I wonder if Black Friday is still a thing. Perhaps online shopping has killed the post-Thanksgiving frenzy. Or maybe we just don’t need more stuff.
I don’t have room for the stuff I have now. Gift certificates as holiday presents are starting to make sense to me. I’m particularly keen on adventure gift certificates because once they’re used, there’s nothing to store in the closet.
There are several birding adventures in 2025 that could make great gifts — ones so good you might want to give them to yourself.
Bar Harbor Whale Watch is always a good choice. Who doesn’t like whales? Birders may be more interested in the company’s puffin trips. I don’t recall if this has been an option in previous years, but gift cards are now available directly from the website.
One trip next year is very special, and I’m guiding it again. The Downeast Offshore Seabird & Lighthouse Cruise will take place on Saturday, July 19. Last year was the first for this cruise, and it proved to be a smashing success. My co-leader was marine naturalist Zack Klyver, and we both leaped at the chance to guide again in 2025.
Honestly, I was a little bit awestruck by everything we saw. The first stop for the 6.5-hour tour was the Atlantic puffin colony on Petit Manan. It was wonderful as usual, with plenty of puffins, razorbills and common murres to delight the crowd.
The second stop was Machias Seal Island, the biggest puffin colony along the Maine coast. By the third week of July, female puffins are off the nest and both parents are carrying food to their underground nestlings. When not actively foraging, puffins often hang out on the seaside cliffs or float in rafts nearby.
I will never forget the cloud of puffins that swam around the boat, and then wafted into the air as we idled by. I don’t know why so many were congregating in one place, but it was an impressive sight indeed.
From there, the Friendship V gathered speed and motored across a big chunk of the Gulf of Maine to Mount Desert Rock. It was our best chance to see whales and ocean-going birds not normally seen from land.
Bar Harbor Whale Watch has its own little Black Friday special offer. Discounted early-bird rates for this cruise apply until Dec. 31.
I received word this week that Acadia Puffin Cruise in Steuben has upgraded its online booking system. Reservations for next season have already opened, and gift certificates are available.
I really love the Acadia Puffin Cruise. There are five puffin islands along the Maine coast, and four of them offer scheduled trips. This cruise is arguably the easiest for seasick-prone birders. It’s a half-hour voyage to Petit Manan Island, with numerous puffins loafing in the shadow of Maine’s second-tallest lighthouse.
On the other hand, the puffin trip to Seal Island on board the Isle au Haut Ferry is among the most dramatic. It cruises through the scenic Stonington archipelago, past Isle au Haut, and into open waters populated by seals and porpoises. There’s a greater chance of seeing pelagic birds along the way, including three species that nest in the South Atlantic. Wilson’s storm-petrels, great shearwaters and sooty shearwaters travel to Maine when it’s winter in the southern hemisphere.
Puffins have become such an integral part of Stonington’s appeal that two events are now built around them. The Wings, Waves and Woods Festival includes several puffin trips to Seal Island during the third weekend of May.
Another Stonington festival, Puffin Passages, kicked off last year. It’s scheduled for June 18-21, 2025. No details are available yet, but I know it will include a puffin trip or two and I will be guiding.
You may need to call to finalize tour arrangements, but each puffin-watching service is happy to oblige.
As an alternative to gift certificates, annual memberships make good holiday presents.
For instance, several good friends look forward to our annual renewal of their Maine Audubon memberships. For the hardcore birder on your list, I’d also recommend the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Their educational products and services are unmatched on the planet — a boon to birders of all levels.
Just to be clear, I’m not trying to kill Black Friday. I merely suggest that Friday should come in other colors. Like Green.
