Day 13 (Friday, June 8): Perce and Bonaventure Island
Driving distance for the day: 0 Miles
Cumulative distance: 2279.3 Miles
(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
Another "zero day" (no driving). When I take road trips I like to sprinkle it with a few "zero days" here and there -- these days allow me to slow down and enjoy the moment (our other "zero day" was the second day in Boston). On this day we boarded a boat in Perce to go to Bonaventure Island.
Our main reason for going to Bonaventure Island was, of course, to see the Gannet Colonies. As we approached the island, we could already see the Gannets flying over the water and nesting on the rock ledges of the cliff.
The boat drew closer to the cliff and we got better views of these beautiful birds. There were also other sea birds nesting there, such as Common Murres.
Bonaventure Island is part of Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé National Park. Park rangers greeted us at the dock, and their residences are beautifully blended into the natural environment.
Then off we went, to the Gannet Colonies! A delightful hike took us to the cliff top where the Gannets were nesting. It was quite a sight to see tens of thousands of birds nesting there.
And some closeups of these creamy-white, blue-eyed, "blond-haired" sea birds.
These large sea birds may be clumsy and raucus on land, but in the air they are sheer grace.
We lingered for some time at the nesting site, then walked back to the dock. On the way we passed by what appears to be a restored cabin.
We stopped at Sandy Beach before returning to the dock. Bonaventure Island is really a beautiful place, with or without brids.
But of course, there were birds here too -- in the rock crevices, Black Guillemots were nesting too.
As the boat pulled away from the dock, we got closer to Perce Rock. The natural arch is like a window through which we could see ever-changing scenes. And the perspective of Perce Rock itself changes by the second.
Natural Arch
Perce Rock
Perce Rock
Natural Arch
Cliff
Northern Gannet
Common Murre
Bonaventure Island
Bonaventure Island
Northern Gannets
Northern Gannets
Northern Gannets
Northern Gannets
Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet in flight
Northern Gannet in flight
Northern Gannet in flight
Northern Gannet in flight
Northern Gannet in flight
Northern Gannet in flight
Northern Gannet in flight
Cabin
Sandy Beach
Sandy Beach
Black Guillemot
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