Sydney is quite expensive and, frankly, we were planning a quiet, no tour day, for Sydney as we've been there before, and this time we're only in port for 6 hours.

[martincath]

Is it possible to see puffins in Gaspe? I've booked the Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island boat tour to see the gannets. Any idea if we might be able to see puffins there, in mid May?

 

We'll also be in Charlottetown and the Iles de la Madeleine, after Sydney. Any chances of seeing puffins there?

 

The HAL tour in Sydney is quite expensive and, frankly, we were planning a quiet, no tour day, for Sydney as we've been there before, and this time we're only in port for 6 hours.

All locations are well within the range Atlantic Puffins inhabit, but I couldn't find any listed nesting sites close by except one in the Madeleines (this IBA had a small puffin population but data is from over 20 years ago - most of the islands are too low & sandy to have many good puffin nesting environments); around Gaspe, especially the Perce part, while there is appropriate terrain there are also lots of great black-backed gulls which are the among the worst threats to puffins (aside from humans...) - if there was any significant chance of seeing puffins on your gannet tour it would definitely be mentioned in the blurb, as let's face it puffins are one of the most popular birds around; there should be bucketloads of Murres and enough Razorbills you'll have a very good chance to see them though. Not as colourful as their puffin cousins but still pretty cool birds IMO.

 

There's always a chance you'll see puffins - for example younger birds (<5yrs) don't breed so they could be anywhere throughout their possible range feeding - but given their air speed, flight patterns, and extremely broad range it's basically blind luck whether you'll ever see one anywhere else but in their nesting areas. If puffins are a big deal for you, suck up the $$$ spend and go on the HAL tour (or check with both of the local puffin tour companies I linked above, in case HAL have only booked one of their boats and the other is still operating independently - but with rental car cost needed to reach the launch sites it may not work out much less than what the HAL tour costs even if it's possible...)

[Alberta Quilter]

All locations are well within the range Atlantic Puffins inhabit, but I couldn't find any listed nesting sites close by except one in the Madeleines (this IBA had a small puffin population but data is from over 20 years ago - most of the islands are too low & sandy to have many good puffin nesting environments); around Gaspe, especially the Perce part, while there is appropriate terrain there are also lots of great black-backed gulls which are the among the worst threats to puffins (aside from humans...) - if there was any significant chance of seeing puffins on your gannet tour it would definitely be mentioned in the blurb, as let's face it puffins are one of the most popular birds around; there should be bucketloads of Murres and enough Razorbills you'll have a very good chance to see them though. Not as colourful as their puffin cousins but still pretty cool birds IMO.

 

There's always a chance you'll see puffins - for example younger birds (<5yrs) don't breed so they could be anywhere throughout their possible range feeding - but given their air speed, flight patterns, and extremely broad range it's basically blind luck whether you'll ever see one anywhere else but in their nesting areas. If puffins are a big deal for you, suck up the $$$ spend and go on the HAL tour (or check with both of the local puffin tour companies I linked above, in case HAL have only booked one of their boats and the other is still operating independently - but with rental car cost needed to reach the launch sites it may not work out much less than what the HAL tour costs even if it's possible...)

 

Thank you, Martincath! You are a bundle of information on all things coast to coast!!

 

I did look into the two private tour providers but, with only 6 hours in port, I came to the same conclusion you did, that it would be better to go with the ship tour in Sydney. And, given what Grannycb said about HAL taking all of the spots for her day in Sydney, I assumed that would be true of our day, too. That's what prompted the question about seeing the puffins in other places.

 

I'll think about it some more. I would like to see the puffins but I don't know if I want to see them that badly to spend $300 for the two of us. It's not really the money, although it is a lot of money; it's more about not having the quiet day. I'll re-examine our itinerary and our plans. Maybe we can make it work.

 

Thanks again!

[martincath]

Thank you, Martincath! You are a bundle of information on all things coast to coast!!

 

I did look into the two private tour providers but, with only 6 hours in port, I came to the same conclusion you did, that it would be better to go with the ship tour in Sydney. And, given what Grannycb said about HAL taking all of the spots for her day in Sydney, I assumed that would be true of our day, too. That's what prompted the question about seeing the puffins in other places.

 

I'll think about it some more. I would like to see the puffins but I don't know if I want to see them that badly to spend $300 for the two of us. It's not really the money, although it is a lot of money; it's more about not having the quiet day. I'll re-examine our itinerary and our plans. Maybe we can make it work.

 

Thanks again!

As a Scot growing up right next to a major bird sanctuary you pick up a few things - birds on the other side of the atlantic still behave the same, it's just the specific places that vary and need a bit of Googling.

 

As to the comparison with the HAL tour - I would be absolutely stunned if the logistics were not a coach from the pier to one of the exisiting puffin tourboat launches, then exactly the same 2.5 hour boat tour you can buy for $40/45pp, rather than sending a boat directly from Sydney harbour.

 

Unless you rent a Ferrari I'd wager you could do this for not much over half the cost of the HAL tour - assuming that HAL have not booked both our boats of course (but given they leave from different villages it seems a bit of a logistical issue for HAL to ensure everyone ends up on the right coach, plus of course the inevitable complaints that one boat was better, newer, went closer to the island, etc. since they are both independent operators).

[Alberta Quilter]

As a Scot growing up right next to a major bird sanctuary you pick up a few things - birds on the other side of the atlantic still behave the same, it's just the specific places that vary and need a bit of Googling.

 

As to the comparison with the HAL tour - I would be absolutely stunned if the logistics were not a coach from the pier to one of the exisiting puffin tourboat launches, then exactly the same 2.5 hour boat tour you can buy for $40/45pp, rather than sending a boat directly from Sydney harbour.

 

Unless you rent a Ferrari I'd wager you could do this for not much over half the cost of the HAL tour - assuming that HAL have not booked both our boats of course (but given they leave from different villages it seems a bit of a logistical issue for HAL to ensure everyone ends up on the right coach, plus of course the inevitable complaints that one boat was better, newer, went closer to the island, etc. since they are both independent operators).

 

You're correct, of course, but we do have only six hours and it is 1.25 hours each way to the tour. Factoring in going to and fro to the car rental agency, getting the car, gassing it up at the end, and getting back to the ship before all aboard, that is just cutting it too close for my comfort to do it on my own. And that's assuming I don't get lost or make any incorrect turns. If we had more time, I would definitely consider it.