May 30 Seal Island, Red-billed Tropicbird Harlequin duck

May 30th, trip to Seal Island, in the afternoon.

Some of the birds seen:
Bald eagle, gannet, great Cormorant, black guillemot, eider, white-winged scoter, parasitic Jaegar (felonius skua),  Red-billed tropicbird, common murre, Arctic tern, common tern, surf scoter, red-breasted merganser, crow, raven, song sparrow, harlequin duck.

 We saw this gannet on the way out he seemed a bit out of it, blurry not at its best

 this parasitic jaegar was setting on a pitching log and needed to raise its wings at times to keep its balance and that is what we saw as we went past

 The great cormorant colony at Seal Island, the majority of the Great cormorants nesting in the united states.

 Earl, Will and Claire, and  the famous Red-billed Tropic Bird

 back from a winter away, the Tbird was energetic, flying around the eastern bite for 25 minutes or so, he did not set on the water.

 some bird!

 

Harlequins

 two eider, two Harlequin

 Eiders

 Eagle on Otter, there should be more as duckling season opens soon

Seals Hauled out on Roberts' Heron Neck beyond.

May 25 tanager on Grees's, May 27 Harlequin Duck at Brimstone, May 28, Matinicus Rk, RB grosebeak

May 25, Green's Island, a different male Scarlet tanager, in a Red Oak, I planted

May 27,
We swung by Brimstone on the way in from Seal Island,

one close and 4 more harlequin beyond.

other notable sightings this date were, a couple of Parasitic jaegar, (felonius skua), gannet, boanapartes gull, always puffins and razorbills, and black Guillemots, and usually murre this time of year at Seal Island, also Arctic & Common terns and Great Cormorants.


May 28 to Matinicus Rock,

 Common Terns off of Monroe Island,

 South end Rockland Harbor, Clouds made in Thomaston,

 Razorbills, a couple of murre and a puffin off Matinicus Rock

 Razorbills on the mooring, Matinicus Rock

 Gannets, Matinicus, Mt Magunticook
other notable sightings on this trip, Vinalhaven, Rockland, Matinicus Rock to Vinalhaven:
Surf Scoter, white-winged scoters,  Black guillemot, eider, osprey, white-winged Scoter, Puffin, common murre, razorbill, Arctic Tern, Common tern,  herring gulls and black-backed gulls as ever, Laughing gulls, bald eagle, great blue heron, great Cormorant, double-crested cormorant.

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak in the Same Oak, as was that tanager

 not sure what this bird was getting,

May 19, tanager, robin, redstart, May 20 redstart, tanager, dove, eagles, raven, squeaker

May 19, Robin Tanager, redstart.

 Scarlet tanager in Birch

 the faithful and dapper American Robin

 Robin the landscape

male redstart without tale, in shadbush, there is a story there. 


May 20,

 female redstart was busy in red oak

 the energetic and modestly flamboyant female redstart

 flashing tail

 and away,  as noted by gifted blog artist the Kirk Gentalen,  at the Vinalhaven sightings report, "there is a redstart in every tree these days on Vinalhaven"

 morning dove,

 anything but drab, we were visited by another or the same male tanager, in poplar here,

 they do show up well, iiwi scarlett

 a bit shrike like

 Scarlett tanager in white birch near white spruce.

 aka black-winged redbird

 Tanager, in birch some mountain ash

 the Raven calling out for equal rights and justice

 eagles gathering near head of Hitchcock in anticipation of eider duckling season.

Squeaker in great cove through the crack on the backside of Seal island.



hey I have a website to advert my boat ride from Vinalhaven enterprise:
maineseabirdtours.com ,  there are some photos and a few brief articles there.