June 15&18, Seal island and Matinicus Rock

June 15&18,  Seal island and Matinicus Rock

oldtailed duck off Otter island

Adult and Immature Great Cormorants at Little Brimstone,
we saw the Harlequin again but I took no photo, an eagle scarred them off as we were approaching.


Arctic Terns at Seal Island

Razorbills and Puffins

 yet another bad photo of this King Eider at Seal Island.

El Senior Tropical 

 Red-billed Tropicbird, Seal Island

 still fond of Pot buoys

 very fond,

alas the opportunity to recruit a mate during this birds winter travels apparently is not a priority


headed back up the bay,


Double-crested Cormorants at roost,

I saw my first Wilsons petrel of the year this day June 18, near Matinicus Rock,
there are scores of Murre at Matinicus rock a site at which they have recently established breeding.




Here is one Razorbill roosting at Green Ledge Chriehaven,
I saw and adult Razorbill deliver a nice long sand lance to this site confirming long suspected breeding at this site.
It has become common to see razorbills in the bay and close to Vinalhaven, they are apparently more inclined to fish in shallower water than are Puffins who are seen much less often within a couple of miles of Vinalhaven or from the ferry to Rockland.
The team on Matinicus Rock saw a female King Eider, with in a day or two.

June 7, 8, 2019, Jericho bay, Seal Island

June 7, trip to Jericho Bay,

June 8, to Seal island.

 

Eastern Cow Pen, crowned with debris and Ealges, sometimes Comm terns nest on this one, not this year

Great Cormorants at Brimstone Ledge,

I counted 8 nests, about the same as last year, there were no other Great cormorant nests found during this survey of the sites where they have nested since there re-colonization of the area which happened about 1980.  The only other known nesting site for this species in the Gulf of Maine is at Seal Island NWR, where there were 22 nests counted this year down form 32 nests counted last year. There were 260 great Cormorant nests counted in the area in 1992.

 

Hockamock headlight,

We found common terns nesting At Great Spoon, Dry Money Ledge and at Three Bush Is.

looking towards Mount desert Island from Great Spoon

                   
there was a mob of Gulls and terns near Seal Island


                                                

                                 this is what they were feeding on

looks like Krill

At Seal there are Puffin, Razorbills Eider

this day there were loads of Puffins ashore, all over the island.

the research Crew, in Razorbill zone Western head

another less than half decent pic of the elegant Male King eider at Seal Island, rumor has it there is a Queen eider at Matinicus Rock June 17,

a couple of Male harlequin at Brimstone, they seem to have decided to forgo the trip to Labrador again.

Fledgling robin on Green's Island

June 5, 2019 trip to Seal Island

June 5, 2019 trip to Seal Island

 King eider

 Bonapartes gull, arctic terns and a common tern

 the amazing and amiable, abominable Tbird of Seal Island, good to see this bird

 camp on Seal with flag in honor of Bird, with Tbird passing

 the tern colony Seal Island, there are lots of blinds,

Harlequins at Brimstone.

We also saw, Puffins, and Great Cormorants, a gannet, laughing gulls, black-backs, black guillemots

Sept 5, trip to 11 mile ridge, White-sided Dolphins,

Sept 5, trip to 11 mile ridge,  White-sided Dolphins,

some of what we saw that day

 06:19, abeam of Heron Neck Green's Island,

 great cormorant, drying wings from water,   near Three Fathom Ledge, 07:22

 Puffin with Mackerel,  south of Seal island,

Sept 5, Vinalhaven to  three fathom ledge to 11 mile ridge, back to Matinicus Rock.

Vinalhaven to Three fathom ledge,

06:00 Vinalhaven , 12 gannets passing,

three porpoise,  +20 gannet,  sooty shearwater,

Three Fathom ledge ,  2 Great Cormorant, 
Puffin adult with Mackerel and this years Puffin,

4 seals,  50 porpoise, scatterd,

Sooty shearwater,  2,

Greater shearwater, 1,

07:35,

 fledgling puffin,  we saw several of these

Greater shearwater,

Adult gannet,

07:35,

Greater shearwater:  16,
Herring gull, 3,
Sooty shearwater,2

Seal, 1
 Porpoise,  15,

Puffin, 2

Black-backed gull, 2,

Razorbill.

