trips33.blogspot.com <<we are at this web address
FIRST, AND ABOVE ALL ELSE, THANKS TO THE MANAGEMENT OF NOVA STAR CRUISES LTD. FOR ENABLING THIS MARINE AND SEABIRD SURVEY, WHICH THEY DID IN SUPPORT OF THE GOOD HEALTH OF THE GULF OF MAINE (G.O.M.), ON BOTH THE U.S.A. AND CANADA SIDES, HOPEFULLY SUPPORTING SOME BENEFITS FOR BOTH THE GOM's NATURAL MARINE ECOSYSTEM AND ITS HUMAN ECONOMIC SYSTEM. THANK YOU NOVA STAR!!!!
SUGGESTION:
This very LONG post is written for several different audiences (including 1. those who focus on seabirds and 2. those who focus on other components of the marine ecosystem, such as water chemistry, plankton, fish, whales), and therefore covers a lot of materials, much of which you already know, so please just scroll down and skip over parts you already know or are not interested in (and don't bother reading the right sidebar which is mostly old out-of-date text). Please feel free to contact me with questions, suggestions, inputs, contributions, etc. Thanks. Robben99@gmail.com
THIS IS THE AFTER-TRIP POST
SUMMARY:
In one (long) sentence:
- we had extreme winds Sunday morning (not another ship was out) but our ship was 100% stable,
- we did not get a lot of wildlife photographs (mostly because of the extreme wind buffeting us), but
- we accomplished our 210mile survey across the GOM (in clear weather) with lots of data collection,
- we also found our #1 target bird species (skua, several of them),
- we loved the new Nova Star ferry & crew,
- we had a better and more exciting trip than we could have hoped for!
- and we got enough good material from this trip to use it as a foundation to get a lot more people more interested in the GOM and in marine ecosystems in general (this was a top goal).
Here is our survey summary table, with columns in arbitrary sequence (left-click to enlarge this image, then press ESC key to return)....
Our trip's top goals were:
- to perform a reasonably thorough marine survey of seabirds and marine animals along the 210mile transect from Yarmouth NS to Portland ME.
- to learn if the new Nova Star super-luxury ferry could be a good "platform" for this purpose.
- to develop a good long relationship with Nova Star Cruises, Ltd.
- to start leveraging this survey to increase collaboration with other marine scientists (many steps here, some of which are now starting or picking up speed).
- to see some exciting whales and seabirds, especially our #1 target bird, Great Skua.
- to have an adventurous, exciting and memorable trip.
- to enjoy the company of an especially nice group of people.
- and perhaps most importantly, to search for ways to get lots more people more aware, more understanding, and more appreciative of the amazing unique valuable TREASURE which the Gulf of Maine is, especially the natural components and the changing ecosystem under the water line.... (and we are defining the Gulf Of Maine area very broadly, to include Georges Bank, Brown's Bank, and the Scotian Shelf ... bounded by the red line below, which is based upon the "Gulf Of Maine Area Census of Marine Life").....
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| The Gulf Of Maine Area (bounded by the red line) |
Well, we were very lucky on Oct 11-12 and all of those goals listed above happened or are happening!! And in addition, the new Nova Star ship was unexpectedly luxurious, comfortable, clean and stable (even while the winds roared on Sunday morning). The new Nova Star ship was a very pleasant surprise.
The following survey map uses red dots and red text to show highlights of our October 12, 2014 marine & seabird survey on the 210mile transect from Yarmouth NS to Portland ME. The map was created by Kevin Powers, using our exact GPS track (locations + times). Bluish colors indicate water depth in meters. From right to left, the red dots represent our 2014 Oct 12th location at 9:08am (departure time from Yarmouth NS), 10am, 11am, noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and 6:30pm EDT (as we approached Portland ME). We conducted the survey, counting birds, marine mammals and looking for other life forms from 10am until 5:30pm EDT.
As we were approaching Yarmouth at 6:30am (several hours before our west-bound survey started) several observers also saw 3 or perhaps 4 skuas(!) through heavy glass windows on the port side of level 7 (water spray on the glass defeated the auto-focus of cameras telephoto lenses). The skua species could not be distinguished, although the presumption would be Great Skuas rather than South Polar Skuas. Note that five skuas had been reported seen 9 days earlier on October 3rd just 10-20 miles south of this location (see details on this 10/3 report further below).
You can left click on this map to
enlarge it, and press ESC key to return...
Scroll down and read the following material for more details about our trip and its Sunday survey...
THE FULL AFTER-TRIP REPORT:
The invitations to this trip were published at that first (before-trip planning) post, and also at the HAS website and in the HAS printed booklet. As this trip evolved in the three weeks leading up to it, some direct invitations were also made.
Here is the Great Skua species we were hoping to find on our 210mile survey across the GOM Gulf Of Maine.... and we did! Unfortunately our several skuas, although well seen, flew away quickly and (even though three of us had high-powered cameras with us, including me) we could not get useful photos, certainly not as close as this photographer got as the skua was trying to steal the food from the gull (
www.LaurieCampbell.com Great skua)...
