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" at the northern corner of Jeffrey's Ledge in
Maine where we had the highlights of the trip with dolphins, several
whales and a few gannets and a couple of shearwaters. We then cruised
south, following the ledge. It was a "desert" for birds for much of the
route. Barely a gannet or gull for much of the time, but we did manage
to chum in a nice group of Wilson's Storm-Petrels. We finished by
traveling west through "Scantum" where there were several Fin Whales and
then touring the Isles of Shoals where we saw the wonderful tern colony
on White and Seavey Islands, the Cormorant rookery on Lunging Island and
a rare American Oystercatcher on Lunging Island. Thanks to Jon Woolf
for organizing this trip, to Captain Pete Reynolds, and to whale
biologists Melanie and Jonathan who thought "something doesn't look
right about that Right Whale"!
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunny - 98F on the mainland, but nice and cool offshore!!!
SW winds 5-10 mph. Seas about 1-3'
Birders - 34
Common Eider - Lots of birds around the Isles of Shoals. Several
creches of baby fluff balls.
Common Loon - 7 inside of Isles of Shoals. Including group of 6
together on water.
Great Shearwater - 2 uncooperative birds on Jeffrey's Ledge in Maine
Sooty Shearwater - 1 close fly-by on Jeffrey's Ledge in Maine
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 54 total birds. All out on Jeffrey's Ledge.
Many came in for oil slick we put out.
Northern Gannet - 24 total. Mostly 1 year old birds. At least one
adult or near adult.
Double-crested Cormorant - Nice views of nesting rookery on Lunging Island
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER - 1 on Lunging Island. This species has raised
eyebrows recently with repeated sightings on the Isles of Shoals. This
species has not been documented as nesting in New Hampshire (or at the
Isles of Shoals), but it is possible they may be attempting to nest on
Lunging Island.
Herring Gull - Nests easily seen on Square Rock.
Great Black-backed Gull - Scattered low numbers of gulls offshore. Mixed
between Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.
Common Tern - About 6 offshore on Jeffrey's Ledge and Old Scantum. Many
around the nesting colony on White & Seavey Islands. No Roseates or
Arctics picked out.
Black Guillemot - Perhaps 4 total around the Isles of Shoals.
Chimney Swift - Very odd sighting of 2 birds well offshore near
Jeffrey's Ledge. I only got brief looks at these birds, but I believe
this is what they were.
Marine Mammals
------------------------
Fin Whale - Roughly 10+ individual whales. Some nice close views
showing the asymmetric colored jaw pattern. And notably, one individual
that repeatedly FLUKED (rare for Fin Whales).
Humpback Whale - 2 including "Wigwam" and "Pinball" the often seen
female Humpback whale first reported in 1989!!
Minke Whale - Perhaps 3 or 4
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin - 20 to 25 in one pod.
and
BOWHEAD WHALE - THE STAR OF THE TRIP!!!! Very rare species that is
generally found ONLY in arctic waters. A circumpolar species, it spends
much of it's life lingering around the pack ice, and is therefore almost
NEVER seen from anywhere in the United States south of Alaska.
Superficially, very similar to the Right Whale, the Bowhead used to be
in the same genus, but is now in a different genus. Like the Right
Whale, it lacks a dorsal fin, and has a dark tail and it flukes. Unlike
the Right Whale, it has a smooth forehead with no callosities and a
larger bump on the top of the head.
This individual was originally identified as a Right Whale, but after a
dive or two, the whale biologists NEW something was odd. We finally
confirmed this sighting as a Bowhead Whale. More than likely, this is
the same individual whale that has been seen very sporadically in the
northeastern US as follows:
March 2012 - Bowhead Whale spotted east of Orleans, MA by plane during
aerial survey of Right Whales. Later seen during summer 2012 by
researchers in the Bay of Fundy. THIS IS THE FIRST MODERN RECORD of
this species south of the Arctic.
April 11, 2014 - Bowhead Whale spotted in Cape Cod bay in MA by plane
during aerial survey of Right Whales.
April 14, 2017 - Bowhead Whale spotted in Great South Channel in Ma by
plane during aerial survey of Right Whales.
And now......June 12, 2017. Seen near the northern tip of Jeffrey's
Ledge near "the Fingers". East of York County, Maine. Some photos and
video:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/
https://youtu.be/3rGjxUuYWyQ
Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA
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