Trip to see puffins reminded me of dangers of deflated balloons

Stonington introduced a new event last week, Puffin Passages, which featured talks, tours and an Atlantic puffin-themed cocktail party. The idea was to experiment with a small multi-day event which, if it succeeded, could become a full-fledged Stonington Puffin Festival next year.

The event succeeded, mostly.

Naturally, the highlight was three puffin cruises to Seal Island, a 65-acre island 21 miles off the coast of Rockland, on board the Isle au Haut ferry. The ferry routinely makes Sunday puffin trips beginning in late May. As the popularity of these trips has grown, a Wednesday trip has been added to the schedule for July and August. But last weekend featured three trips in a row.

Friday’s trip was splendid. Saturday’s trip was excellent, despite a brief rain shower or two. Sunday’s trip got rained out. That’s how it goes sometimes.

My wife Sandi and I volunteered to be spotters for the Friday trip, and it could not have gone better. Weather improved throughout the day, and by the time we reached the puffin colony, the wind had died completely. The seas were flat and calm.

Puffins lounged in the water and whizzed by the boat from all directions.

First-time visitors are universally amazed at how many birds occupy our offshore nesting colonies. More than 1,000 puffins nest on the island, and almost as many razorbills, another North Atlantic seabird.

Nearly five times that many common and Arctic terns nest there. Large groups of baby common eiders swim close to their mothers and aunts along the shoreline. Maine’s largest colony of great cormorants nests on the northeast side of the island.

Seal Island is also the second-largest gray seal pupping colony in the United States. The largest is near Nantucket, Massachusetts. Gray seals give birth in winter, and the young become independent in 4-6 weeks. Many linger near the island in summer. As we observe them, they also watch us.

Return visitors may notice how island activities change as the summer rolls along. When the puffin trips begin in May, the newly arrived puffins are focused solely on courtship. Prior to nesting, both males and females are easily seen.

By mid-June, females are mostly sitting on underground nests, invisible to casual observers. But the males are not yet carrying food. They float around close to the island and it’s easy to see them.

By July, puffin chicks have hatched. Both parents zip by the boat now, carrying food — the iconic view of puffins with multiple herring in their bills.

By August, razorbills begin to leave. They start nesting before the puffins in spring, and leave the island about two weeks sooner. By mid-August, puffins also begin to leave, though some linger through the rest of the month.

There are five puffin islands along the Maine coast. Biologists monitor the colonies on all islands, from adult arrival through chick departure.

Canada supervises the northernmost colony, Machias Seal Island. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife owns the southernmost colony, Eastern Egg Rock.

The three others — Petit Manan, Seal Island and Matinicus Rock — are part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

None of these colonies would persist without human oversight. Puffins were reintroduced after being driven to near-extinction in Maine a century ago. Seal Island was later used for target practice by the U.S. Navy.

Rapidly warming seawater temperatures currently threaten the cold-water fish species that puffins feed their young. It brings up the question of whether Maine’s puffins will survive in an era of climate change.

On the way back to port, we learned about yet another human-caused threat to sea life. Capt. Garrett Aldrich slowed suddenly and spun the boat around.

At first, I wondered if he had spotted a rare bird I had missed. Instead, he idled over to a mylar balloon floating on the water, and deftly pulled it out with a gaff hook.

Balloons kill. To sea turtles and other marine animals, deflated balloons look like squid, a favorite food. Birds and seals get tangled up in the strings. Millions of balloons are intentionally released every year. What goes up, must come down.

Aldridge informed the passengers that lobstermen offshore know the dangers posed by balloon litter, and they are quick to pull out any they see. But more keep coming.

A new Maine law in 2021 makes it illegal to release more than 15 balloons at a time. Fines are from $100 to $500 for 16-24 balloons and at least $500 for more than 24. Accidental releases are not punished, and scientific balloons are exempt.

During a season of graduation parties, parades and fairs, here’s a simple rule for releasing balloons. Don’t.