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Pelagic Magic

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Good Morning Everyone. The snow is falling here at a good clip. The forecast is for 6-10” depending…. We moved the yawl boat ARNO in to the barn yesterday afternoon and did our usual storm preparations…stacked a little more firewood in the shop and got things under cover.

Web guru Jim Dugan and I spent some time yesterday revamping our Maine Audubon cruise descriptions and I am really excited about what we came up with. That got me thinking about puffins. We usually see puffins on our first Maine Audubon cruise with Mike and Margi Shannon. They are, of course, cute but I wonder where they are this time of year. I can tell you that after my jaunt in the harbor the other day I truly feel for them. There are storm warnings posted today for the gulf of Maine. I imagine them bobbing in the wind and the waves and diving (they actually flap their wings underwater) for their food in the icy waters. Folks always ask if we are going to see puffins not realizing that they only come to land, and the offshore islands at that, during June and early July. Unless one makes a concerted effort to sail offshore, seeing them is highly unlikely. Here is a shot Jen took last June during our annual “Pelagic Magic” cruise and I found a cool website about puffins that can give you some more information. The Maine Audubon Society camp at Hog Island is another great place to go to learn more about puffins and ecology.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
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