Puffins, Whales, seagulls, oh my

Monday was quite the adventure for us. Steph had the day off (one of those odd floating stat holidays because he doesn't get the Aug long weekend off). And it was a beautiful day. So first we headed off to Middle Cove beach. The Caplin (small fish) headed to the beach last week, so we were hoping there was still traces of them, but unfortunately the beach was empty of them. It was still a great trip there though. There weren't that many people on the beach - a few small families, and a few sun bathers. You could tell that the fish were there because you could smell them, and there were seagulls all over the place.


The girls had a blast, and the weather was warm enough that they actually could kind of enjoy the water.


Until of course, one of them fell in.

But she took it in stride, and was fine. And actually went in again a few more times. She was wet to her neck by the end.
Dani was a little bit more cautious of the water. But i think if i had said go for it, she would have jumped in.

It took Kat a little while before she got brave. The most she did was sit in the water, so she was wet from the waist down.


If i were to guess, I think Ellie really enjoyed herself.

It's a good thing i brought changes of clothes for them all. ;)


After a quick break at home, we headed out on adventure #2. This one, we had kept a secret from the girls. Kat told us later that she knew, but i really doubt it. We told them in the car that we were going to Bay Bulls, but nothing else. All they could remember about it was that Mama and Papa wanted to go there while they were here (but we couldn't because of bad weather).

Welcome to Gatherall's Puffin & Whale Watch Boat. :)

I'm still in the process of uploading my pictures from the day, so i'll be adding more here and on photobucket.

The afternoon on the boat was absolutely fabulous. We gave Ellie a full dose of Gravol cause we had no idea how her tummy would react to the boat. We also gave Dani a half dose of Gravol because we had no idea if she would react. Apparently the Gravol knocks Dani right out. She slept the whole way to Bay Bulls (about 30 minutes), and was in and out of sleep the entire boat ride (90 minutes). Ellie's tummy was 100% fine the entire trip.
Steph and I were a little nervous when we entered the open waters, and the boat got a wee bit bumpy. When the boat operator gives the warning that people on the end of the benches should have their feet firmly planted or they might fall off, it's a little nerve wracking being the person on the end of the bench. When we got out of the small Bay and into the Ocean, three humpback whales made their presence known. A mommy, daddy, and a calf.





With Steph sitting on the bench, with all three girls by him, and me at the rail taking pictures, I was worried that they wouldn't be able to see. But after these three surfaced and then took a dive, two of them surfaced behind the boat, so Steph and the girls were able to see them. The whales weren't that active - just coming to the surface a few times and then diving. So we didn't get to see any jumping, or flipping or anything like that. And if it says anything, these pictures were taken with my 75-300 lens on full zoom, so they weren't even that close to the boat. I felt sorry for all the passengers taking pictures with just a regular point and shoot camera. Like the boat person said - just put the camera down, enjoy the view, and then buy a postcard in the gift shop. ;)

After that, we headed towards Gull Island. This island is where puffins, black-legged kittiwakes and common murres all come to nest. The estimate is 1.4 million birds nest there every year. No one is allowed on the island without special permission (biologists and researchers). And only the boat companies are allowed along the coast of the island. The estimate is about 260,000 pairs of puffins come that island every year. They stay with the same mate every year. And they come back to the same nesting hole every year. And they are one of the few birds that mate on the water.