We took Maine Audubon’s pelagic trip out of Bar Harbor this morning. An amazing 8+ hours on a high speed Cat (33+kt/p/h) took us into Canadian waters.

We saw numerous seabirds . . . many of which spend 10 months a year in the ocean and only return to land to nest.

The highlight was a Great Skua . . . a lifer for Ingrid and me. The bird flew with the boat for several minutes . . . quite a thrill for the whole boat. Our 389th lifetime bird in North America. This bird breeds in Ireland and then spends the rest of the year at sea. A predator that catches other birds in the air, steals food and retrieves food from the ocean.

Manx and Great Shearwater . . . the Manx was our 288th North American bird of 2018 (the Skua was 389)

Wilson’s Storm Petrel . . . one of the most common birds on the planet . . . but rarely seen as then live out at sea.

Blue Shark . . . we also saw an enormous Basking Shark . . . but it was so close to the boat my telephoto lens wouldn’t focus

Also saw a Sperm Whale and 30+ Common Dolphins . . . both rare to the Gulf of Maine.