Great Skuas also steal from humans!
scotland-great-skuas Photograph taken by David Lansing in Scotland, not on our trip.
We did see several skuas on Oct 12th, including one which we are quite confident was a Great Skua, and 3 (or maybe 4) other skuas (not jaegers), whose species identity could not be confirmed. Unfortunately, by a series of coincidences, we were not able to get a photograph of any of these skuas, although all were seen by multiple observers. We do, however, thank Peter Harrison for this wonderful skuas plate in his 1983 classic, "Seabirds: An Identification Guide" (click on this image to enlarge it, and then press ESC to return) ...
MARINE AND SEABIRD SURVEY on Oct 12, 2014:
Our October 11-12 trip from Portland ME to Yarmouth NS and back was conducted as a fairly rigorous marine & seabird survey, collecting locational and other data on marine mammals and seabirds. Here is a summary which was published on Oct 13, 2014...
============================================
adjusted numbers indicated below in black...
From: Thomas Robben <robben99@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Oct 13, 2014 at 12:56 PM
Subject: SKUAS: HAS marine & seabird survey in GOM finds multiple (Great) Skuas
To: SendEmailTo CTbirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org>
The HAS (Hartford Audubon Society) marine and seabird survey was conducted on October 11-12, two weeks earlier than originally planned. The results of this survey will be correlated with COA's LIS Project and several other projects under way. The survey was conducted on Oct 12th on the 210mile route from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Portland, Maine on the new luxury Nova Star cruise ship (ferry), using a protocol we adapted from previous surveys in the GOM and nearby waters. Everyone working on this outstanding ship was exceptionally helpful. Our survey team was P.Comins, R.Harrison, N.Levenduski, F.Mantlik, W.Petersen, K.Powers (from Manomet Bird Observatory), C.Pryor, S.Robben, T.Robben, S.Schiesser, K.VanDerAue. Here are some highlight estimated numbers, in ad hoc sequence, before processing data and photos from all team observers (a trip report, including numbers by location, will be available in a week):
SKUA spp, 4-5 (one was seen better and identifiable as a Great Skua), mostly in association with flocks of Great Shearwaters.
Northern Fulmar, 20 (revised = 32)
.
Great Shearwater, several hundred (revised = Great 236 + spp probable Great 356)
.
Sooty Shearwater, 2 (revised = 5)
.
Cory's Shearwater, zero.
Manx Shearwater, zero.
Pomarine Jaeger, 2 (revised = 4)
.
Parasitic Jaeger, 1.
revised Jaeger spp 5.
Red Phalarope, 2 (plus Phalarope spp = 2)
.
Black-legged Kittiwake, zero.
revised Alcid spp = 3.
No. Gannet, 27
Peregrine Falcon, following over the ship for several minutes, plus one other.
Right Whale (4).
Minke Whale (2).
Fin Whale (~12, revised = 18
).
If you might be interested in participating in similar future surveys in 2015, please email me at robben99 AT gmail DOT com, as we plan them.
Tom Robben
==============================================
Weather on Oct 12, 2014:
Clear blue skies all day. Cloud cover near zero.
45F early morning, 55F through afternoon.
Winds 10-20 mph from NNW, some gusts to 40 or more on top deck around 9am.
Waves to 5feet and more, but ship extremely steady, even though "white-caps" were everywhere in the AM.
SST water temp 58F.
High glare on sun side of ship.
Level 10 observation level about 80 feet above water line. Level 11 is flight deck.
The most extreme wind gusts subsided after 11:30am and other than that, the weather did not change all day long.
PHOTOGRAPHIC ALBUMS for this trip:
Here is a link to Patrick Comin's exciting photos from our trip....
Nova Star Ferry Seabird Survey | Facebook
Here is a link to Frank Mantlik's exciting photos from our trip....
Gulf of Maine Ferry Bird Survey Oct 2014 - an album on Flickr
A little history first... here is the old original long-gone 350ft. M.V.
Bluenose ferry which ran between Bar Harbor ME and Yarmouth NS from
1956 to 1982. Each leg of the round trip took about six hours and (in the 1960s) cost very few dollars for a walk-on round trip (if my ancient memories have not romanticized this too much)...
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| The old and now defunct MV Bluenose GOM ferry |
Two or three other ferries crossed between Maine and Nova Scotia since then, but terminated around 2009. In
May 2014 the new Nova Star ferry began service, and it is that new ship which we took on October 11-12, 2014.
Here is a photo of our modern luxurious "observation platform" for this 2014 survey (
Ship Specifications | Nova Star Cruises). This 525 foot long ship is tall, with a helicopter flight deck (level 11) about 80 feet above the water level. The wheel house is at level 10. Staff/crew cabins were on level 9. Our cabins were on level 8, and all public activities including restaurants, shops, casino and office were on level 7, where the larger windows can be seen in the photo below (it was so windy on Oct 12th that ocean spray repeatedly blew up and covered the front windows on deck 7!). This ship takes the ten-hour 210mile route between Portland ME and Yarmouth NS...
