[Maine-birds] Re: Small Alcid

I mistook a Dovkie (found dead on the beach in December) for a juvenile razorbill last year...but quickly realized that we wouldn't have any juvenile razorbills around then ;)...so I understand your first impressions!  Thanks for sharing a great list!

Karen - Lubec

On Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 12:13:45 PM UTC-4, dcow...@maine.rr.com wrote:

We had a beautiful morning off Jonesport yesterday with near glassy-smooth conditions. Being a sailboat under power and with limited time we only got about 15 miles out and had to head back at 11 to stay on schedule, but we encountered a nice front with several dozen shearwaters (most if not all GRSH - still need to comb through the photos), 2 gannets, several dozen red-necked phalaropes, and as many Wilson's-storm petrels. On the way out and back in we encountered great and double-crested cormorants, common and arctic terns, common loons, razorbills, guillemots, puffins, eiders, and the usual gulls.  At least one common murre (teamed up with a lone razorbill).

The most curious of all was a small alcid that appeared about 10m off our port bow just as we were passing among the islands on the approach into Jonesport harbor. We were unable to stop and so our view was brief but clear, and as we cruised past the bird paddled away, black head forward and low to the water, overall impression mostly black with some white, short bill, chunky, and way too small to be any of the others we had seen. Never having seen a dovekie before (and not expecting to) I wasn't versed in specific field marks, but looking it up after the fact it appeared to be the closest match. That said everything I read says they are exclusively a winter bird and even then, only well offshore. I'm wondering what the seasoned downeast coastal birders on this feed might think of this possibility - has this species ever been documented anywhere near here in the summer? Other ideas on ID?  Any and all ideas welcome - thanks in advance.

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