In This Section:
Special Feature:
Special Feature:
Whale Watch, Birding and Research Trips
| Depart: | Arrive: | # of Days: | Fare Per Person: | |
| Monday May 21, 2012 |
Saturday May 26, 2012 |
Mothership Kayaking Expedition with Birdwatching and ...PUFFINS! |
6 Day | $ 1,399 |
Sunday |
Sunday |
Photographic Tour on the Coast of Maine: Mini Photo Workshops & Birding with Wildside Nature Tours |
8 Day |
See Wildside Nature Tours for reservations and pricing |
| Saturday June 9 |
Sunday June 17 | Sable Island & Gully Marine Reserve Expedition: A very special trip to Sable Island and to the Gully to see Northern Bottlenose whales! |
8 Day | See Sacajawea Tours for reservations and pricing |
| Thursday July 5 |
Tuesday July 10 |
Newfoundland Whale Watch & Birding Adventure: See a puffin colony, visit Cape St Mary’s Ecological Reserve, visit out port communities & spend an exciting day whale watching! | 6 Day | |
| Tueday Sept 18 |
Thursday Sept 27 |
Exploration of Newfoundland Outpost Communities with photographer Peter Ralston: from St. Pierre to Port Aux Basques | 8 Day | Reservations and pricing: |
Mothership Kayaking Expedition
© photo by Kevin Laughlin
| Dates: | Monday, May 21, 2012 |
| Saturday, May 26, 2012 | |
| Departure: | Belfast, ME |
| Disembarkation: | Belfast, ME |
| Duration: | 6 Days |
| Price: | $ 1,399 per person |
Puffins! Spring is nesting season!
One of our most popular trips! Aboard Wanderbird, we will take you to different scenic hiking locations along the Maine coast. Each morning after a hearty and delicious breakfast, we will take our small boats ashore to hike and explore. We spend extra time each day hiking on some of Penobscot Bay's most beautiful Islands and State Parks. The exertion level is up to you. You'll experience hiking along rocky dramatic shores, woodland island trails and picturesque tiny island communities. We'll explore the nooks and crannies of the islands and even have a picnic on a beach. Some of our favourite hiking locations are; quaint North Haven Village and the surrounding countryside, Holbrook Island Wildlife Preserve, Fort Point Seaside Trails and State Park, picturesque Swan's Island, and Warren Island State Park. This is a great choice for those who prefer a more 'active' vacation. Vegetarians welcome.
One day we will travel offshore for a rare treat; to view nesting seabirds and puffins. We will anchor near a very remote sanctuary and travel the shoreline in our skiff to view puffins, tern, murres, razor bill, eider ducks and other nesting seabirds.
Schedule your trip now by calling 1-866-SEA-BIRD or 1-866-732-2473.
Email: wanderbirdcruises@gmail.com You can also use
this handy reservation form.
© photo by Kevin Laughlin
Photographic Tour on the Coast of Maine: Mini Photo Workshops & Birding with Wildside Nature Tours
| Dates: | Sunday, May 27, 2012 |
| Sunday, June 3, 2012 | |
| Departure: | Belfast, ME |
| Disembarkation: | Belfast, ME |
| Duration: | 8 Days |
| Price & Reservations: | See Wildside Nature Tours |
The dramatic rocky coastline of Maine is amazing any time of year, but in June the outlying islands are home to hundreds, even thousands of breeding seabirds that can be difficult to see the rest of the year.
This wonderful cruise will offer many great opportunities to photograph landscapes, wildflowers and wildlife as we explore the coast. Our main target will be to photograph the Atlantic Puffins that come back to nest each year. These puffins were once eradicated from USA waters, but through the efforts of the Puffin Project, they now number in the thousands!. We will always be on the lookout for other pelagic birds as well as whales as we explore the region. Local fishing communities and secluded coves are full of hidden, photographic treasures!
Book this trip with Wildside Nature Tours.
** Remote Destinations: Please be advised that Travel Insurance and Emergency Evacuation Insurance are recommended for this trip.
Northern Travel Note:
*** Guests are responsible for their own travel costs and arrangements to and from our start and end points in Nova Scotia and Maine. For some suggestions on travel to those ports, please see our Travel Tips pages on this site.
See: How to Reach Us In Maine.
Sable Island & Gully Marine Reserve Expedition: A very special trip to Sable Island and to the Gully to see Northern Bottlenose whales!
| Dates: | Saturday, June 9 2012 | Departure: | Halifax, NS |
| Sunday, June 17 2012 | Disembarkation: | St Pierre, FR | |
| Duration: | 8 Days | ||
| ** *** | Price: | See our partner Sacajawea Tours for reservations and pricing |
You will join Sacajawea Tours aboard the good ship Wanderbird in Halifax. Next stop... Sable Island. Exciting tour leaving Halifax the morning of June 9, visiting Sable Island and then steaming a further 40k further towards the continental shelf and the Gully MPA where we shall be for a couple of days.
The Gully is a prominent submarine erosional canyon approximately 45 kilometres east of Sable Island. It is an area of extremely high marine productivity and critically important marine mammal habitat. Learn about the eight species of whale and dolphin commonly found there. This is the home of the endangered Bottlenose Whales of which there are about 160 individuals. They are very friendly and come to the boat, swim on their backs, look up at us. This will be a remarkable experience and we may also see Humpback, Sowerbys, and Pilot Whales.
We plan to land on Sable Island and explore the island under the guidance of either or both, Zoe Lukas and Prof Ian MacLaren. In June of 2012 it will hopefully be under the auspices of Parks Canada. Here we will see many horses, seals, birds and whales. We will head northeast towards Saint Pierre at the end of the tour, chumming on the way and will slow to see puffins as we get closer to the French Territory.
