August 3, to Matinicus Rock, past Wooden Ball

August 3d,

 last years puffin

 Puffins ashore at Matinicus Rock,

 Sue leaning on the oars, the dorys name was Heal Me Carlos! Carlos Heal me! that week.

grey seal

 on the way in we went past the Nw shore of Wooden Ball,  near the current location of a Cormorant colony we saw a few Arctic terns, and Coco spotted this fledgling, the bird on the right, demonstrating that this small colony of about 8 pairs were not entirely unsuccessful, despite being on a very tough gull island.

 lots of Seals on Wooden ball, several hundred.

 White throated sparrow

 White-throat, parula approaching

 parula Warbler

 male parula aug 3

 Parula warbler bathing

 yellowthroat

White-throat barking at and displacing yellowthroat, yellowthroat leaping backward out of the pool.

August first,

August 1 trip

 Wilson's Petrel

 they are not easy to photograph

the yellow webbed toes stick out past the tail

 Razorbill of the year,

 There was a harrier still at seal island.

the terns would rather this harrier fly around elsewhere.

 puffins, Murre and Razorbill

 murre and Puffins

 the Gannet of the Western Head Seal Island, still there.

 Jaegar days, continued

 this looks to me like a pale young, coming of age, parasitic jaegar

Myrtle warbler, in the birdbath

july 31

July 31, a few photos

 El senior tropical,  courting buoy,

 red-billed Tropic bird

 it would appear that we did see jaegars this day

 Harlequin with eiders, this bird was regular at Little Brimstone, most of the summer.

 young eagle off Otter Island

Mighty Minnamurra,  exiting Indian Creek,

july 30, ten jaegar day

July 30,  phalerope & jaegars lots of them

 red-necked phalerope

 Two year old Puffin

 felonius skua trying to pass as a manx shearwater shows itself by flushing early,  pirates are quick to assume that those approaching are up to no good.

 what tern  chasing jaegar?

 yup common tern pursuing young felonius skua

 and why?

 this is why the terns new fledgeling was nearby,



Fledgeling common tern

Manx shearwater

 another jaegar

 intermediate adult parasitic jaegar

 ok hear is where it became dreamlike, I get 7 jaegars and one gull in this shot, a tern is in there somewhere as well.

 I think there are 9 or 10  jaegars in this one, all apparently attracted to the same tern?
i believe that there were 10 individuals in my binocs at once, eclipsing the old mark by several.
Anyway lots of jaegars working on the tern traffic, loaded with fish.  Isle au haut beyond

 only six hear western mountain MDI in the distance.

 7 or eight here.

 I get 7 in this one and a tern. that looks to me like catapiller mountain in Sedgewick, beyond.

 though laughing gulls carry their loads in the gullet still the pirates know they have a load to be taken

 Parasitic jaegar terrorizing a laughing gull.

 looks as if the jaegar is lugging off the laughing gull but it was just a close pass.

 intermediate adult parasitic jaegar,  aka felonius skua

 Razorbill and chick. again this year they were a conspicuous presence in the bay as i have not seen before and it was for weeks.

 the yellow rock eagles

 eagles on Yellow rock, Roberts island beyond.

I believe that the bird on the left is last years great cormorant, that is the first full summer for this bird, also herring gull and three double-crested cormorant.