The Tom Jordan Memorial Boreal Coast Tour

Dates: July 30 - August 2, 2010
Cost: $620.00
Booking Deadline: April 23, 2010

The North Atlantic, or Boreal coast, extends from Newfoundland to Cape Cod. Owing to its transitional location between Earth’s temperate and arctic realms as well as a complex geologic history, the natural history of the Boreal coast is distinguished from the rest of the Atlantic seaboard. Here, a wide range of dramatically different ecosystems, from boreal bogs to tide pools to oceanic islands, are compressed into a relatively small, easily accessible region to produce one of the richest natural areas in North America!

We take three days to explore and photograph the boreal coast around Cutler, Maine and the Schootic Peninsula. Dramatic sea cliffs, puffins, seals, and marine life are among the highlights with much else sprinkled in between. The tidal range here exceeds eighteen feet! At low tide, opportunities to photograph marine creatures which otherwise require S.C.U.B.A. abound.

For the first two days of the tour, Captain Andrew Patterson will be our guide and host. On our first full day, Andy takes us on a cruise along the Bold Coast, a rugged stretch of rocky bluffs, reefs, coves, and densely forested headlands. From the open deck of his boat, the Barbara Frost, a forty-foot Coast Guard-inspected passenger vessel with restrooms, we will photograph seals, eagles, eider ducks, and stunning coastal scenery. Andy’s ability to maneuver his boat close enough to photograph harbor seals hauled out on ledges and bald eagles perched high in the treetops along the shore is remarkable. He typically gets us within reach of a medium telephoto lens.

Cutler is the closest point of departure on the mainland for Machias Seal Island where we will be going on our second day. The indefatigable captain Patterson will regale and enlighten us with stories about his life on, in, and under the water, and with his extensive knowledge of the natural history of the boreal coast as we travel to and from the island.

Machias Seal Island is located nine miles off the coast of downeast Maine and is designated a bird sanctuary by the Canadian Wildlife Service. The 15-acre rocky island is a summer nesting site for a large colony of seabirds including Atlantic puffins, arctic terns, and razorbill auks. Other summer visitors include common eiders, common murres, black guillemots, common terns, and leach’s storm-petrels. Gray seals and harbor seals crowd emergent ledges around the island. Machias Seal Island is unique in that it is the only bird sanctuary in the world where visitors can observe nesting puffins from within a few feet! What is more, we will visit Machias Seal Island when the puffins are feeding their young so that it is very likely (though not guaranteed) that you will be able to get that coveted shot of a puffin with a beak full of fish!

Of course, Capt. Patterson’s primary concern will be for our safety. Machias Seal Island has no docking facilities; landing on the island is only possible when weather permits. After we transfer from the Barbara Frost to a small skiff, we make a beach landing at a designated location along the rocky intertidal. The landing site is very slippery and a degree of agility and physical ability is a prerequisite. If we are unable to land on the island as scheduled due to weather or sea conditions, we will adjust our itinerary and make an effort to visit the island on the third day, but this is not guaranteed.

In addition to these two outstanding offshore tours, we will also be photographing starfish, crabs, and other remarkable intertidal species at low tide, carnivorous plants in a coastal bog, seascapes, famous Quoddy Head light, and of course sunrise on the easternmost shore of the U.S. The tour also includes a brief digital workflow seminar

Itinerary

Friday, July 30

Arrive at the Blueberry Patch hotel by 3:00 p.m. Check in. Become acquainted over an early dinner then photograph the wharfs at Beals Island (among the most photogenic ports in Maine) at sunset.

Saturday, July 31

Following an early breakfast and depending on the light, we will visit Quoddy Head State Park. Quoddy offers spectacular sunrises, fog-shrouded seascapes, and the magnificent Quoddy Head lighthouse. To catch the lighthouse at sunrise is worth the extremely, but optional 3:00 am wakeup call

Lunch at 12:00 p.m. After lunch, we will depart from the Cutler wharf at 1:00 p.m. for our tour of the boreal coast. Subjects include coastal scenics, harbor seals, eider ducks, bald eagles, osprey, and seabirds. We’ll have dinner whenever we are too tired to squeeze off another image or after it’s too dark to see anything.

Sunday, August 1

After breakfast, we will depart Cutler wharf at 7:00 a.m. for Machias Seal Island (MSI). The voyage to MSI takes about 1 hour. Along the way, we will observe Atlantic salmon farming, seals, seabirds, and perhaps a whale. Once on MSI, a Canadian Fisheries naturalist will escort us to one of several plywood blinds. From the blinds, we will have about an hour and a half to photograph a variety of alcids, including puffins, which will be at the height of their nesting season. This means that the chances are very good that you will have an opportunity to photograph a puffin with a beak full of fish.

We return from MSI around 1:00 p.m. and eat lunch or early dinner at our leisure. I will hold a brief digital workflow seminar in my room Sunday afternoon for anyone interested in honing their post-processing skills.

Monday, August 2

After breakfast, we will head to the intertidal at Schootic Point to explore and photograph the stunning variety of marine life that becomes stranded in the tide pools during low tide. You will learn to use simple strobe techniques to photograph starfish, sea urchins, crabs, lobsters, sculpins, and sea hares as though you were using underwater equipment. Also at Schootic Point, we’ll encounter additional sea cliffs and sweeping coastal scenics.

Depart for home after lunch at the Bunker Wharf.

Important Notes

Price includes: lodging (double occupancy), sea transportation, guide services, fees, and photographic instruction.
Price excludes: meals, film, gratuities, or items of a personal nature such as souvenirs, snacks, or alcohol.

Though meals are on your own, I always make a point of finding a pleasant yet affordable eatery for us to dine as a group where we can share our passion for nature and photography.

All departures by boat are dependent on weather and tides and are subject to change and cancellation.

Landings on Machias Seal Island can be hazardous and participation in this workshop is at your own risk.

You must provide your own local transportation. If you wish, sojourns in nature will provide participant lists and emails to enable car pooling.

Interested? Please contact Sojourns In Nature for more information.