Witless Bay Ecological Reserve is home to the larges Puffin colony in North America. They mate and nest on an Island in the Atlantic Ocean. We set out today on a driving trip to Witless Bay hoping that the information centre may have a good Puffin display. After we drove back and forth over the area that the signs indicated should be the information centre, we realized it was not going to be a big elaborate centre. We ended up stopping at the municipal hall and asking about the area. Turns out you HAVE to go on a boat tour to see anything in the area. So, we broke down and spent our $100 to go on a boat tour. We departed Bay Bulls which is one community north of Witless Bay and went on an hour and a half tour of the Ecological Reserve. The puffins have chosen this island to reproduce because there are no land predators. We were lucky to see the puffins as most have left the area to resume their lives on the sea. Other than breeding, they live entirely on the sea, following the schools of fish that comprise their diet.
I always thought of puffins like penguins and expected that they were about a foot high and sitting on the shore looking at us. WRONG. They are 9 to 12 inches long, but most we saw must have been smaller. They fly around getting fish for their young and bringing them back to the chicks that stay in burrows until they are old enough to fly away on their own. The adult puffins are more like swallows, flying quickly back and forth feeding their young. We were lucky to have a few fly close overhead so we could see their colourfull feathers.

Unfortunately, our camera decided to die the other day and we can no longer zoom into anything, so we couldn't get any puffin pictures. We will be shopping once we cross the border.

Also, unfortunately, we didn't see any whales, but we can advise those of you interested in Newfoundland. GO IN JULY. By September, the action is virtually over. In July there are icebergs, puffins by the thousands and whales all over.

Canadiana: The first oil well in North America was drilled at community 35 km south of Sarnia, Ontario in 1858. The town was Oil Springs.

Retailers in Canada are not required to accept pennies in payment for any item costing more than $.50.