9PM Saturday: One of several photos of our team of experts on seabirds and marine life... this partial team photo was taken by Frank Mantlik on the rear open observation deck (level 9) as we were departing Portland ME on Saturday evening (P.Comins, T.Robben, S.Robben, W.Petersen, K.Powers, N.Levenduski, and in front S.Schiesser and K.VanDerAue .. not visible in this picture were R.Harrison and C.Pryor, and F.Mantlik)....
10PM Saturday: The food in the ship's restaurant was truly good, far beyond what we expected...
11PM Saturday: Luxurious and super-clean brand new cabins (each including its own bathroom
and shower!) for the ten-hour overnight trip to Yarmouth, where two additional comfortable beds are hinged on the walls and can be rotated down to horizontal to sleep four persons in the room (what a relaxing family get-away weekend to Nova Scotia this could enable!). Very easy to get a restful full night's sleep on this ship. This is top cruise-ship quality, not the typical "ferry" we were expecting!!
11:30PM Saturday: Sorry to go into details, but the bathroom was as clean as or cleaner than any of us have ever found in the cleanest hotel! By the way, even though the wind was gusting and roaring Sunday morning, the motion stabilizers on the ship were so effective that we could not even feel any rocking at all.
5:30AM Sunday: Coordinating the morning logistics for the team at the admin office at 530am...
5:40AM: Our first testing of various observation locations, in the dark, as we approached Yarmouth at 540am (those two shadowy figures are P.Comins and S.Robben, in case you can not ID them by silhouette!)...
6:30AM: Before 7am, near the end of breakfast, and before our survey even began, P.Comins, R.Harrison, F.Mantlik, K.Powers and K.VanDerAue looked out the windows near the main restaurant area and spotted 3-4 Skuas (not seen well enough to ID species of skua, but presumably Great Skuas), which flew away before cameras could get photos (auto-focus through glass can be difficult) or others could get to the windows.
Oceanographer and Nova Scotia bird authority Eric Mills informs us now that NS has had an unusual number of Skuas this year, especially
summering Great Skuas, including the first documentation of that species for Briar Island, NS. More information on the unusual 2014 Nova Scotia skuas situation will be inserted here in a few weeks.
7:30AM: Approaching Cape Forchu & Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada [photo thanks to F.Mantlik]....
A spectacular aerial view of Cape Forchu and the Yarmouth harbor can be seen in this photo by Alix d'Entremont...
Alix Arthur d'Entremont: Cape Forchu - A Vagrant Hotspot (click on image to enlarge it & ESC key to return)
7:45AM: Passing Cape Forchu Lightstation as we enter Yarmouth Harbor [photo thanks to F.Mantlik]. You can see the white-caps already developing outside the harbor...
Note that Cape Forchu itself is a land birding hotspot...
Cape Forchu - A Vagrant Hotspot
8AM: Adventurers entering the Yarmouth harbor Sunday morning Oct 12, 2014 around 8am...
8:10AM: Every crew member on the Nova Star was a pleasure to work with, from Jordan who made everything on the ship work smoothly, to Pia so helpful in the office, to Eloi (in the photo below) checking on us periodically... who wasn't bothered by cold winds in his short-sleeved shirt (at least for a few minutes), loved my IS binoculars and was becoming an instant bird surveyor! [photo thanks to F.Mantlik]
9AM: We all disembarked, onto Canadian soil for half an hour, and then re-boarded for the return back to Maine, and to start our full-day survey of marine mammals and seabirds.
9:15AM: The international ferry terminal at Yarmouth Harbor [photo thanks to F.Mantlik]...
9:30AM: Marine survey team re-boards Nova Star... [photo thanks to F.Mantlik]...
9:45AM: Weather forecast. The rain finished conveniently early Sunday morning, leaving us with clear sunny skies, and plenty of wind...
The Gulf of Maine is in the upper left corner of this map showing temperatures in the 30s-50s, while a bit out in the Atlantic we see 81F! Wind indicators on this map also grossly underestimate the winds we felt Sunday morning (you can click on this image to enlarge it)...
10AM: Departing Yarmouth harbor around 10am on Oct 12, 2014 and beginning our marine and seabird survey on a beautiful WINDY day...
10:15AM: All buttoned up in winter coats & hoods, in October! Frank, Nina and Shoon feeling the wind pick up, with some gusts estimated to 50-60mph, maybe more...
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| Most of these images can be enlarged by left-clicking on them. Press ESC to return. |
10:30AM: Kevin and Kathy move down one level and hold on to the barrier as the wind continues...
NOON: Here are the front-facing windows on deck 7, which can offer protection from extreme weather. Binoculars work pretty well through the glass, but some camera auto-focus systems try to focus on the salt spray on the outside of the window (these windows are cleaned daily, but we had unusual high wind Sunday morning, which caused salt spray on some of these windows, SEVEN floors above the water line!)....
