NH Audubon sponsored an all day pelagic trip yesterday aboard the
"Granite State" out of Rye Harbor, NH. We cruised northeast directly up
to the "Three Fingers" area of Jeffrey's Ledge in Maine where there was
a lot of bird and whale activity last weekend. Nothing there!!! So we
cruised south, following the ledge until we ran into an absolute
bonanza, first of the very rare SEI WHALES. They were everywhere! Skim
feeding along the surface with whales all around the boat. A
magnificent show and one that is very rarely seen! As we slowly moved
past the Sei Whales we encountered a huge group of Humpback Whales!
Many were mother-calf pairs. Not quite as many birds as we hoped for,
but there were some nice views of Fulmars and Red-necked Phalaropes.
Thanks to Jon Woolf for organizing this trip and to Captain Pete
Reynolds for skillfully navigating through the "carpet" of whales
without hitting any!
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Partly cloudy
SW winds 10-15 mph. Seas about 1-3'
Birders - 40
Thanks to Len Medlock, here are some cool photos from the day:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lmedlock/sets/72157653052920968
Species List total from Isles of Shoals eastward.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Common Eider 14 - Single flock of 14 flying north (migrating?) over
Jeffrey's Ledge. Common around Isles of Shoals. At least 5 babies seen
around Seavey Island.
White-winged Scoter 45 - Several small migrating flocks noted over
course of day.
Common Loon 3 - Three on ledge, well offshore. Several more inside
of Isles of Shoals.
NORTHERN FULMAR 8 - One dark morph. Some nice views.
SOOTY SHEARWATER 2 Didn't come too close to boat.
Northern Gannet 30 - Almost all young birds, but one adult between
Star Island and White Island.
Double-crested Cormorant 3 - Flock of 3 over Jeffrey's Ledge flying
south (!?). Many on nests at Lunging Island.
Ruddy Turnstone 2 - Two on Square Rock at Isles of Shoals.
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE 235 - Two large flocks of 80-100 birds. Several
small to very small flocks.
Black Guillemot 2 - At Isles of Shoals.
Razorbill 2 near Isles of Shoals in Maine. Not noted until
identified late in trip through photos.
Jaeger sp. 1 Only seen by one birder.
Bonaparte's Gull 2 - On Jeffrey's Ledge.
Herring Gull Small numbers relative to Great Black-backed Gulls.
Great Black-backed Gull Large numbers in area of whales.
Common Tern - Large numbers at Isles of Shoals over White/Seavey
Islands. No Roseates noted.
Magnolia Warbler 1 - Immature male flew to boat and through the cabin
and into the wheelhouse!
A partial list of birds in Rye harbor
----------------------------------------------
Glossy Ibis 8 flying over route 1A
Purple Sandpiper 12 lingering on breakwater.
Marine Mammals
------------------------
SEI WHALE - 26+ Incredible group of whales. All skim feeding in area of
copepods.
Humpback Whale - 23 counted through photos. Includes at least 5
mother/calf pairs. Those identified include "Squiggle" with calf,
"Bullet" with calf, "Quixote" with calf, "Flash" with calf, "Paravane",
"Pinpoint", "Sedge", "Clamp", "Veteran", and "Tether". Some activities
were seen from the youngsters and a couple of distant breaches were noted.
Minke Whale - 1
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin - 40 including a few nice aerial jumps.
Basking Shark - 1 (distant)
Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA
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