Maine birds And MOAC mountainbiking

Wednesday, 6 September 2023

[Maine-birds] New Hampshire Pelagic Trip - 9/5/23

The Seacoast Chapter of NH Audubon sponsored an all day pelagic trip
aboard the "Granite State" yesterday out of Rye Harbor, NH. We started
with a tour of the Isles of Shoals where we were able to locate several
Great Cormorants on Square Rock as well as an adult Gannet. We were also
able to get views of 3 American Oystercatchers on Lunging Island. This
species is now nesting regularly on the islands. Just past the islands
there were large numbers of Common Eiders and a couple of flocks of
Black Gullemots. After this, we cruised offshore toward "Old Scantum"
and "New Scantum" and "Jeffrey's Ledge" working in a counterclockwise
loop and working the outer edge of Jeffrey's Ledge before heading home.

With the exception of a decent number of Wilson's Storm-Petrels for the
date, pelagic birds were very scarce offshore as has been the norm
recently. There was an interesting assortment of passerines offshore,
however, considering the weather pattern and unfavorable migration
conditions. The highlight for most on board was the absolutely
spectacular performance of a young calf of the Humpback Whale
Shuffleboard. This baby alternated flipper flapping and breaching over
and over. The interns counted 43 breaches from the baby!!!
https://flic.kr/p/2p1f7fd

Thanks to Holly Bauer for organizing this trip through Seacoast Audubon
and to Captain Pete Reynolds and crew for helping to spot whales and birds!

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunny, warm, and humid. Some light haze but excellent visibility
Northerly winds 0-10 mph. Seas about 3' to 4' in long swells created by
former hurricane Idalia.

Thanks to Becky Suomala keeping numbers for the day and creating eBird
checklists. A trip report with totals and some photos can be seen at:

https://ebird.org/nh/tripreport/155840

Common Eider    803
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)    15
American Oystercatcher    3
Semipalmated Plover    15
Ruddy Turnstone    16
Sanderling    1
Spotted Sandpiper    1
Greater Yellowlegs    1
Willet    1
Lesser Yellowlegs    1
Parasitic Jaeger    1
Black Guillemot    14
Bonaparte's Gull    2
Laughing Gull    2
Ring-billed Gull    3
Herring Gull    72
Lesser Black-backed Gull    1
Great Black-backed Gull    106
Common Tern    4
Common Loon    1
Wilson's Storm-Petrel    152
Great Shearwater    1
Manx Shearwater    1
Northern Gannet    16
Great Cormorant    5
Double-crested Cormorant    54
Great Blue Heron    1
Great Egret    12
Snowy Egret    2
Bald Eagle    1
Belted Kingfisher    1
Northern Flicker    1
crow sp.    2
Tree Swallow    400
European Starling    1
Cedar Waxwing    1
Baltimore Oriole    1
Yellow Warbler    1
passerine sp.    5

Marine Mammals and other wildlife
-----------------------------------------
Humpback Whale - 8 including Shuffleboard and calf, Valley and calf,
Woodwind, Tusk, Othello, Mogul, and one unidentified.
Fin Whale - 1
Minke Whale - 2 or more
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin - A few small groups
Gray and Harbor Seals
Eastern Red Bay - One seen flying over Smuttynose Island:
https://flic.kr/p/2p1n9oo

Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) - 1
Shark sp. - 1

Red Admiral butterfly - 1
Clouded Sulphur butterfly - 1
Wandering Glider dragonfly - 1

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[Maine-birds] MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND REPORT

It's been relatively uneventful this past couple of weeks.
There has been the expected trickle of post-breeding wanderers and early migrants, as well as resident birds.

The songbirds tally is still dominated by resident SAVANNAH SPARROWS but there is a very slowly increasing number of SONG SPARROWS, with occasional others, such as SWAMP & WHITE THROATED SPARROWS & JUNCOS mixed it.
There's an on-going mix of warblers, with some coming and others leaving nightly. Others seem to hang around and feed for a day or so. REDSTARTS; PALM, PRAIRE, YELLOW, BLACKBURNIAN, BLACK & WHITE, YELLOW RUMPED, BLACK THROATED BLUE, BLACK THROATED GREEN WARBLERS; WATER THRUSHES (Seems like a high year for these) are among the migrants.
In the last couple days there have been 2 or 3 BALTIMORE ORIOLES and a couple female ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAKS showing around the house.
Prior to that a small group of adult and juvenile CEDAR WAXWINGS spent several days hawking insects and Tuesday a new group of Waxwings, some 15 strong, arrived on the island and are hanging out near the house.
FLYCATCHERS are low in number but there is almost always 1 or 2 to be found near the buildings. PHOEBES are most common.