The wind outside was so continuous and blustery, and buffeting photographers and cameras so much (and our elevation was so high, on the top decks), that
photographing birds and marine mammals was much more difficult than usual (and close-ups were not possible, leading to many highly-cropped photos)... but Northern Fulmars loved it (the wind, that is)... [photo thanks to P.Comins]
Here in the center is one "Blue Fulmar", a dark morph Northern Fulmar, rarer in the Atlantic compared with the reverse situation in the Pacific... [photo thanks to P.Comins]
Red Phalarope [photo thanks to F.Mantlik], one of the two which were identifiable as Red...
Some of the hundreds of Great Shearwaters we found in several flocks... [photo thanks to P.Comins]
Were any of these birds Dave Wiley's NOAA satellite tagged Great Shearwaters? We are working with Dave to determine this now, at least down to the flock level of detail.... more to come... (thanks to NOAA and www.SeaTurtle.org for this map of one of Dave's tagged shearwaters... notice that this individual at one time this year travelled right along the route of our ferry)...
2014 Shearwater Tagging: National Marine Sanctuaries
Pomarine Jaeger [photo thanks to F.Mantlik]... note the pale secondary white flash under the right wing...
Common Loon [photo thanks to F.Mantlik]...
Fin Whale blow.... [photo thanks to P.Comins]
Probable Northern Right Whale blow, around Jordan Basin... [photo thanks to P.Comins]
Probable Northern Right Whale...[photo thanks to F.Mantlik]...
See the following site for more information on Northern Right Whales...
SS08.18 High Numbers of Right Whales
Northern Right Whales breed in very few places on Earth, and Kevin Powers forwarded the exact location of these individuals to the biologists who maintain the world database for this species (S.Kraus and M.Zani at the New England Aquarium in Boston). This was potentially one of the more important sightings of our trip, but because it was a blow-only ID it unfortunately could not be accepted by NOAA/NMFS within their definition a "confirmed sighting"... Some other part of the body needs to have beeen seen, i.e. tail, back or jaw, for a confirmed sighting.
Since the wind made photographing seabirds and marine mammals so difficult on this trip, we decided to photograph easier marine life..... us! ..... and this team photo also proved that nobody had been blown overboard yet.... wait, OMG there are only ten people in this photo!!
PROTOCOL and counting methods:
We counted all birds and marine mammals at any distance (instead of limiting sightings to within a 300meter maximum as in some marine surface protocols), and we stood near the front of the ship, focusing on the wildlife seen in the FRONT left/port and right/starboard quadrants. Somewhat less attention (about 40% less) was given to the REAR quadrants, and we were not able to see anything in the 20degrees directly behind the ship. We counted continuously from 10am thru 530pm EDT, without any significant gaps (all times are expressed in US Eastern Time being used in mid-October, i.e., EDT). Between noon and 2pm there were fewer people observing during that lunch break time. We had two sub-teams, one counting the left/port side, and one counting the right/starboard side. Each team was on deck 10, but the left side and right side were physically separated, so the teams communicated mostly by walkie-talkie radios. T.Robben recorded most left side data into an electronic voice recorder, while F.Mantlik recorded most right side data onto paper. During the lunch break K.Powers and W.Petersen also recorded sightings onto paper. All sightings data was merged after the trip, with duplicates being identified and eliminated ("de-dupeing"). Data collected included number of each species, to the nearest minute seen. Splitting minutes into seconds was deemed to be false accuracy and seconds were not recorded. The ships route was logged as a GPX track by using the "Trails" program (on T.Robben's iPhone) which typically records a log of lat/long positions at least once a minute, but with occasional short gaps, perhaps due to GPS satellite difficulties.
Note that our original plan was to do counting from flight deck 11 with its 360degree view, but the wind was so severe, especially during the first hour or two, that doing that was impossible, as binoculars and cameras were buffeted so hard as to be useless. This caused us to divide the counting into two separate teams on each side of the ship, on deck 10, up front near the bridge.
By the way, no chumming of any kind was done.
The exact 210mile survey track we logged going westbound from Yarmouth NS back to Portland ME
Our survey count, hour by hour (approximately). The rectangles on this map below are approximate (our cross-GOM trip was almost ten hours long) although unrealistically "thick" (their north-south distance should be smaller, perhaps a mile on each side of the ship). Assuming we surveyed for half a mile on each side of the ship (we actually could see much farther, given our altitude above the water), multiplied by 200miles, means we counted birds and marine mammals over a large area of at least 200 square miles! In other words, we "sampled" a very large area in one (ten-hour) day....
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| Most of these images enlarge when left-clicked upon. Then press ESC key to return. |
We departed Yarmouth several minutes after 9am US E
DT (10am Canadian Atlantic time), which would be the equivalent of 8am US E
ST, or 1pm (13:00) GMT, and I started my GPS device around that time, at or just before the ship pulled away from the Yarmouth dock. Here are the key points from our GPX file....
GPS tracking started at 13:08 hours:min (9:08am EDT) at latitude 43.831118, longitude -66.126159 which is a position within 500 feet or less from the Yarmouth dock.
