Arrived on the island around midday Saturday after a two day delay for adverse weather.
It was an uneventful flight with only a few waterfowl and raptors enroute. That section of Washington County appeared to get much less freezing rain the previous day as compared to Charlotte County. Also less snow cover. Some bogs looked almost bare.
I did see a few DEER and a couple MOOSE (west of Lubec).
Once we left the Maine coast we started to pick up the expected scattered KITTIWAKES and gulls.
Over flying NORTH ROCK produced no Seals.
That was no surprise considering the high tide and 10 to 12 foot seas washing the rock.
The situation for seals was similar at GULL ROCK and around MSI.
Gull Rock and MSI did harbour smallish flocks of HERRING, ICELAND & GREAT BLACK BACKED GULLS, with quite a few skimming the surf for anything agitated by the waves. Kittiwakes pursued the same strategy further off shore.
Since arriving on the island I have made two excursions around the perimeter. Observations were near identical both times.
Winter resident PURPLE SANDPIPERS & HARLEQUIN DUCKS number around 50 for each species.
RED BREASTED MERGANSERS (usually singletons) are frequently seen associating with the Harlequins.
COMMON EIDERS are notable for their near complete absence. They are never very abundant in deep winter but I'd expect to see a few every day. No so this winter with some days proving to be Eider-less.
Other deep-water duck species such as LONG TAILED DUCKS & SCOTERS pop by in small numbers as their foraging may lead them.
COMMON LOONS are daily visitors, 1, 2 or 3 at a time. GREEN CRABS comprise part of their diet. I think that the crabs are favored by the Loons. I see them targeted by Loons at other locations, too, while other divers can't or don't want to catch many of the Green Invaders.
GREY SEALS are still relatively few but that's not surprising with the rough sea conditions we've had lately.
We're also well into the pupping season so the bulk of "our" seals should be down the New England coast producing the new generation. Only rarely do Greys have their young up here, as opposed to HARBOUR SEALS, which pup in this area around June.
SONG SPARROWS seem to have perhaps a dozen representatives clinging to a precarious life.
As I've mentioned before, a handful of Song Sparrows are the only songbirds that attempt to over-winter on the island and the majority of those don't survive.
Although the Song Sparrows are the only Songbird to stay on the island, RAVENS have long been year-round visitors.
There have usually been two bu, although together, they didn't appear to be a breeding pair because they both spent far too much time on MSI during the nesting season.
Whatever their relationship, it seems to have ended, with apparently only one Raven frequenting the island this winter.
CROWS are infrequent island visitors, outside of migration, but one has been here for at least 3 days.
EAGLES are winter-normal with one or more hanging around nearly every day. They harass the gulls and other aquatic birds. They often forage well off shore (10-15 miles from the mainland) and perch on these islands and ledges for hours at a time.
They have quite a varied menu, frequently scavenging marine mammals and pelagic birds and generally cleaning up the dead and compromised.
Gulls are currently at low-normal for the season with small-ish groups roosting on Gull Rock and MSI as weather dictates.
HERRING, GREAT BLACK BACKED, & ICELAND GULL are represented on shore and they are joined by KITTIWAKES for foraging.
Two GLAUCOUS GULLS have been spotted at various times.
It was an uneventful flight with only a few waterfowl and raptors enroute. That section of Washington County appeared to get much less freezing rain the previous day as compared to Charlotte County. Also less snow cover. Some bogs looked almost bare.
I did see a few DEER and a couple MOOSE (west of Lubec).
Once we left the Maine coast we started to pick up the expected scattered KITTIWAKES and gulls.
Over flying NORTH ROCK produced no Seals.
That was no surprise considering the high tide and 10 to 12 foot seas washing the rock.
The situation for seals was similar at GULL ROCK and around MSI.
Gull Rock and MSI did harbour smallish flocks of HERRING, ICELAND & GREAT BLACK BACKED GULLS, with quite a few skimming the surf for anything agitated by the waves. Kittiwakes pursued the same strategy further off shore.
Since arriving on the island I have made two excursions around the perimeter. Observations were near identical both times.
Winter resident PURPLE SANDPIPERS & HARLEQUIN DUCKS number around 50 for each species.
RED BREASTED MERGANSERS (usually singletons) are frequently seen associating with the Harlequins.
COMMON EIDERS are notable for their near complete absence. They are never very abundant in deep winter but I'd expect to see a few every day. No so this winter with some days proving to be Eider-less.
Other deep-water duck species such as LONG TAILED DUCKS & SCOTERS pop by in small numbers as their foraging may lead them.
COMMON LOONS are daily visitors, 1, 2 or 3 at a time. GREEN CRABS comprise part of their diet. I think that the crabs are favored by the Loons. I see them targeted by Loons at other locations, too, while other divers can't or don't want to catch many of the Green Invaders.
GREY SEALS are still relatively few but that's not surprising with the rough sea conditions we've had lately.
We're also well into the pupping season so the bulk of "our" seals should be down the New England coast producing the new generation. Only rarely do Greys have their young up here, as opposed to HARBOUR SEALS, which pup in this area around June.
SONG SPARROWS seem to have perhaps a dozen representatives clinging to a precarious life.
As I've mentioned before, a handful of Song Sparrows are the only songbirds that attempt to over-winter on the island and the majority of those don't survive.
Although the Song Sparrows are the only Songbird to stay on the island, RAVENS have long been year-round visitors.
There have usually been two bu, although together, they didn't appear to be a breeding pair because they both spent far too much time on MSI during the nesting season.
Whatever their relationship, it seems to have ended, with apparently only one Raven frequenting the island this winter.
CROWS are infrequent island visitors, outside of migration, but one has been here for at least 3 days.
EAGLES are winter-normal with one or more hanging around nearly every day. They harass the gulls and other aquatic birds. They often forage well off shore (10-15 miles from the mainland) and perch on these islands and ledges for hours at a time.
They have quite a varied menu, frequently scavenging marine mammals and pelagic birds and generally cleaning up the dead and compromised.
Gulls are currently at low-normal for the season with small-ish groups roosting on Gull Rock and MSI as weather dictates.
HERRING, GREAT BLACK BACKED, & ICELAND GULL are represented on shore and they are joined by KITTIWAKES for foraging.
Two GLAUCOUS GULLS have been spotted at various times.
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