08:00,  3 mile S.  Seal.- 09:00

Greater shearwater,  7

Gannet, 5

Puffin 3,

Black-backed gull,  6,

Herring gull, 15,

Razorbill  5

Seal,  2,

09:00  5 mile South of Matinicus Rock,

I was surprised by a lot on this day,  one of many surprises, was seeing razorbills out there, I guess it was a surprise because I had been out there in early September before and not seen them, this suggests that sometimes some razorbills go out there in early September and sometimes maybe they do not, this should not be much of a surprise.

Razorbills adult and fledgling

Razorbills south of Matinicus rock

two razorbills three reflections

we saw what i believe is a yellow bellied flycatcher it thought about landing aboard.

 

red or grey or thick billed phalerope 

this bird seemed to be rowing with one oar, 

09:00  5 mile South of Matinicus Rock,

Minke whale,

Herring gull, 15,

Gannet,

Phalerope 80,

Razorbill 2,

 black-backed gull,

Seal ,

Puffin,

Yellow legs, 09:50,

7 herring gulls.

40 white sided dolphin,

11:03 ¾ of the way down the east side of the 11 mile ridge.

 

We encountered some white-Sided Dolphins, as we had hoped

the Salps were so thick sometimes I thought I could feel them increasing the drag on the boat.

the water was so still and clear, where there were no salps

the one above on the left has distinctive tail marking.

we went along together for quite a while, to me it wasn't clear at times if I was following them or if they were following me,

there you can see the salps,

the shadow shows the narrow base of the tail,

 

the tail is fine

This encounter left those of us on the boat feeling as if we had made some good decisions in life.

a couple of young black backs and a gannet, the gannets thinned out away from the outer island

common tern loafing on a burnt log.

11:03 ¾ of the way down the east side of the 11 mile ridge.

3 wilsons petrel,

gannet,

2 immature Puffins, 

common tern,

a few young hering gulls.

batch of red necked phalerope

imm hegu and  bbgu,

dozens of young gulls, 8of 10 herring gulls,

heading south with some enthusiasm as if there were rumors of  something out there.

11:35

Wilsons petrel,

Gannet ,

harbor Seal , 2

12:09 turn NE,

Wilsons petrel, 2

8 lesser black backed gulls,

3 common tern,

12:37,

Other of the days surprises included,  not seeing Leaches petrels out there, and all of a sudden there were lesser black-backs quite a few of them, out at the southern end of the ll mile ridge and we saw them all the way back to Matinicus rock and saw a couple ashore there with the other gulls.

 

Lesser black-backed gull

lesser black-backed gull,  see the yellow legs

lesser black-back

 

lesser black backed gull,  with black-back, and herring gulls of the year. I have seen lesser black-backs once in a while in the area, a couple a year maybe, but here was a batch of them, many and widespread.

some believe there is a breeding population in North America but I think that has yet to be documented. there has been one paired with herring gull on one of the Isles a shoals, producing hybrids for some years now.

12:37,

greay seal,

harbor seal,

lesser balck back,

Wilsons petrel,  13,

Corys shearwater,

1:15 mid ridge heading North east.

1:20,

black back gull,

imm puffin

30  red necked phalerope,

lesser black-back gull,

Cory's shearwater , N end of ridge,  1:46,

13 red-necked phalerope,

2:10 porpoise,

16 red-necked phalerope,

imm puffin,

lesser black-backed gull,

2:50,

1 mile South of Matinicus Rock.

Common tern,

 Gannet,

Immature  herring gull,

3:00 Matinicus Rock,  2 lesser Black-backed gull,

Cory's shearwater

Red-necked, or Northern phalerope

Matinicus Rock, 

 

Small harbor seal with bite mark?

ashore at Wooden ball.