BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 10, 2021
One of my favorite kayak adventures is visiting the puffins on Eastern Egg Rock in outer Muscongus Bay. Each year, the colorful enigmatic seabirds arrive at the tiny barren atoll to breed and nest for a few weeks in June and July. Traveling to Eastern Egg is an ambitious undertaking. The total trip from Round Pond is about 16 miles with substantial exposure to the open sea and few opportunities to land. We had 4- to 5-foot seas instead of the predicted 2 to 4. Another concern, a presumed shark, approached close to one paddler before moving away. After some discussion, we concluded it was actually a sunfish. Scores of the delightful seabirds were feeding and swimming in large swells at Eastern Egg Rock. Following our successful puffin encounter, we hurried northwest to Western Egg, then a strong tailwind propelled us north in Muscongus Sound. Another successful puffin endeavor. ~ Ron Chase