We had a birding excursion planned for today that I have been looking forward to for over a year. My ex-husband and I had planned this one together before he decided to get a divorce. I think he would have enjoyed it but that's his loss. Instead, I had a great time with my parents and nephew - three of us with the only long lenses on the tour and my Mom with a set of binoculars (and their cell phone to try and capture us photographers in action).
But first, I stepped out on the bow when I saw it was open. I was one of only two people up there on this windy morning. As we had done the week before, the ship spun around and then backed in so I didn't stay there long.
I caught breakfast in the Lido and ate in the aft outdoor section next to the world's largest fiddle.
I was up quite early and so had a little time still to finish my coffee and edit photos from the Explorer's Lounge.
And then it was time to go. We got off the ship, had a few minutes to walk through the terminal and catch the restrooms one more time, and then boarded our bus which would take us about an hour from the port. From there, we boarded a small boat to cruise to the bird islands of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
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| We learned it was a family run business and here are the grounds of their business which include restrooms and a gift shop (and I think a campground). |
Below is the smaller of the islands - they aren't all that large but hold huge colonies of birds.
Now, enough photos of us, let me get on to the photos I took. I tried to pair this down to just the absolute highlights but we saw a lot of birds. Feel free to skim through them, but you probably won't want to miss the orange party and bar hop at the end of this post.
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| Great Cormorant - the gray on his face identifies him as a Great vs a Double-crested |
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| Great Cormorants (and maybe a few Double-crested Cormorants) nesting - their babies grow to teenagers and the nest falls apart before the young leave the nest. |
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| Black Guillemot |
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| Baby Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Puffins |
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| Herring Gull and baby on left and two Puffins |
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| Herring Gull and baby on left and a Puffin |
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| Double-crested Cormorant - this is a species I have seen just about everywhere |
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| Cormorant nests |
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| Puffins |
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| Puffin |
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| Puffin |
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| Puffin |
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| Juvenile Herring Gulls |
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| Cormorants |
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| Male Gray Seal |
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| Puffin |
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| Razorbills |
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| Razorbills |
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| Two Puffins and a couple Razorbills |
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| Black Guillemot |
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| Black Guillemot |
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| Female Gray Seal |
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| Puffins |
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| Puffins |
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| Black Guillemot |
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| Razorbill |
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| Puffins |
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| Puffin |
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| Common Murres - we saw these off the side of the ship a few days earlier |
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| Double-crested Cormorant |
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| Parent and baby Herring Gull |
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| Black-legged Kittiwakes (look closely at the middle nest and you will see two babies) |
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| Razorbills |
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| Great Black-backed Gull |
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| Great Cormorant |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Bald Eagle |
Here's a photo of the little boat. I wish the windows were more open/lower or more of it was outside. And I wish the Captain had done more to turn the boat around to let both sides see because as it was we were all fighting for space on the same side. But the Captain and his staff were knowledgeable and passionate and gave a great tour. I really enjoyed myself.
After an hour bus ride, we got back on board just in time for sail away. We sailed past this submersible heavy load carrier again along with a field full of new windmill parts.
And then after dinner, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and joined the orange party Zuiderdam Bar Hop. My teen niece really wanted to people watch and thought the bar hop would be entertaining. It honestly didn't take all that much convincing. For $29 (plus service charge), I got drinks at four bars, a souvenir shot glass, played games, and had a chance at prizes.
It reminded me of an exercise I did in my Improv class which might be why I made it to the last two standing and almost won a bottle of champagne. There was a hand gesture for "hip hip" and a different one for "hooray". Whenever they pointed the mic at you, you had to do the gesture and say the word to continue the phrase. Then half-way through to really test our brains, they switched the hand gestures. That took some effort!
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| They handed me a second drink at this first bar once I had finished the first but I decided not to repeat that at the next bars - this was already going to be way more alcohol than I was used to. |
At the Ocean Bar, they had this elaborate domino drink set up for us and then did a game that only a couple participated in.
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| The guy on the left was one of our leaders - we followed him with a speaker and a call and response to each bar. Each bar then had bartenders for their specific drinks and/or games. |
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| This was a shot of something with a splash of lemonade |
We then headed to the Sea View Bar outside in the aft where we played a cup flip game. Everyone participated in this. You had to chug some beer and then flick your cup off the table until it landed the other way before the next person on your team could start. My team lost this one.
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| My sister took a few of the photos such as the non-selfie ones of me and this one - I think she was enjoying the fog on this bar. |
Our last bar was the Lido Bar in the middle of the Orange Party. We caravanned in, shouting our call and response, and then weaved ourselves through the crowd circling the pool almost two times and then they gave us our last drink - this blue one.
And then I found myself a glass of water to rehydrate, found a restroom, and went to find somewhere quieter.
The promenade seemed just the place to find a few moments of quiet and decompress from the exciting of the night. I found this event so freeing. It was a chance to let loose, let the energy and music take over, and soak it all in. It was more fun than I could have imagined. But my bed was a very welcome sight when it was all over.
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