Vinalhaven Sightings

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report

October 1 2021

Yep. Another one just like that…

smooth green snake

Highlights – yellow billed cuckoo, mushrooms, snakes, woodland gnome, and other stuff….

Business - Contact us – hey – send yer photos, stories and all things nature to vinalhavensightings@gmail.com ! It’s fun to share, or at least I am told. So here is your chance!

Gnome wearing orange

Tiit trick – click on photos to magically have them grow and fill your screen! Try it with the woodland gnome shots – you won’t be disappointed!

PSA –it’s about that time of the year again, and maybe it’s technically that time already, but deer hunting on island, specifically white-tailed deer hunting, is happening and is going to be happening for the next few months. Hunting is allowed on most preserves on Vinalhaven, with Lane’s Island (and Armbrust Hill) being the notable exceptions.

This does mean you can’t visit the preserves during this time? No. In fact, it’s highly recommended that you do visit the trails as the next few months are some of the most beautiful times to be outside. But do yourself a favor and wear some orange – a hat, a scarf, a Hunter Pence SF Giants bright orange visitor jersey, whatever – so you can be seen at a distance. Nobody wants to shoot anyone (well, I shouldn’t speak for everyone) – or at least probably no one wants to shoot you, and no one wants to get shot (shouldn’t speak for everyone again) – but the bottom line is it’s an easy way to have one’s day ruined. So slap on some orange and take in the sights! And then share them! This northern woodland gnome is wearing orange, are you?

cool formations
photo by Banner Moffat

Sightings – Banner Moffat sent in this photo of some cool geology (‘that rocks!’) from Saddle Island off Isleboro (close enough!). He called it ‘columnar basalt’ and I say…sure. Sounds good and looks even better.

Here’s something I pulled up off the web about Columnar Basalt. Mixed in with a series of a Common Loon photos organizing things so this lobster can go down the hatch.

‘You are looking at a type of formation called columnar jointing. These columns of rock are most likely a volcanic rock called basalt. (Basalt makes up about 90% of all the lava rock on Earth.)…. It’s due to a physical process that can happen in melted lava rock as it cools.

Imagine a huge flow of hot, liquid magma that is settling. The outer layer is starting to cool and darken in color from orange to black. As it cools, it needs to shrink a bit, as hot materials usually take up more space than cooler ones. Because of this shrinking, the surface of the lava starts to crack. But this cracking isn’t always random.

clearly a lobster in the bill

In this case, the lava starts to crack into regular shapes. Those shapes are forming because of how the lava cools. It starts at different spots called “centers.” If those centers are evenly spaced, the forces that pull inward toward the centers end up creating different chunks of cooling lava that are hexagonal (6-sided), or close to it. The more uniform the material of the lava is (or basically how smooth and well mixed it is), the more evenly those centers pull. That means it is more likely it will cool into hexagonal chunks. Scientists also think that faster cooling, like when lava is exposed to water, may also help with the formation of these columns.

These chunks begin to form at the top layer of the lava, which is cooling the fastest. As lower levels of the lava start to cool, they are also pulled into the shape under each center. In this way, you get lava cooling and contracting down into these cylinders. It usually begins to shape from the top down into the middle or even bottom of the lava flow. This is how really tall cylinders can form. And even when the material is a bit irregular, these cylinders can still form. They just might not be hexagons… instead of 6, they might have 5 or 7 sides, or a more irregular shape.’ Arizona State University ‘Ask a Scientist’ section of their website.

And so I am no geologist at all, but if there is a geologist in the house – is this what’s going on/gone on in this photo? Either way – cool shot!

Beth Gilford spotted her first Yellow-billed Cuckoo on Vinalhaven (VVNM) which is awesome. Cuckoos are one of those birds (ok – two of those birds (species!)) where timing, patience and a bit of luck come together for a sighting. Cuckoos can be ‘somewhat slothy’ (full on exaggeration) at times in behavior - moving slow, sitting on a branch for what seems like an eternity watching as observers and people from all walks of life walk by. Some years you see them – I saw 4 last year, all because I was searching for things completely different – and most years (in my opinion) you don’t – like the 5 or 6 years prior. So many more tent and web caterpillar formations in the trees these days may not look the best to some, but to Cuckoos the webs are strategic location snack bars, like all snack bars should be. More webs = more cuckoo sightings? Can only hope so! Cool sighting either way!

Quick update from John Drury – Greens Island - yellow-billed cuckoo, blackpoll warbler, blue-headed vireo, black and white warbler, yellow bellied sapsucker, ruby crowned kinglet, Phoebe, parula, Myrtles, Palmer warblers

Mammals – White tailed deer in the harbor. Spotted from the back of an afternoon ferry.

These two chilled and feasted while the ferry warmed up

Cat on the roof – this is ‘moonshadow’ and he had to be physically removed from the roof of my car one morning on island. This was to avoid injury to him.

This headless harbor seal was seen floating around Lane’s Island at some point not too long ago. And still may be.

Kinda gross, huh?

Perry Creek - Legendary hike with legendary executive director Linnell Mather (9/21) turned up three Smooth Green Snakes on the tree, all on the return trip from Orchard Cove and the loop there.

I snagged a few shots of this particular one – the third one we crossed paths with and the only one that hung out for any while. North Perry Creek – best spot I know on island for Smooth Green Snake!

random goldenrod video

salmon unicorn entoloma. 'SUE'

And of course…there were mushrooms to be observed along the way.

This is the year of Salmon Unicorn Entoloma! – these old friends (relationship status may or may not be reciprocated by fungi) have had quite a summer/fall stretch. Month 3 of seeing these guys! What a year!