Got some good news in the mail yesterday.  The March/April issue of Birdwatcher's Digest arrived and it had my article about the northern gannet colony on Bonaventure Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Percé, Québec, Canada.  Jane and I visited there to photograph the gannets several years ago.  Yes, it takes some time to get articles pubished.  The editors and I agreed that the article should appear in the early spring, in time for anyone to make plans to be on Bonaventure Island during the early summer mating period.  It is always a nice surprise, however, to pick up a magazine and see your own article and photographs.

It was rather an arduous journey when we visited the gannet colony.  The trip started with a flight to Boston where we celebrated the 4th of July.  We enjoyed the Boston Commons, Freedom Trail, Beacon Hill, Faneuil Hall, and visiting "Old Ironsides" (USS Constitution).  To top off our visit, we got reservations at the Community Boathouse for the Boston Pops performance.  Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with cannon and fireworks was a very special treat.

In Boston we rented a car and toured along the Atlantic coast to Jonesport, Maine, to photograph puffins on Machias Seal Island.  We stayed at Narda Dadis' vacation rental.  A spick and span small small home with all the conveniences a traveler needs.  We picked Narda's place because she was related to the skipper that took us to the island.  Jonesport is one of the launching points for tour boats to Machias Seal Island, catering to naturalists, birdwatchers and, of course, photographers.  Puffins colonize the small island in early summer for mating and raising their young.  Weather is always of concern going the Machias Seal Island.  If the winds are too strong, you cannot disembark safely with high swells.  That's why Jane and I stayed in Jonesport for four nights.  The number of people allowed and the time on the island are limited.  So to maximize our photography opportunity, Jane and I had made reservations to go out twice, which we did but not on consecutive days.  We got weathered out one day.  The puffins were a frantic and noisy bunch.  Whipping in from the sea and jumping among the boulders where their burrows were located.  Their hectic activity was definitely a photographic challenge.

From Jonesport, we ventured further north to the most northeasterly point of the U.S. and then on to Percé through New Brunswick and Québec.  Along the way we visited the old Roosevelt summer estate on Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada.  In the early 1880's Sara Delano and her husband James Roosevelt Sr. built their summer home on Campobello Island and Franklin D.Roosevelt spent most of his childhood summers there.  It took us two days to drive from Jonesport to Percé.  Once there, it was the same drill with multiple trips to Bonaventure Island to beat the weather.  The gannet colony on Bonaventure is more accessable then the puffins on Machias Seal Island.  Large tour boats bring visitors from Percé to the island.  The gannet colony is on the side opposite the landing dock so a healthy hike across the island is required to see the gannets up close.  And I do mean up close.  Once at the colony you are no further then a few feet away from the rambunctuous birds.  The photography was phenomenal!

Then, from Percé we traveled to Québec City and stayed an enjoyable few nights at the Hotel Chateau Laurier within walking distance of old Québec.  If you have not been to Québec I strongly suggest you go there.  What a quaint, old, historic place to spend a few days.  We walked our tails off and still signed up for a walking tour.  The tour was particularly interesting because of the history lessons that came with it. Québec is one of the oldest settlement in North America having been originally founded as a fort back in 1535.  That's old!  From Québec we flew back home after a two week photo and travel vacaction.

You can see more puffin and gannet images in my Puffins & Gannets gallery and you can read my article at www.birdwatchersdigest.com.  (You may have to subscribe to the magazine, but it will be well worth it.)