Arrived Thursday morning, a day late, grounded & delayed a day by Wednesday's fog.
As elsewhere, it's obivious that summer is winding down. The cooler air, plants going to seed, shorebirds everywhere ...... lots of signs.
Here on MSI the biggest thing is the relative lack of seabirds, followed closely by the lack of butterflies and the lack of bats.
With the seabirds, it's the normal season-end dispersal that makes things seem rather abandoned.
There are still more PUFFINS around than we usually have by this date. That's expected, though, since the hatch is running as much as 3 weeks late this year.
Fledging Puffins have been in short supply around the lawn at night, so much so that the UNB student researchers will be staying upwards of 2 weeks later this year, in hopes of getting a reasonable number of Pufflings to band.
RAZORBILLS have long departed, although there are always the few stragglers. On my 1st walk-about I found a Razorbill chick that's barely out of the egg, well less than a week old. A second chick appears to be only a couple days older.
I didn't notice any MURRES but I didn't really look for them.
Shore birds are scattered about but in their normal low numbers. We get variety but few individuals of each species due to the poor habitat.
LEAST & SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS are most numerous, with a fair number of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS (likely residents) remaining.
Also seen or heard: RUDDY TURNSTONES; GREATER YELLOW LEGS; WHIMBREL; SEMIPALMATED PLOVER; UNIDENTIFIED PEEPS.
A GREAT BLUE HERON stopped by this afternoon. They are irregular but not rare, mostly seen during migration or, like now, as post-breeding wanderers.
A MERLIN was around briefly, late Thursday, as was a single KESTREL and a couple OSPREY (presummed migrants) were seen flying towards the Maine coast.
The aquatic species are also as expected: occasional DOUBLE CREASTED CORMORANTS; a few COMMON EIDERS; lots of HERRING & BLACK BACKED GULLS; a fly-by of 4 LAUGHING GULLS; a few distant BLK. LEGGED KITTYWAKES; occasional, daily GANNETS.
PHALAROPES, SHEARWATERS & STORM PETRELS around at night.
GRAY & HARBOUR SEALS are present in normal numbers. Some Harbour pups, like the one hauled out near our landing today, are still quite small but seem well fed.
The showing of smaller, terrestrial birds has been unimpressive. Little Brown Birds pretty well sums it up.
Resident SAVANNAH SPARROWS out number everything else by a wide margin. Many of those are young of two nestings. Judging from the number of Savannahs actively on-territory there seems to be quite a few late 2nd or 3rd nests.
Other species include the expected SONG, SWAMP, LINCOLN'S, CHIPPING & WHITER THROATED SPARROWS. Several young COWBIRDS have been harassing sandpipers around our "cement pond".
-- As elsewhere, it's obivious that summer is winding down. The cooler air, plants going to seed, shorebirds everywhere ...... lots of signs.
Here on MSI the biggest thing is the relative lack of seabirds, followed closely by the lack of butterflies and the lack of bats.
With the seabirds, it's the normal season-end dispersal that makes things seem rather abandoned.
There are still more PUFFINS around than we usually have by this date. That's expected, though, since the hatch is running as much as 3 weeks late this year.
Fledging Puffins have been in short supply around the lawn at night, so much so that the UNB student researchers will be staying upwards of 2 weeks later this year, in hopes of getting a reasonable number of Pufflings to band.
RAZORBILLS have long departed, although there are always the few stragglers. On my 1st walk-about I found a Razorbill chick that's barely out of the egg, well less than a week old. A second chick appears to be only a couple days older.
I didn't notice any MURRES but I didn't really look for them.
Shore birds are scattered about but in their normal low numbers. We get variety but few individuals of each species due to the poor habitat.
LEAST & SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS are most numerous, with a fair number of SPOTTED SANDPIPERS (likely residents) remaining.
Also seen or heard: RUDDY TURNSTONES; GREATER YELLOW LEGS; WHIMBREL; SEMIPALMATED PLOVER; UNIDENTIFIED PEEPS.
A GREAT BLUE HERON stopped by this afternoon. They are irregular but not rare, mostly seen during migration or, like now, as post-breeding wanderers.
A MERLIN was around briefly, late Thursday, as was a single KESTREL and a couple OSPREY (presummed migrants) were seen flying towards the Maine coast.
The aquatic species are also as expected: occasional DOUBLE CREASTED CORMORANTS; a few COMMON EIDERS; lots of HERRING & BLACK BACKED GULLS; a fly-by of 4 LAUGHING GULLS; a few distant BLK. LEGGED KITTYWAKES; occasional, daily GANNETS.
PHALAROPES, SHEARWATERS & STORM PETRELS around at night.
GRAY & HARBOUR SEALS are present in normal numbers. Some Harbour pups, like the one hauled out near our landing today, are still quite small but seem well fed.
The showing of smaller, terrestrial birds has been unimpressive. Little Brown Birds pretty well sums it up.
Resident SAVANNAH SPARROWS out number everything else by a wide margin. Many of those are young of two nestings. Judging from the number of Savannahs actively on-territory there seems to be quite a few late 2nd or 3rd nests.
Other species include the expected SONG, SWAMP, LINCOLN'S, CHIPPING & WHITER THROATED SPARROWS. Several young COWBIRDS have been harassing sandpipers around our "cement pond".
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