This trip concludes in the wonderful French Island of St. Pierre. This little piece of France is only 15 miles off the coast of Newfoundland though you could easily imagine that you were walking the streets of a small town outside of Paris. We have our flight from Saint Pierre included in the cost and it leaves for Halifax on June 18th. Please phone or e-mail for a brochure and information. (For more information see: Sacajawea Tours Site)
** Remote Destinations: Please be advised that Travel Insurance and Emergency Evacuation Insurance are recommended for this trip.
Northern Travel Note:
*** Guests are responsible for their own travel costs and arrangements to and from our start and end points in Nova Scotia and Maine. For some suggestions on travel to those ports, please see our Travel Tips pages on this site.
Newfoundland Whale Watch & Birding Adventure
See a puffin colony, visit Cape St Mary’s Ecological Reserve, visit out port communities & spend an exciting day whale watching!
You will join the good ship Wanderbird at the wonderful French Island of St. Pierre. This little piece of France is only 15 miles off the coast of Newfoundland though you could easily imagine that you were walking the streets of a small town outside of Paris. |
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As we depart St. Pierre we will pass several small islands which are Puffin rookeries and nesting habitat to many other seabirds such as Razorbills and Murres. We’ll also look for both White Beaked and North Atlantic White Sided Dolphin.
Next Port of Call is Fortune Bay, Newfoundland where we will declare customs & begin an exploration of the remote and beautiful out ports along the south coast. The real magic of this cruise will be in meeting the Newfoundlanders themselves. After many years of cruising here, the Wanderbird is a recognisable vessel that always draws a crowd. We will sample Newfoundland treats such as scruncheons, cod cheeks and tongues, fresh rhubarb and wild berries if we can find them. Great whales and birding! This past trip we saw Orcas at the mouth of Bay D’Espoir!
We’ll cruise along this magnificent and rugged coast to Trepassy on the south east coast of Newfoundland. This will be our staging ground for a land based excursion to Cape St Mary’s Ecological Reserve. You’ll have a chance to hike along sea cliff through a meadow with wild iris & grazing sheep. The viewing area over hangs a deep chasm, and over looks Bird Rock. The rock is a 100 metre high column of sandstone rising from the sea, and home to 24,000 nesting Northern Gannet, as well as common murre, black legged kittiwake, thick billed murre, razorbill & black guillemot. On the way to Cape St. Mary's we will look for Caribou as it is within the Barrens eco-region, one of the world's most southerly expanses of sub-Arctic tundra. Mosses, lichens, alpine wildflowers, and low-growing shrubs carpet the seemingly treeless plateau.
As we round Cape Race, passing near the Grand Banks we will keep our eyes open for humpback whales! We’ll travel north and east along the Avalon Peninsula and spend the entire day whale watching as we pass through these rich waters teeming with life .
Our final destination will be St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada’s oldest city. We are likely to see our first iceberg of the season as we near St John’s and enter the famous “narrows,” the strategic harbour entrance flanked by high cliffs with forts. St John’s is an exciting global port for merchant sailors, filled with ships of all kinds. St. John’s has much to offer in the way of hiking, historic sites & churches, night life and two places not to be missed: The Rooms (a fantastic cultural museum) and The Johnson Geo Centre (go deep underground under Signal Hill to experience to story of the formation of the Earth).
Exploration of Newfoundland Outpost Communities with photographer Peter Ralston: from St. Pierre to Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland
| Dates: | Tuesday, Sept 18, 2012 |
| Thursday, Sept 27, 2012 | |
| Departure: | St Pierre, FR |
| Disembarkation: | Port Aux Basques, NF |
| Duration: | 8 Days |
| Price: | Reservations and pricing: Ralston Gallery Email | 207-230-7225 ** *** |
Join celebrated Maine photographer Peter Ralston in a photographic excursion from the French Island of St. Pierre to the small communities on the coastline of remote and historic Newfoundland. Puffins, seals, and other wildlife can be found in this remote region known for fishing and sea life. Bring your equipment and learn from a seasoned artist; Peter has been described as "the direct spiritual descendent of Winslow Homer in his loving and solemn response to the Maine coast and to the people who live in harmony alongside its austere beauty" by Daniel O'Leary, Director of the Portland Museum of Art.
Here is Peter’s Description of the adventure:
Ten days of splendid comfort, sumptuous meals and private cabins on the lovely 90’ WANDERBIRD. This intimate photographic adventure will take us from the beautiful French island of St. Pierre to the small communities along the legendarily beautiful southern coastline of Newfoundland. Saint Pierre, once a thriving fishing outport of the French Empire, and a hotspot for prohibition rum-running, is today a fantastically picturesque bastion of Old World charm, culture and cuisine. (PASSPORT NEEDED!) Whales, puffins, seals and other wildlife are readily found in this remote region, but it is the maritime way of life, still intact albeit it a vestige of former glory days, that provides the intensity and intimacy of “place” where we will be exploring. Peter is delighted to be able to share the excitement of discovery as well as his photographic expertise and counsel with up to to twelve shipmates.
E-mail or call Ralston Gallery to join Peter on this grand adventure! info@ralstongallery.com | 207-230-7225
** Remote Destinations: Please be advised that Travel Insurance and Emergency Evacuation Insurance are recommended for this trip.
Northern Travel Note:
*** Guests are responsible for their own travel costs and arrangements to and from our start and end points in Nova Scotia and Maine. For some suggestions on travel to those ports, please see our Travel Tips pages on this site.
* Please note that dates and prices are subject to change
Schedule your trip now by calling 1-866-SEA-BIRD or 1-866-732-2473
Email: wanderbirdcruises@gmail.com
You can also use
this handy reservation form.