RAPTORS are spotty. There was one or more HARRIERS hunting the island daily, up until Monday, although I'm sure there are more to come. Next to PEREGRINES, they are our most frequent raptor.
Peregrines moved a bit last week with 5 spotted one day and 3 of them perched almost side-by-side without hostility ....... a family group, one would suppose.
Another two adults appeared to be a pair, perching close together, with a marked size difference between them.
Yesterday was also the first mornig for over a week that I haven't seen a singleton adult who has been staying right on the island.
Even though the Peregrines are our most numerous raptor and they often hunt the island, most don't seem to overnight here.
EAGLES have been scarce in recent days. Even the young adult who had taken to overnighting on the island has been absent for several days.
KESTRELS & MERLINS have been notable with only a couple of the little fellows and none of the Merlins spotted for the past couple weeks.
But, as things are wont to happen, I left off writing this to work outside yesterday (Tuesday) and within the space of two hours there were 3 Kestrels and 2 Merlins panicing the songbirds

Lots of HERRING & G. B. BACKED GULLS remain very numerous, sometimes with several thousand roosting (when the fog clears enough to see them).
They are a particular nuisance this time of year. Every evening and early morning they want to congregate on the lawns to gorge on earthworms.
Of course they want to roost on the boardwalks, helicopter pad et cetera where they confirm their unflattering but accurate name of SHITHAWK..
Thankfully, most will eventually migrate.

Shorebirds are trickling through, with a few PEEPS to be found around the intertidal pretty much any time.
Of note this year: more than the expected number of WHIMBRELS. Last week I saw and/or heard upwards of 40 over 6 days. That's high for here, especially since they were in ones and twos, with a single group of 3. I'm still seeing one every day or so.
Other activity close around the island that we can see is mainly D.C. CORMORANTS, a few resident EIDERS. Many of the Eiders are not-quite fully grown ducklings.
I see a fair number of GANNETS migrating through area whenever the visibility improves enought to see offshore. Many, perhaps most, are sub-adult.

PUFFINS have dropped sharply these last few days, with the apparent departure of the non-breeders, hanger-ons, late season prospectors et cetera.
With almost no birds lounging around on the rocks, the colony has taken on a decidely deserted appearance.
By my guesstimate, there are likely well under 200 active Puffin nests. I'm seeing occasional PUFFLINGS around the lighthouse but not every night and only one or two on any date.
Generally they have appeared to be in decent shape: fully feathered and with okay weights.
Monday night I picked up one that wasn't in such good condition.That chick was still showing excessive down and was significantly underweight. I do fear for it's survival, but like the others, it got a ride to the shore to start it off. Last night I took 3, all small-ish but seemingly in otherwise good condition.

LEACH'S STORM PETRELS are showing some feathers.

Lots of GRAY SEALS around, including one showing a sever bite mark.

I have seen single BATS on two recent nights. I'd like to think that they were LITTLE BROWN BATS, a suppose it's unlikely.

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Tuesday, 5 September 2023

[Maine-birds] Since it’s in the news

Double-check lawn ornaments, one of those flamingos might be real. Thanks to Idalia.

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Monday, 4 September 2023

Re: [Maine-birds] No Fly Zone…..Nighthawks over Cape Elizabeth

On Mon, Sep 4, 2023 at 12:35 PM Chris <chrisjames@myfairpoint.net> wrote:

Flight of 30+ Common Nighthawks yesterday 3 September from 5:45pm to 6pm Sawyer Road/ Maxwell's Farm in Cape Elizabeth, circling but generally heading Southeast.
Chris James

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 24, 2023, at 7:47 PM, 'Leon mooney' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>

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Re: [Maine-birds] No Fly Zone…..Nighthawks over Cape Elizabeth

Flight of 30+ Common Nighthawks yesterday 3 September from 5:45pm to 6pm Sawyer Road/ Maxwell's Farm in Cape Elizabeth, circling but generally heading Southeast.
Chris James

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 24, 2023, at 7:47 PM, 'Leon mooney' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>

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Saturday, 2 September 2023

[Maine-birds] Global Shorebird Counts / World Shorebirds Day!

Hi all--

Somehow, September snuck up on me and I'm a day late with this note:

------------------------------

The annual week of Global Shorebird Counts began September 1 and runs to September 7. It's a perfect time of year for us in Maine to get out and count shorebirds and contribute to this important project. All you need to do is share your eBird lists that include shorebirds during this week, wherever you may be and however many (or not) you see, with: worldshorebirdsday.

Sept 6 is World Shorebirds Day! Celebrate in any way you can think of. What better than to go birding, volunteer at a local school, donate to a conservation group, finish that paper you've been meaning to write, or take a friend out with you.

Please note: World Shorebirds Day! and Global Shorebird Counts are entirely volunteer efforts. There's no formal organization behind them, no government support, no executive council telling folks what to do.

For more info, check out https://www.worldshorebirdsday.org

Happy shore birding to all!

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