14:00:08 hr:min:sec at 43.767620, -66.417999
15:00:17 hr:min:sec at 43.745162, -66.883801
16:00:20 hr:min:sec at 43.723120, -67.345941
17:00:00 hr:min:sec at 43.701045, -67.810404
18:00:16 hr:min:sec at 43.679263, -68.267958
19:00:05 hr:min:sec at 43:657344, -68.720075
20:00:16 hr:min:sec at 43.632976, -69.113624
21:00:06 hr:min:sec at 43.619161, -69.512921
22:00:25 hr:min:sec at 43.621563, -69.917974
GPS tracking was turned off at 22:29 hours:minutes (6:29pm EDT) at 43.618498, -70.104629 a little before we reached Portland ME.
Dock to dock, this was almost ten hours on the water on Oct 12th.
Here is part of the final survey numbers, with the number of each species indicated (columns) by time seen (rows). This list resulted from a careful merging together of the data collection sheets of F.Mantlik, W.Petersen, K.Powers and myself....
You can view the entire datasheet at this link...
NovaScotia/GOM survey on 2014 oct 12 ::DRAFT
And you can view F.Mantlik's exemplary log of observations (which are now included in this worksheet) at this link....
Oct 2014 Gulf Of Maine Seabird Survey.pdf - Google Drive
Survey summary table (left click to enlarge, then ESC key to return), with hourly summaries....
The hourly segments of our survey were also submitted into eBird as separate trips. K.VanDerAue managed that process (thank you Kathy!!). The eBird image below shows the one hour in the afternoon when we saw one Great Skua in good light. You can click on this image to expand it, and then press ESC key to return...
It looks like a lot of the marine life we saw 2-4pm may have been near Jeffreys Bank...
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| Thanks to Patrick Lynch and Noble Proctor for use of this map |
The dashed yellow line shows the approximate route of our 210mile count on Oct 12th...
Another map of the GOM... click to enlarge, and press ESC to return...
Typical GOM water circulation patterns...
Maine islands we saw during the 3-4pm time...
Zooming in....
Zooming in even closer (you can click on any of these images to enlarge them, and later press ESC key to return)....
6:30PM: Within half an hour of docking back at Portland, Maine we assembled and counted heads again, to make sure we eleven had all survived our exciting windy adventure crossing the Gulf Of Maine! (-:
Yes! All eleven of us survived the whole trip: S.Schiesser, T.Robben, C.Pryor, S.Robben, K.Powers, R.Harrison, W.Petersen, and in front: F.Mantlik, K.VanDerAue, N.Levenduski and P.Comins.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:
The following section (in green italics) was contributed by Kevin Powers whose experience with and knowledge of previous work in the GOM is greatly appreciated (including this NOAA/MBO publication
nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/pdfs/tmfnec27.pdf ). We will also ask Davis Finch to contribute some thoughts on all this, especially in comparison to his observations on MV Bluenose trips on a nearby cross-GOM route in the 1960s and 1970s.
=============================
As part of a larger effort undertaken by the then Manomet Bird Observatory from
1976-1983 to characterize the relative abundance and distribution of marine birds on
Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine, this note provides some context to that study
relative to this trip on 11 Oct 2014 across the northern Gulf of Maine. My comparison
is by species. I would also like to point out a relevant article published in 1978 by Finch
et al. (American Birds 32: 140-145, 281-294) which summarized surveys of marine birds
in the Gulf of Maine as noted from observers on the Bluenose ferry (Bar Harbor, ME
to Yarmouth, NS). This article has direct relevance to the Oct 11th
the MBO surveys where observer coverage in the northern Gulf of Maine was spotty,
especially in fall (Sep-Oct).
Common and Red-throated Loons were commonly seen in the fall (Sep-Oct) and as late
as early Dec. Most loons identified were Common. Our trip results are consistent with
the MBO study.
Northern Fulmars were seen in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) in every month except Aug.
Low numbers were observed starting in Sep-Oct. 95% of the NOFU were identified as
Fisher’s LL phase. Our trip results are consistent with the MBO study.
Cory’s Shearwaters were observed in the GOM in Sep-Oct but only south of 43°N. No
COSH was seen on our trip, but this species is still prevalent on Stellwagen Bank further
south.
Great Shearwaters were prevalent and numerous throughout the GOM from Sep-Nov.
GRSH was the most numerous tubenose seen on our trip.
Sooty Shearwaters occurred in highest numbers for the Gulf of Maine in Jun-Jul and no
records existed for the northern Gulf of Maine in the fall. We had 5 SOSH on trip, which
does have some historical significance in context of the MBO study.
No records of Manx Shearwaters existed in the fall from the MBO study and none seen
on our trip.
No records of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels in the GOM existed after Sep (peak Jun-Aug) and
none seen on our trip.
Few sightings of Leach’s Storm-Petrels were made in the GOM after Aug and none seen
on our trip. However, the height of the observation deck and the high winds during the
morning on our trip would probably have prohibited us from seeing any.
