August 21, two trips to Seal Island

August 21, two trips to Seal Island

 molting male harlequin duck at little Robert's, a rare plumage for Maine as they usually are up north for molting.

 Black-backs and gannets, and see the fin?

 gannets

 White-sided Dolphins!

 I have very seldom see  them inside of Seal Island,

 Plunging Gannet, Brimstone beyond.

 adult and fledgling common tern.

the young tern suggesting another fish would be nice.

 Star Fisher came along and told us there was a seal up a tree.

 as unlikely as that would seem, it turns out that the report was quite accurate

 someone could win a bet with a photo such as this

 Seal in tree, Star Fisher, and Seal Island, I've seen more seals in trees just southwest of Seal Island than I have anywhere else.

 adult gannet

 those gannets do dive deep

 quite a lot of this during late August.

 And Greater shearwaters

Minnamurra heading in Saddleback beyond

August 20, to Jericho Bay to look for Great Cormorants.

August 20, head east around Isle au Haut, and Marshall Island.

Little Brimstone,  4 adult Great Cormorant and two sub adults which I believe must be last years. the pale breasted bird to the left is an immature double-crested cormorant.

 Eric east of Brimstone

 Cormorants on the White Horse, east of Isle Au Haut.

Cormorants on the White Horse

 Eagle over what was formerly known as Herring gull hill, as there were lots of gulls nesting there.

 Adult Bald eagle over Great Spoon Island

 Brimstone Ledge, east of Marshall Island one of two Known nesting sites of Great Cormorants in the Gulf of Maine, there were 6 nests counted May 29,

I did see these three adults roosting near where the colony had been and also saw two Fledgling great Cormorants. The dispersal of the colony on this date indicates that this site has been attacked by eagles.

 Herring gull strafing an immature bald eagle, Southern Mark Island

 Empty Cormorant Colony Southeast shore Southern Mark,  there were 11 pairs of Great Cormorant nesting at this site in 2017.

Abandoned double-crested cormorant colony SW tip of Southern Mark, no fledglings on the shore.

Adult eagle near abandoned double-crested cormorant colony Southern Mark.

 Adult eagle, center, and mostly fledgling herring gulls,  

 despite total failure of the cormorants, the gulls seem to have done fairly well here this year, there were scores of fledglings.

 I am afraid that those dried up plans behind the eagle are bull thislte, launching legions of potential spiny vegetation into the biosphere.  this is not good.

 Passing between Isle au Haut & Kimball Isle,  east to west

Isle au Haut passage.

Aug 17, trip to Seal, & coopers Hawk on Green's

Aug 17, morning trip to Seal Island
species list:
Razorbill, Cory's Shearwater, Greater Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Eider,  Black Guillemot, Ring-billed Gull, Red Knot, Semi-palmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, least sandpiper, Rudy Turnstone, Herring Gull, Laughing Gull, Black-backed Gull, Puffins,
Common Tern, Arctic Tern.

And: Grey Seals, Harbor Seals, Sunfish.

Razorbills, molted flight feathers on at least one of those streaching

this years laughing gull

sooty  shearwater

Red Knots and Rudy Turnstones

Knots and Turnstones

Rudy Turnstone, and several Red Knots

 Grey Seal, western Head of Seal Island

 At The Shag Roost Seal Island this years Great Cormorant, indicating dispersal commencing.

 Mix of adult and this years Great Cormorant on the western head

 Big Sunfish, thanks Steve

Cory's Shearwater

 Ring-billed Gull

Coopers hawk on Green's I was alerted to its presence because it flew into a window upstairs

 it went and landed in an oak tree I had planted.
This bird was fairly large, I think it a cooper because the bands on the tail do not appear to be edged with white.