: Breeds. Very with a few pairs mid Apr-early Aug on Petit Manan Island where they are joined by up to 100 apparently non-breeding individuals. birds disperse mid Aug-early Apr into Gulf of Maine and beyond where they mix with birds from more distant colonies. Away from Petit Manan island, Razorbills are seen on fewer than half of the early Jun-late Aug Bar Harbor whale watch cruises with a modest increase after mid Aug when birds are leaving their breeding areas.
: Probably late Oct-early Mar but few data. from land in the same period except for Schoodic Point where several hours of patient scanning will often produce one or more flying birds, and sometimes, when food is just off the Point, more than a hundred. storms with easterly winds can drive Razorbills to more protected waters and at these times they can be seen occasionally from the Sand Beach/Otter Point section of Ocean Drive. There are no fresh water records.
Miscellany: Razorbills don't attempt breeding until they're four or five years old. Adults feed their single young only two to four times a day, carrying from one to eight fishes crosswise in their bills each trip. After a bit less than three weeks, the chick, now weighing less than one third of its adult weight, leaves its nest cave and follows its father to sea. Father/chick combinations are very occasionally seen offshore from the whale watch vessels and the tiny young are occasionally reported as Dovekies.
Last Updated: June 4th, 2022