Northern Gannets were regularly seen in low numbers in the GOM during fall. Immature
birds were common throughout summer in the GOM and Bay of Fundy. The main
passage of breeding gannets south of Nova Scotia did not start until late Oct. Our 27
birds are consistent historically and probably reflect an earlier fall passage date.
Cormorants (Great and Double-crested) had fall (Sep-Oct) migratory movements
primarily in the western GOM. Differentiating these species is difficult at-sea but
Double-crested was the only cormorant identified to species south of Cape Cod. The
large flock of cormorants seen on our trip in the western GOM is consistent with the
MBO study.
Red and Red-necked Phalaropes were seen primarily in mid Aug to late Sep across the
GOM. Stragglers of both species were noted into Dec. Our 2 REPH and 2 unidentified
phalarope are consistent with the MBO study.
Pomarine Jaegers were common but not abundant in the GOM from late Aug through
Oct. Parasitic Jaegers were not identified to species in the northern GOM in the fall but
were identified on Stellwagen Bank and Georges Bank during fall. Our 4 POJA and 1
PAJA are consistent with the MBO study.
Skuas were observed uncommonly seen in the southern GOM during fall. Finch et al.
(1978) recorded them uncommonly from late Jun to early Oct along the ferry route from
Bar Harbor to Yarmouth. Our skua sightings are consistent with both reports.
Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls were the most numerous gulls in the GOM from
Sep-Apr. Our results are consistent with the MBO study.
Black-legged Kittiwakes were seen in the GOM starting in late Aug to early Sep typically
as immatures. Late Oct to early Nov was when adults became more common. We did
not see any BLKI on our trip, but they have shown up on Stellwagen Bank in the last
couple of weeks. So I think it was just a lack of chance that we did not see any on the
NovaStar trip.
As far as alcids, Razorbills were not seen until Nov and murres, puffins and Dovekies until Dec. We had 3 unidentified alcids, which is remarkable [that we were able to see them at all] given the height of the observation deck and wind conditions during our trip.
Kevin Powers, 2014 October 20th
=============================
In a 200-page 1983 publication (
nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/pdfs/tmfnec27.pdf << the entire document is viewable here) K.Powers also described Skuas in the GOM...
In the 1986 "Revised Atlas of Eastern Canadian Seabirds: Shipboard Surveys by R.G.B. Brown" (after referencing K.Powers' 1983 book) Dick Brown discusses skuas in these waters....
Note that Dick Brown's book covered Arctic waters plus those shown below on his map of N.Fulmar sightings....
In a 1978 publication D.Finch, W.Russell and E.Thompson described Skuas in the GOM, along the shorter ferry route (on the old Bluenose ferry) between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth...
Plus some other interesting information about their Bluenose ferry trips 40+ years ago, from that same article....
And coming back to 2014, we were not the only team which found multiple Skuas in the waters near Yarmouth NS in the first two weeks of October (you can click on the following eBird map image to enlarge it). David M. Bell found FIVE skuas near Yarmouth on October 3rd, just 9 days before our trip....
Here are some of the birds which D.Bell reported to eBird on an Oct 3rd trip to Seal Island, including FIVE skua individuals...
eBird Checklist – Outer Tuskets--Seal Island, Nova Scotia – Fri Oct 03, 2014 – 58 species
Here are another two Great Skuas seen August 16, 2014 not far south of where we saw our multiple skuas on Oct 12th. Same individuals?? And
are Great Skuas summering in the GOM? Might skuas be breeding in North America? This August pelagic trip can be seen at...
Alix Arthur d'Entremont: Pubnico Pelagic 2014 , thanks to Alix Arthur d'Entremont (and thanks to Eric Mills for bringing this to my attention)...
FOLLOW-UPS TO DO:
Will move ahead with most of these and welcome anybody who has time to contribute.
1. The results of this trip will be provided to a series of scientific organizations which have already expressed an interest in them.
2. Make sure you have your copy of "A Field Guide to North Atlantic Wildlife" by Noble S. Proctor and Patrick J. Lynch. This trip reminded us again how useful this little book can be, especially if you want to review all relevant whale (and seabird) species while in the field....
A Field Guide to North Atlantic Wildlife: Marine Mammals, Seabirds, Fish, and Other Sea Life: Noble S. Proctor, Patrick J. Lynch: 9780300106589: Amazon.com: Books
3. Find a good overview of the GOM's broadly defined "natural history", including both its natural systems and its human systems. The best 50-page introductory overview found so far is this 2010 report...
www.gulfofmaine.org/state-of-the-gulf/docs/the-gulf-of-maine-in-context.pdf
Including some mutual interdependencies between the marine ecosystem and the human socio-economic system....
We can think about this in terms of four foundational planetary ecosystems (see the diagram below). Conceptually we are looking for the patterns in and interdependencies between these four basic ecosystems. Most of what we observed on October 12th was seabirds at the interface between the atmospheric and marine systems. We are all trying to learn more about the changing marine system (which is difficult to study because so much of it is out-of-sight under the water line), and its relationships with all the other systems. Hopefully learning more about seabirds (and what/where they eat), marine megafauna (such as whales) and marine food webs will be a key step along that path to increased understanding of the changing marine system....
