Today was the day for a trip on the Eastman’s fishing boat out of Seabrook Harbor. This is no walk-in-the-park whale watch. It’s in the middle of the winter and the clientele is all different. These fishermen are hardened men, hungry for fishing action in the deep sea. We boarded the boat at 6:30 am and I went straight to the galley where there was heat. It was also crowded with fishermen, packed into a small space like sardines in a can. At the table of Polish fisherman, one of them drained a can of beer before we left the dock. A few miles out to sea and out came the bottle of vodka. On this boat, fishermen mean business.
Our crew of five birders held court on the upper deck. The first new bird for the list was Black-legged Kittiwake (562), which soon became abundant.
Next up was Dovekie (563), a very numerous bird out there; we would go on t count over 600. I needed three on this trip and I knew identifying rather than finding Razorbill would be the hard part. Do I count it if I see it but can’t tell if it is Common Murre but the photographs confirm it is Razorbill? Fortunately it did’t come down to that as there were several seen well enough without ambiguity to know what it was (564).
I was not cold for about five minutes at mid-day when the sun came out briefly. I was easily the most under-dressed passenger on board. But overall it was not too bad, the temperature rose from single digits at boarding time to upper 20’s if not the freezing mark. The trip list includes Atlantic Puffin, Common Murre, Northern Gannet, Northern Fulmar, and Iceland Gull.
Tomorrow I make my way to San Diego where I hope for sun and seventies. I will leave New Hampshire with 12 new species, exceeding my expectations by one. It was a fantastic albeit short trip and it was great to see all these birds again and old acquaintances. I am now one step closer to my goal of 573.
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