Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings
Report –
December 25 2021
Brought to you with the kind support
of VLT and MCHT
Hey – Have yourself a merry little
Christmas
& we (the royal ‘we’) hope you
had a fulfilling Festivus!
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| can you see the purple sandpipers? this is the beginning of an eye test |
Highlights – Northern Lapwing,
Thick-billed Murre, Purple Sandpipers, Ducks, and so much more
Business – Contact us – vinalhavensightings@gmail.com – with all your nature sightings and
photos – great place to share and to become legendary. Or something like that.
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| female Eider getting the heck out of the way |
Tiit trick – click on the photos and make them
jumbo-sized.
Photo mention
– There is plenty of ‘photo-less
writings’ in this report. To ‘fill
the gaps’ we will be layering in photos
from the ferry – the usual
assortment of birds getting out of the way of the ferry. So the photos may
not match the writing. Or the drapes. Anyway, enjoy.
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| northern lapwing photo by Dalton McCoole |
Sightings – Northern Lapwing. – love getting photos/sightings from
people I don’t know, almost as much as getting sightings/photos from people I
do know. Dalton McCoole (anyone got
dirt on this dude?) sent in this particular sighting and particular photo of a Northern
Lapwing that spent a morning in the Crockett Cove area. Northern Lapwings have not been
reported on Vinalhaven before which is particularly cool, especially if rare
things get yer juices flowing.
Wait – Never heard of Lapwings? Well,
The National Audubon Society says ….
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| straggler Bonaparte's Gulls getting the heck out of the way of the ferry |
‘Lapwings are large plovers, often
with crests, and various kinds are found in most parts of the world except
North America. They are often more at home in open fields than on shorelines.
This species is common in Europe and Asia; it rarely wanders to eastern Canada
or the northeastern United States. Such strays usually occur singly, but on a
few occasions, major winter storms have brought small invasions.’
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| so these three male surf scoters were battling to go steady with the one female |
So Audubon got family info down, Here’s
what Wiki had to add about the Lapwing referred to as ‘Northern’, in
particular. Sorry, that felt particularly forced.
‘The northern lapwing, also known
as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the
lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia…It occasionally is a vagrant to
North America, especially after storms, as in the Canadian sightings after
storms in December 1927 and in January 1966.’
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| they were so entrenched in battle that they didn't notice the tiny little ferry boat approaching |
Eurosiberia?
That means they are found pretty much everywhere in the Eastern Hemisphere above
the ‘Tropic of Cancer’ line thing.
We saw many in the fields of Estonia,
and others (John) have mentioned
seeing many of them when traveling in Europe. Common is a good word for them.
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| no surprise that she noticed the ferry charging |
But what about Lapwings In the
states? Here’s what Dakota Birds had to say ….
‘Winter storms in the Atlantic
have occasionally been associated with small influxes of Northern Lapwings in
North America. In the fall of 2012, the
large and destructive Hurricane Sandy was followed by many sightings of Northern
Lapwings in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada.’
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| which led to a frantic dispersal |
Okay, that’s interesting and cool.
Followed up with a minimal ‘something’ search on Lapwings in Maine - Here’s
what I found for records in Maine, from the Maine Bird Records Committee (MBRC)
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| to of which inspired a hearty laugh from me |
Accepted:
3 Nov 2012 Berwick, York Co. 2012-004 A. Aldrich, K. Janes
3-6 May 2013 Poland, Androscoggin Co. 2013-002 I. Stenhouse; L. Brinker, et al.
4-5 Apr 2014 Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland Co. 2014-001
L. Brinker†; D. Hitchcox†, P. Vickery†, m. obs.
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| and when the scoters finally did relocate... |
Not yet reviewed (pending historical records and unsubmitted reports):
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| they immediately started up on their 'courting' ways |
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| this ye olde-tale chose to dive to get out of the way |
Anyway – so Lapwings aren’t spotted
all too often in Maine – undoubtedly more individuals have come through
Maine during the 85 year gap between sightings but where not seen by
observers. Which begs the question – if
no one saw them, did they really come through? The answer is yes.
So maybe it was a storm that brought
this Lapwing to the island paradise. Whatever the case, we thank Dalton for the report and the photo! Now that’s the way to do
it!
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| thick-billed murre photo by John Drury |
Thick-billed Murre - In just about any other report, a thick-billed murre would be
the lead story. Let’s call it the ‘lapwing
effect’. Anyway, John Drury sent in this great photo of a Thick-billed
Murre he took by Bull Rock just outside the harbor.
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| this guillemot chose to dive as well |
In classic John Drury style,
he reported the bird as a ‘Brunnich’s Guillemot’, which is the species’
common name as in Europe, in honor of the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane
Brünnich. Thick-billeds don’t breed in these parts, but are yearly winter
visitors to Maine waters. They are not
necessarily reported/observed/present around
Vinalhaven each year, but over the years have turned up in the Basin, from
the ferry and even in the Harbor itself!
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| and when alcids dive its all about the butts up |
Cool sighting
and great photo – thanks John!
Ferry rides (2)
– well, you’ve seen the photos and so here are some more.
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| back to the sandpiper eye test |
Ye Olde Purple Sandpiper Eye Test – before optometrists
invented letters for eye charts, ‘eye
ball patients’ (as patients were called back then) would ride the ferry and count Purple Sandpipers as a way to find
a determine how strong a pair of prescription glasses was needed. Turns out
this was an awful way to determine visual acuity and the activity was banned
for all except birdwatchers, and now VSR readers! Here’s a series of photos of
a pair of Purple Sandpipers on the cormorant rock just outside Lairey’s Narrows
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| with each photo we get a little closer |
See how close/zoomed you need to be
to count the pair.
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| see if you can count the pair. if you can you are not blind, but if you can't you aren't necessarily blind either |
If it takes you can’t see them you
may not be able to see, or you realize this might not be worth the effort.
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| i think the last thing i want for Christmas is a 'holiday nut crunch' but i do like Elves who bring french roast! |
Limited/winter Editions
tis the season. been avoiding stores for the most part
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| what a treat! Crappy food in fun shapes! |
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| someone bought one of these while i was photographing! couldn't figure out a way to get a photo of her without it being weirder than it was with me just taking photos of limited edition stuff while giggling! |
Family
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| roxy and her roadkill raccoon toy |
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| frankie keeping it real |
Safety wish – I met a guy on the ice behind
my house yesterday whom I’d never met before. He didn’t know me either and
proceeded to tell me a story about breaking through the ice over 75 ft. of
water and what safety equipment I needed to get before I get back out on the
ice again. I told him that while I would look into the there was no way I was
going to get the tool he mentioned before I make my way back out onto the ice
tomorrow (yesterday’s tomorrow which is today!).
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| i really like roxy's paws in photos |
I appreciated his message and wasn’t bothered
at all by his somewhat misplaced educational talk. I mean, I’ll probably end up
getting the tool he mentioned. He was open to the fact that the water below the
ice was mere inches in the marsh and that maybe I had been on the ice once or
twice before. And I was open to the fact that safety reminders are great. Every
year I ‘breakthrough’ the ice at least once and fill a boot up with water. It’s
always getting off or on the ice, in shallow waters and more of a hassle
because, well, the exploration is over at that point.
Anyway – be safe out there, on the
ice or in a closed setting.
Let’s swing into 2022 healthy, happy
and safe. Or whatever.
See you out there next year!