4. Assemble a comprehensive "
Natural History Profile" of this
route across the GOM. Can we view our survey as a 210mile "slice" (down to 300m deep) through the GOM, and create a comprehensive "story" about what is there? Can we use that slice as a window into the natural world of the GOM, and get more people interested in it? Maybe start with a Q&A, perhaps twenty or fifty questions and answers about the GOM. And could some of this be incorporated into the Nova Star cruises? We have started discussing this with GMRI. This will include a high-level summary of all aspects and dimensions of this route, including a
marine food web such as this one which shows only a small part of the GOM web....
And below is a more comprehensive 2011 NOAA food web for the Northern Gulf of California. Can we adapt one of the GOM food webs and use it in our studies (including the data table behind it... the one below shows Pacific "seabirds" being preyed upon only by pelagic sharks)? Which one? How similar would the GOM food web be to this Pacific one? Which components of our GOM food web are healthy, suffering, changing? You can click on this image to enlarge it...
Can we also find a multi-component interdependencies model for selected aspects of the GOM similar to this article in "Bird Observer", ....
Oceans Changing: Do Seabirds Tell Us Something About Ocean Changes?
And let's not forget seasonality, as suggested by this chart of "seafood" availability (click on it to enlarge)...
And thanks to Andrew Pershing, Chief Scientific Officer and Ecosystem Modeler of GMRI, this link to Bigelow & Schroeders classic 1953 "Fishes of the GOM" is available....
Fishes of the Gulf of Maine ....
5. Get a map of the
marine habitats & ecoregions across the GOM. Get up to speed on the latest approaches being used by NOAA (e.g., B.Nicholson) and by TNC (N.Frohling) in Long Island Sound.
6. Learn more about what is changing in the GOM, such as...
Casco Bay Ecosystem Monitoring Corridor | GMRI.org ...
"The Gulf of Maine has experienced fundamental changes over the last 40 years. The coastal region has seen dramatic declines in groundfish, an explosion of lobsters, loss of habitat for critical species such as alewives (and subsequent recovery), and the appearance of more southern species such as black sea bass."
Warming Gulf of Maine imperils lobster, fish catch
Maine Department of Marine Resources Fish and Shellfish Species Information
7. Pull together what we know about the following questions:
- Are there any patterns in the whales and seabirds we observed on Oct 12?
- What could these patterns correlate with in the GOM, in any aspects of it?
- What do we know about this route across the GOM? See the Profile item above.
- What research is happening in the GOM which we could collaborate with? We know some of this and many of these scientists, such as Bigelow Labs shown below, and those who collaborated with us in developing the recent "Bird Observer" paper about GOM and changing oceans.... from bo42-5-web.pdf - Oceans Changing .
- Can we use the GOM and this route to get more people more knowledgeable about and interested in ocean health? This is an important long term goal.
8. Another followup item is getting back to Bigelow Laboratories again to discuss all this, especially possible correlations with their years of work along this same cross-GOM route...
Bigelow Lab uses ferry to chart changes in Gulf of Maine - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Bigelow Labs focuses on phytoplankton and ocean chemistry & physics (
Changes imperil Gulf of Maine’s food chain - The Boston Globe). These are foundational in the food web which seabirds and marine mammals are also a part of, but seabirds and mammals are at least one or two trophic levels removed from phytoplankton. We need to keep learning more about this ecosystem, and the place of human systems in it. At the end of their 2012 article, "Step-changes in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the Gulf of Maine...", W.M.Balch, D.T.Drapeau, B.C.Bowler, and T.G.Huntington conclude with these thoughts...
"
All of these changes are ultimately driven by
changes in the North American hydrological cycle
(evaporation/precipitation), warming and melting of
the polar ice cap (which will reduce salinities in the
southward-flowing Labrador Current). The striking
aspect of the GNATS observations [these GNATS observations have been taken almost exactly along the route our ferry took on 2014 october 12
] is the sheer magnitude and rapidity with which these changes
occurred. This will make prediction of future change
inherently more difficult in this complex shelf sea.
The challenge for future prediction of the impact of
climate change on the physics, chemistry, optics and
biology of the Gulf of Maine will be to further integrate the modeling over these multiple domains and
to define their complex interactions."
Here is one of the GOM maps from Balch, et al, "Space-time variability of carbon standing stocks and fixation rates in the Gulf of Maine...", 2008, Journal of Plankton Research, which starts to give a sense of how they look at the GOM along the same route as we took on Oct 12th...
We hope to find ways to correlate our observations with these models, including models of human activities (including what public organizations and private sector businesses do).
9. GoMA Census of Marine Life:
This is a large undertaking which addresses many of the above topics and we need to learn a lot more about it.....
Gulf of Maine Area Program (GoMA) | Census of Marine Life
including...
