Sunday, 8 April 2018

[Maine-birds] MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND REPORT


I returned to the island on Thursday and things have been relatively quiet for this time of year.

RAZORBILLS & MURRES were ashore for a few hours about a week ago, skipped a few days and returned for these last three nights.
Friday and Saturday nights they didn't stay.
Tonight they seem a little more settled and for the first time there is a handful of PUFFINS amid the thousands of Razos & Murres.
The Alcids are still only in the main colony. There are no birds in the upper island and other satellite colonies.
There is a raft of some 200 Razorbills and about 15 Puffins in the cove and I believe that those birds belong to the upper island colony. That population is typically as much as a week later coming ashore than the other areas.

Other seabird activity is slow. A few Cormorants, mainly Greats, are moving.
COMMON EIDERS have been most numerous, with a trickle of small groups throughout each day.
I saw just over 20 HARLEQUINS today and a couple COMMON LOONS.
I found only about a dozen PURPLE SANDPIPERS during a full circuit of the island today.

On land the migration isn't impressive. Lots of SONG SPARROWS, a few JUNCOS, a couple SWAMP SPARROWS, scattered ROBINS and 1 CATBIRD fill the ranks of potential prey while a PEREGRINE on Friday and a nice male HARRIER today account for the predators.

The bird of the day would have to be GREAT BLUE HERON with a couple dozen passing the island this afternoon in 2s and 3s.



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