[Maine-birds] Glaucous gull and many ant-catching Bonaparte's Gull, Roque Is, Jonesport

Hi Folks,

 

A birding friend from Rhode Island, George Herrick, is out on Roque and observed an adult glaucous gull and over a hundred Bonaparte's gulls catching flying ants (antcatching? rather than flycatching) over Roque yesterday.  On Friday in Machiasport, my daughter saw 100+ Bonaparte's gulls antcatching over the Machias River across from my home next to Mill Creek.  They were very vocal.

 

Back on Roque Island, George also had a dozen or so yellow-bellied sapsuckers feeding in old apple trees and large lilac bushes; some were eating or probing in apples (searching for worms?).  Also, a downy woodpecker was pecking on an apple. George did not experience the large influx of warblers and other passerines on the island last week.  He did note an increase in sparrows yesterday plus more warblers (mostly palms, northern parulas, yellow-rumps and unknowns) and kinglets. A merlin was around all week harassing flickers. 

 

Speaking of flycatching or antcatching gulls, there were about 30 ring-bills and 3 herring gulls catching flying ants over the river along Canal Street in Augusta on Friday afternoon.  Yesterday, I saw about 10 ring-bills lunging after flying ants above a field in Farmington.

 

Have others noted aerial feeding gulls (and other birds) this past week?  I have no idea how late into the fall flying ants continue to emerging?  I have a bunch of small fresh anthills in the yard. 

 

This is definitely not a mast year for red oaks and American beech in the Augusta area.  Although they are still dropping, acorn numbers in our yard are less than 5% of what was present during a recent mast year (we filled more than a wheelbarrow while raking leaves that season <red oaks overhang our yard>).  There were very few red oak acorns last weekend in the Laconia area of New Hampshire.  A friend from Pennsylvania collected less than a pint to take home for his bird feeder.  I did not see many in the canopy.  There were also black oaks but I did not notice any acorns.

 

Good birding,

 

Norm Famous

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Norman Famous, Wetlands and Wildlife Ecologist

513 Eight Rod Road

Augusta, ME 04330

(207) 623 6072

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