Oceanography » Gulf of Maine Census
Including some excellent publications, such as these....
www.gulfofmaine-census.org/wp-content/docs/CLF_WWF_Report_F2006.pdf
which includes maps such as this...
www.gulfofmaine-census.org/wp-content/docs/Prototype_Biophysical_Maps.pdf
which includes maps of bottom sediment across much of the GOM vs Sand Lance...
and vertical profiles on some interesting cross-GOM transects, such as this one between Cape Cod Bay and Yarmouth NS...
10. The physical/oceanographic aspects of the GOM and the larger NW Atlantic continental shelf are well summarized at a high-level in this excerpt from a highly-regarded book....
"The northwest Atlantic continental shelf waters comprise a large geographical region within which we can identify several regional subsystems, all interconnected to some extent by an equatorward-flowing coastal current that has its origins as far away as the Labrador Sea. A wealth of scientific information on the oceanography of these waters has accumulated over the past century, making this region of the world ocean one of the best studied. But, at the same time, such a rich body of literature makes a brief review such as this a cursory one at best; for this, we apologize – indeed we could have, and would like to have, taken our discussions of the subregions into much greater detail. We can define the overall area as encompassed by a southern edge marked by a relatively abrupt transition off Cape Hatteras, where the Gulf Stream comes to within 30 km of shore. Shelf and slope waters are thus geographically constrained by the position of the Gulf Stream to the southeast, and, of course, the coast to the northwest. Within this set of boundaries, shelf and slope waters mix in complex ways both at the surface and at depth, and, because the main source of nutrients is offshore slope waters, which themselves can differ markedly in their nutrient loads, such mixing processes can be very important in setting levels of primary production. The nearshore, coastal environments throughout the region range from the deep, tidally energetic Bay of Fundy, to the shallow estuarine waters of Long Island Sound and the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, which encompass ecosystem structures very different from one another. Each of these relatively large subunits is a shallow estuarine system that today is significantly affected by anthropogenic influences. Throughout the region, anthropogenic nutrient additions show no clear signs of abatement. On the other hand, the northwest Atlantic continental shelf, throughout its length, is apparently under the influence of a large scale atmospheric phenomenon – the North Atlantic Oscillation – which might be driven by climate change. The recent literature is beginning to report NAO effects that range from altered bottom water temperatures and altered rates of planktonic primary production to fluctuations in population sizes of expatriate copepods and, perhaps, commercial fish stocks. Whether driven by human actions or natural climatic forces, we know that commercial fisheries, especially on Georges Bank, are at historically low levels and have different species composition than was the case several decades ago. The thread that ties all of these observations together is a wide open future filled with scientific research opportunities, from the most applied aspects of fisheries science and coastal pollution studies, to the most basic aspects of physical-biological coupling. Even though so much is known about this region, there remains much more to be discovered. "
This is the summary from "Oceanography of the Northwest Atlantic Continental Shelf", David W. Townsend, et al, which is a 50-page Chapter 5 in Robinson, A.R. and K.H. Brink (eds). 2004. "The Sea: The Global Coastal Ocean: Interdisciplinary Regional Studies and Syntheses." Harvard University Press.
11. DRAFT: Learn more about the GOM Human Ecosystem, and its relationships with the natural environment, especially with the Marine Ecosystem. Here is one way to approach this...
Of course the GOM has commercial and sport/recreational "fishing" of many kinds. There is also tourism. There is also the huge shipping business in and out of Portland harbor, and the land-based community and businesses which support all of this. But lets just start with the Nova Star ferry and NSC (Nova Star Cruises) itself. What are its relationships with the rest of the GOM? Here are some initial thoughts...
NSC brings more tourists (and staff/crew members) to the GOM area, including both the US and Canadian sides.
This brings incremental revenue and taxes to Maine and Nova Scotia, from parking lot fees, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, retail stores, etc. Of course this also brings some incremental jobs to parts of GOM. All of this increased economic activity brings new tax revenues to the local governments.
NSC supports and encourages scientific research, such as being done by Bigelow Laboratories (NASA data), and also by our recent Oct 11-12 marine/seabird survey.
NSC can help make the GOM an environmental showcase, to attract more environmental supporters and to increase the environmental awareness and appreciation of many others.
NSC reduces the number of cars, buses and trucks driving the long route to Nova Scotia, saving them gasoline, exhaust into the air, accidents, and driving time, etc.
NSC's ship is a very modern design ( Ship Specifications | Nova Star Cruises ), which minimizes exhaust into the atmosphere, minimizes fuel consumption, minimizes discharges of any kind, etc. It is also equipped with best navigational instrumentation, to minimizes risks of colliding with anything, including ships, ground, or marine animals. Compared with hydrofoil type ships, the Nova Star moves at about 20knots, which increases its efficiencies (uses less fuel per mile, less risk of hitting whales, etc.).
Are there any other benefits or Best Practices here which we are overlooking?
These relationships are tangible, and lead to some socioeconomic (and natural) impacts (net benefits).
SUGGESTIONS WELCOMED
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The End (actually to be continued, over time, with your help!)
