[Maine-birds] York County pelagic report (10/21)...

Hi all,

On Saturday (10/21), Doug Hitchcox and I spent the day offshore on the
F/V Nor'easter out of Kennebunk with Capt. Mike Perkins. (FYI: This
was the boat's final fishing trip of 2017). Seas were calm and winds
were light to start, increasing a bit in the afternoon, and visibility
was excellent. The fishing was tough, but we tallied an interesting
list of offshore birds and enjoyed 9 hours of sun out at sea.

Doug kept 16 eBird checklists (!) for the trip (roughly one every half
hour), so I don't have a single composite list to share, but here are
some highlights, with links to select checklists with photos, in order
of appearance:

...1 COMMON MURRE
...1 RAZORBILL
...1 SHORT-EARED OWL (!)
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40065120
...1 ATLANTIC PUFFIN (seen by Doug's camera)
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40063359
...1 GREATER YELLOWLEGS
...1 POMARINE JAEGER (also seen by Doug's camera)
...1 MERLIN
...1 CEDAR WAXWING
...1 DARK-EYED JUNCO
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40065116

Expected seabirds included...

...10+ NORTHERN FULMAR
...10+ CORY'S SHEARWATER
...75+ GREAT SHEARWATER
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40065106
...1 SOOTY SHEARWATER
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40065100
...200+ NORTHERN GANNET
along with a few flocks of migrating ducks, cormorants, geese, and
small numbers of Red-throated and Common Loons.

And, we saw multiples each of Minke, Fin, and Humpback Whales, though
many sightings were distant. Nearly all of the whale sightings were
while we were on the fishing grounds ~25 miles offshore at the north
end of Jeffreys Ledge.

Best,
Josh

Inspiring Nature Connection in New England
joshfecteau.com | patreon.com/JoshFecteau

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