Despite a brisk wind and the recent snow visible on the caps of the Olympic Mountains, bird enthusiasts from near and far dressed up in their warmest clothes, donned their binoculars and boarded a boat on Nov. 24, headed to Protection Island to see what the Puget Sound had to offer. With 70 percent of the Puget Sound’s seabirds nesting on Protection Island, the waters surrounding the uninhabited piece of land off the coast of Cape George make for a bird watcher’s paradise. Ducks, grebes, cormorants, gulls, murres, murrelets and more were spotted through binoculars that brisk Saturday, as the cruise, led by naturalist Roger Risley and Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s Johanna King, saw 23 species of birds and three marine mammal species. “When we get to the island, we’ll see a landscape and a seascape that you don’t get to see very often,” Risley said as the boat took off from Point Hudson. “Three-quarters of North America is uninhabited, and that’s the place we’re going to see today. It’s not a trip to the zoo; this isn’t just a sample as much it is a window into the way the world always was.” Risley and King have been leading Marine Science Center Protection Island cruises together since 1994. The Port Townsend Marine Science Center — in collaboration with Puget Sound Express — hosts the expeditions to Protection Island several times a year throughout spring and fall. Timed to coincide with annual migrations, they also host special trips planned for Thanksgiving weekend and New Year’s Eve. For bird enthusiasts, the cruise offers an opportunity to perfect their spotting skills and see some birds that can’t be found elsewhere, such as puffins. “It’s a lifelong hobby,” said Cynthia Zenner, who is part of a bird watching group in Sequim and wanted to see Protection Island, and its birds, up close. “Once you start learning from other bird watchers, and then doing it yourself, it’s really enjoyable.”