Vinalhaven Sightings: April 2022

red-breasted merganser

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report – April 4, 2022

Thanks to VLT and MCHT for their continued support

spraint and moss

Highlights – Snow goose at the school, Woodcocks!, Woodpeckers, Spotted Salamanders, Owl pellets, Skunk Cabbage, Mammal sign (cute phrase for poop photos) , Ducks, and so much more….

skunk cabbage

Business – hey – feel free to send in photos and sightings and all things nature to us (the royal

‘Us’) here at the VSR – vinalhavensightingsreport@gmail.com . Why? Well, why not? You’re reading this aren’t you? It’s pain-free and good for you, so consider sharing what you see!

Tiit trick – click on the photos to make them humongo.

spotted salamander

Amphibian migration – St George has had two impressive nights for amphibian migration and I’m going to guess Vinalhaven was active those nights as well.

this tail is red because of a light issue

Sat the 19^th and Thursday the 31^st were good nights for movement, and the spotted salamanders on Vinalhaven were sure to be on the move as well. Keep your eyes open on rainy evenings for more Amphibians! And on vernal pools for egg masses!

snow goose
photo by Pat aquet

Sightings – Pat Paquet, awesome teacher and friend, sent in these photos of a Snow Goose that’s been hanging out with a group of Canada Geese on the school soccer field (classic goose habitat).

Far as we’ve heard, this is the 2^nd sighting of a snow goose on island. The first was back in 2007? Or so. I was one of the people to see it. This handsome creature (judgment) has been chilling on the soccer field for weeks now at this point. Very cool! Thanks Pat!

Woodcock - Linnell Mather , awesome executive director and friend, captured (not literally) a video of an American woodcock doing its ‘walking thing’ while crossing a road up Zeke’s point way. During this rocking/walking gait (?) the woodcock has its entire body rocking and continually in motion, where its head remains level and still. Since Woodcock eye placement affords them a 360 degree view, they are undoubtedly looking while this walk is going on. Here’s a couple of theories attached with this walk (legally picked off from William Marshall), whomever that dude it .

“A nervous action resulting from fear or suspicion”. Given that this action calls attention to the bird, it would seem maladaptive to do this if there was a predator around. However, it may actually be adaptive in that situation.

Detection of earthworms or insects under the ground. The hypothesis is that the bird, by walking this way, exerts pressure on the ground that makes the worms and insects move, thus enabling the woodcock to detect them and eat them. This seems to have become the prevailing explanation.

beaver about to slap
St George

Notice neither mentions that they do it ‘for fun’, which is never a good guess anyway. Woodcocks are all about being prey – with the 360 eye sight mentioned above – and prey love to survive. Woodcocks also love to not be seen – with cryptic camouflage coloration pattern of their feathers, and behavior – like sitting down when approached. This strategy works great in the woods, not so great in a road.

The rocking motion of its body certainly does bring attention to it, but it may also work as a distraction giving the woodcock the upper hand somehow? Tempting you to move as it assesses the situation? Or an attempt to blend in somehow – with rustling leaves? – or change its shape from bird to undulating blob bird?

Horned Grebe

Linnell mentioned she had flushed it earlier, makes you wonder if a nest wasn’t too far from there. Distraction walk to lead one away from eggs? We wonder a lot of things….

Anyway – woodcocks are back and are in full force. Maybe you’ll see them cross a road, but you are more likely to see them do their wonderful (judgment) aerial displays over fields and other open areas around island. Stay through dusk and watch the show. And enjoy!

pileated impact
photo by Banner Moffatt

And, of course, thanks for sharing Linnell!

Banner Moffatt sent in this photo of recent Pileated Woodpecker activity up Crockett Cove way. These new ‘tree holes’ are very close to where Banner got that photo of the actual Pileated itself recently. You got some neighbors there Banner! Thanks for sharing!

Owl Pellets – in the Basin Preserve, along the platform loop trail, is a particular stretch of spruce and fir saplings where Saw-whet Owls have rested for several winters in a row (that we know of). I have not seen the owls themselves but have come across pellets and scat for years now, and last week was no different.

pellets on the right/bottom

Still frozen to the ground, these pellets had been there for at least a little while. Much of the hair surrounding one of the pellets had washed away, leaving a nice view of the rodent bones inside. There was one scat there, which is more likely to have not been out there for too long as they wash off pretty quickly.

Anyway, it saves a lot of time when the creatures of habit use the same spot over and over again. This is more noticing than searching, which is a solid way to be in life I would say. Suits me fine.

Take this otter latrine from the same walk. This latrine, lined with many a fish scale-laden spraint, has been used for at least 10 years, and undoubtedly many more years before.

Wonderful to get back to ‘old otter sprainting zones’ like this…

… and this one on Seal Bay. I hadn’t been back to this den and latrine zone for at least 12 years, and sure as spraint – it was still in full use!

What’s more there were a ton of Raccoon scats to be found as well in this Seal Bay zone, and many of them were loaded with Periwinkle snail operculums (you know, those trap door things). Either there are a ton of snails in the area or these raccoons have a particular weak spot for them, or both.

Whatever the case, the otters and raccoons seem to be doing very well in Seal Bay! And we are happy for them.

skunk cabbage
photo by Linnell Mather

Plant stuff – Skunk Cabbage is popping up, and Linnell and I both took some shots of them to share.

Will say, maybe it is early, but there seems to be less of the Skunk Cabbage flowers around this year when compared to years past. Not giving up yet, but that’s the report from here!

coltsfoot
photo by Linnell Mather

Linnell was also kind enough to send in this shot of Coltsfoot. This is a flower that gets attention because it pops up so early in the season (sounds like high school). If they popped up in the summer no one would care. I wrote that sentence to rile up botany folks.