Ben Griffith and I led an all-day pelagic trip yesterday for the Seacoast Chapter of NH Audubon aboard the "Granite State" out of Rye Harbor, NH. After leaving Rye Harbor, we headed offshore toward the Isles of Shoals where we made a brief stop at the Tern colony at White and Seavey Islands. Here we we tried (in vain) to locate the mega-rare Bridled Tern seen recently. We then continued east to a southwestern portion of Jeffrey’s Ledge known as Old Scantum and followed the inside edge of Jeffrey’s Ledge east and then north until we crossed over to the outside edge of Jeffrey’s Ledge into deep water (over 700’) before returning. On the way back to Rye harbor we cruised through “The Gut” (between Appledore Island and Lunging Island) and inspected a few islands before returning. https://caltopo.com/m/RDVK0BA Highlights for the trip included huge numbers of recently arrived Wilson’s Storm-Petrels as well as high numbers of Red-necked Phalaropes and Northern Fulmar. Only a small number of shearwaters were seen, but we got nice close views of both Great and Sooty. One of the most unusual sightings of the day was a Thick-billed Murre INSIDE RYE HARBOR as we returned! Thanks to Zeke Cornell and Holly Bauer for organizing this trip and to Captain Pete Reynolds and crew for helping to spot whales and birds! 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM Mostly sunny with some afternoon clouds, but excellent visibility. Calm winds and long 4' seas created a roller coaster ocean in the morning. The seas subsided a bit in the afternoon with a light breeze and chop. Thanks to Ben Griffith for doing his best to estimate numbers for the day. Canada Goose 61 - Mostly in Rye harbor, but also a single bird swimming in the ocean by the Isles of Shoals. Common Eider 70 - Including babies Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5 - Rye Harbor only Mourning Dove 2 - Rye Harbor only Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 - OFFSHORE. Surprise bird over Jeffrey's Ledge. American Oystercatcher 2 - Includes one which was counted in both Maine and New Hampshire as it flew across Gosport Harbor at the Isles of Shoals. Killdeer 1 - Rye Harbor only Red Phalarope 0 RED-NECKED PHALAROPE 123 Willet 2 - Rye Harbor only Ruddy Turnstone 1 Black Guillemot 32 THICK-BILLED MURRE 2 - Incredibly TWO Thick-billed Murres in June! One distant flyby identified by photos. Another incredible bird INSIDE RYE HARBOR! COMMON MURRE 1 - Unfortunately a distant flyby only. Bonaparte's Gull 24 Laughing Gull 3 Ring-billed Gull 1 American Herring Gull 302 Great Black-backed Gull 247 Common Tern 550 - Mostly over White & Seavey Islands, but many foraging offshore Roseate Tern 5 - Picked out over White & Seavey Islands ARCTIC TERN 1 - Spotted by Eric Masterson and others on top deck. Red-throated Loon 4 - Late migrating birds Common Loon 12 WILSON'S STORM-PETREL 3,552 - Likely a record high daily count for NH. The great majority of birds were concentrated over shallow waters of Jeffrey's Ledge. NORTHERN FULMAR 28 - High count for date. Many in area off the back side of Jeffrey's Ledge. GREAT SHEARWATER 3 - Finally got a nice close view of one. Sooty Shearwater 1 - Only one, but nice close views. Northern Gannet 20 - All immature birds. Double-crested Cormorant 393 - Most at breeding colony at Lunging Island. Some small groups of immatures apparently migrating. Glossy Ibis 11 - Flying offshore going to or from the Isles of Shoals. Snowy Egret 2 - Flying offshore going to or from the Isles of Shoals. Great Egret 2 - Flying offshore going to or from the Isles of Shoals. Bald Eagle 1 - Rye Harbor only American Crow 1 - Rye Harbor only Tree Swallow 1 - OFFSHORE. Strange bird out on Jeffrey's Ledge. Purple Martin 3 - Rye Harbor only Barn Swallow 6 - Rye Harbor only European Starling 1 - Rye Harbor only American Robin 2 - Rye Harbor only House Finch 1 - Rye Harbor only Song Sparrow 1 - Rye Harbor only Red-winged Blackbird 2 - Rye Harbor only Common Grackle 10 - Rye Harbor only Northern Yellow Warbler 1 - Rye Harbor only Marine Mammals ------------------------ Humpback Whale – 3 (Identified as "Scylla" & "Slope" Fin Whale - 1 Minke Whale - 1 Gray Seal - 1 Steve Mirick Bradford, MA -- Maine birds mailing list maine-birds@googlegroups.com http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds https://sites.google.com/site/birding207 --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/849311ac-a034-4c7b-bd2e-6b494ab5c634%40gmail.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment