Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report

July 15 2022

 

Brought to you with the kind support of VLT and MCHT – thanks!

 

“As Fresh as a New Knee Sleeve – Yes, That Fresh!’

 

Highlights – Newt, Frog, Damselflies, Slime Molds, Mushrooms, baby birds, Red Crossbills, unripe fruit, Ironclad Beetles,

 

Business – Contact us – vinalhavensightings@gmail.com is the place to send your nature photos and sightings from Vinalhaven and the Fox Islands. It’s good for the soul to share.

 

Also – send in email addresses to get ‘listed’ – aka to be on the official VSR email list.

 

Tiit Trick – click on the photos and make them JUMBO sized. Really the only way to look at slime mold pictures!

 

Upcoming events- VLT Thursday morning Bird Walks. 8am at Skoog Park on, well, Thursday mornings!. Always a treat to look at birdies.

 

Sightings – ‘Down East Boston Way’…..This Red-spotted Newt was spotted down East Boston way. It didn’t register at the time, but while this Newt is clearly in the Red Eft stage, it was large. Large for an eft.

 

A closer look reveals that the classic ‘red-spots’ along the newts back were somewhat hard to spot, while black dots along its lower body were quite obvious. It tail was long and the black dots extended along that as well. In other words – this was a newt that was becoming an adult! At the end of their Eft time (stage) Red-spotted Newts return to ponds to live out their time as adults. Their tails grow longer and flatter for swimming and their coloration changes to an overall brownish/tan look to blend in with the bottom of a pond or lake. Good luck buddy!

 

Armbrust Hill - Amphibians – ‘While we are at it’ – Green Frog photo from Armbrust Hill

 

Bluet placing eggs in bladderwort

Damselflies and Bladderwort – While up at Armbrust Hill I was happy to see many Damselflies zipping over the pond and , quite literally’, ‘hooking up’ all over the place. While I did not even make the slightest attempt to key these out to species (not even the slightest), the ‘post-actively-mating but still paired’ Bluet Damselflies in particular were landing on the flowers of the carnivorous plant Bladderwort that rose out of the water.

 

Why were the ‘still attached Bluets’ landing on the Bladderwort? To lay eggs of course!

 

The Bluets work their way down the Bladderwort stems, slicing into the plant as they go, and within each slice they place an egg.

 

Bluets are predators, both as larva and adults (and they probably have predatory dreams while still in the egg). But as with even the best of predators, Damselflies can also be prey. Bladderworts are carnivorous plants with strings of small, submerged empty ‘bladders’ that when triggered will take in and fill with water and whatever tiny critters are nearby.  

 

How many of the freshly hatched Bluet larva will end up as Bladderwort prey? Maybe some, maybe none I guess. But picture this – they emerge from their eggs, and drift while trying to figure out how to shake/swim/make their way through the water, only to be sucked into the bladders of death waiting in the depths below. How cool is that?

 

I love to think of this purely (but also positively) potentially/hypothetically/speculatively lovely dynamic – the Bluets using the plant for protection of their eggs but in the end having to sacrifice a larva, or two (or ten, or zero) in the process, the energy from which goes back into helping the plant grow.  I heard someone say ‘nature is neat’ one time. Just the possibility of this makes me believe that statement is true.

 

Other flowers – Lambskill by Mack’s pond were particularly ‘easy on the eyes’ last week.

 

A few Ghost Pipes starting to rise up

 

Faces of Vetch

 

vetch

jack in the pulpit

Unripe fruits – ‘Current Status’ – Jack in the pulpit – ‘luscious in green’

 

lady slipper

Pink Lady Slippers at Huber

 

pink lady slipper flower

nerf and cotton scat

Mystery poop – At the Huber Preserve – just past the ‘vernal pool’ on the right, and before you get to any bridging, this dog poop was found on the side of the trail. The remains of ‘1’, and possibly (but less likely) ‘2’ red whistling Nerf bullets (It’s NERF or Nothing!) gave away its location. Mixed in with the Nerf parts were what appeared to be the remains of ‘cotton balls’ or maybe a sliver of a ‘cotton boulder’, hard to tell and I didn’t actually look too close. Anyway, if you have a dog, and have kids or just love shooting red whistling Nerf bullets, plus you have used lots cotton balls/boulders recently for whatever reason (we don’t want to know), and you take your dog to Huber I may have found some poop you forgot to pick up!

 

Birdies - 5 raptor day island day – Osprey, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel. The story here were the falcons. The Merlin was up by the base of LaMont’s hill, in the trees extending into the fields from the cove immediately to the south. The Merlin was aggressively escorting a Raven out of the zone – sign of a nest nearby. In the spring we reported potential breeding/nesting behavior from the area….and there you have it…The American Kestrel was hover hunting over a salt marsh along the shores of Seal Bay. Kinda surprising to see – first I have seen on island during summer – usually a fall/spring migration sighting in my ‘neater-tweeter’ experience. A few days later it was mentioned to me from a person living near Seal Bay that they have an active Kestrel nest on their property!...and there you have it.

 

red crossbill

Red Crossbills – The Red Crossbill connection continues along mid-coast Maine. Starting on the solstice I heard/saw/both heard and saw Red Crossbills on a stretch of 19 out of 20 days. The streak has ended, mostly because I left the mid-coast region for much of last week.

 

this one looked to have a spruce cone
stuck on its bill

Recent ‘island path crossings with Red Crossbills’ (IPCWRC) have been along the Basin Platform Trail, Mack’s Pond trails, Basin Williams trails and along the Huber Trail. The Huber Trail sightings were especially fun (well, kinda especially fun) as they were (appeared to be) 5 sets of crossbill ‘couples’ spread along the trail length.

 

The ones I have been watching on the mainland also have been in pairs, which is/potentially is/could be an interesting development – Crossbills will nest anytime of the year as long as there is enough seed to feed the youngsters. They arrived in groups filling the air with their bubbly chip calls, and now are in pairs with males tuning up/teasing their song (rather than chip call) to the chorus. Wouldn’t that be something if they started nesting now. Or maybe they already are. Lots to follow with this story – we’ll keep you posted! And you keep us posted if you see/hear ‘em!

 

The photos of Red Crossbills in this section were taken on Clark Island in St George a week or so back, but might as well have been on taken on Vinalhaven. When on the ferry to head back to the mainland, but still at the terminal on island, a pair of Red Crossbills were chipping away as they flew over the ferry boat! Crossbills from the ferry – a first for me.

 

song sparrow with grasshopper

Baby birds – lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets & Dark-eyed Junco with young in the woods in early July. Saw a Black-throated Green warbler with young fresh out of the nest along the Basin Platform trail. Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroats bringing in bill-fulls of caterpillars to nests hidden in grasses and shrubs, full of hungry ones I suppose. Good times…

 

common yellowthroat

Still singing – the woods and habitats aren’t bursting with bird song so much these days but there still is a steady beat pulsing through the forest. Sometimes a slow steady beat. Anyway, here’s the tweeters I been hearing these days. Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Red-eyed Vireo, Song & White-throated Sparrow, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, American Redstart, Black-throated Green and Yellow-rumped Warblers, American Goldfinch, Least Flycatcher (Booths Quarry),  

wolfs milk slime

 

Slime molds – way more slimes than shrooms in the woods these days, and that’s the way some people like it. Takes all kinds, I guess. More like it is what it is – and here’s what it is since the rains stopped weeks ago.

 

Wolf’s milk slime still rockin’ the woods.

 

tapioca slime

Still lots of Tapioca slime

 

scrambled egg slime

But the story of the slime scene that I’ve recently crossed paths with has been all about the scrambled egg slime.

 

white admiral

Mushrooms – so it was July 8^th and, for the season, I had only seen a few mushrooms total. I’m not talking perennial Conks here – there are always plenty of them around – but more the fresh, meaty ones that ‘look like mushrooms’ and pop out of the ground or maybe a decaying stump.

 

Anyway, it’s been dry and the mushroom diversity has been slim pickin’s. But still – recent drizzles and rain in the forecast brings some hope for a late July/August burst/bloom. Here’s a review of the handful of shrooms I’ve come  across last week.

 

top o' chantrelle

Chanterelles – or more correctly ‘Chanterelle’ – as in one that I have seen so far this season. July 4^th was always been a mark to check out favorite chanterelle patches, and so…hoping the rain won’t be too late! Or whatever.

 

red-mouth boletes have red/orange pores

Bolete- Ever only find one Bolete in the first week of July and it turns out to be the poisonous one? And I ain’t complaining! The Red-mouthed Bolete -   - is a classic for the island forests, and made its presence known along the Huber Trail recently.

 

see?

Cecil Amanita

Amanitas – Cecil Amanita (I made up that common name, as far as I know) (Amanita ceciliae) is by far the most common fresh, fleshy mushroom I have crossed paths with in the last week, and that means that I have seen (3). Total.

 

or an amanita names Cecil

yellow patches

Yellow patches amanita – often one of the most numerous Amanitas in July along the mid-coast – felt lucky to have seen this one along the trails.

 

More Shrooms to come! We can almost guarantee that!

 

dye makers polypor

Insects on Shrooms - It’s Ironclad Beetle time – Dye-maker’s Polypores has been adding some yellow to the island forests these days, which is always a welcome sight. On this particular Dye-makers’ I spotted a Small Ironclad Beetle munching on its yellow cap. Ironclad Beetles are a yearly sight on conks around island, and up until this moment I had only seen them upside down feasting on the undercarriage of said conks. This was ‘my first right side up Ironclad Beetle’ (mfrsuIB)! Wonder if it felt nauseous.

 

ironclad beetle

Checked under a few conks as I made my way down along the Basin Platform trail and sure enough there were multiple Ironclad Beetles to be found.

 

ironclad love?

Including this ‘hot couple’ Ironclads who were ‘joined at the exoskeleton’. Not fully engaged in the ‘copulation act’, but the dude looked to be ready whenever the signs (pheromones?) might say that the female was ready.

 

This arrangement begged a question – if a ‘paired up’ couple of ‘Ironclad Beetles are mating’ ‘upside-down, under a conk’ – is the male ‘still on top’ of the female?   Its ventral (male) to dorsal (female), which ‘traditionally’ would be seen as ‘male on top’.

 

this is mick

The continuing story of a red-belted conk (nick)named ‘Mick’ – As the old Jersey saying goes, ‘Once you have ironclad beetles on the brain, you can’t help but look under every single conk you find along the trail that you happen to be walking along while having ironclad beetles on your brain’. Classic mantra every ‘good’ student from New Jersey knows by heart. Not the ‘great’ students, just the ‘good’ ones! Anyway…

 

its a jungle on mick -Mtn Ash 

Along the Basin Platform trail is my current favorite red-belted conk, Mick. While I was on the trail and while I had ironclad beetles on the brain I stopped to see if any of the beetles were feasting or mating on Mick’s ventral side. Turns out there were no beetles (that my 4 eyes saw!) but there was a lot of activity on Mick’s dorsal side. Things were looking up! (Ha, ha – please laugh now).

 

young spruce and fir

First off – there was/is a Mountain Ash growing right out of the top of Mick! Hadn’t noticed before (this was only like the 5^th time I have stopped to check out the Mick scene) and since I am fond of Mountain Ash I was excited to see. That ash will have a crazy root system if it continues to grow and somehow survives the growth and eventual decay of Mick. ‘Nice ash’ as they say in South Jersey.

 

tapioca slime on mick

A closer look turned up a Red Spruce growing off the cap! No – make that two Red Spruces! Mick is a tree farm! Looking forward to the day that Red Crossbills get to feast off the cones on the tops of these trees! I will be able to say – ‘I knew those trees when they were barely more than seeds on top of ol’ Mick. Ahhhh, ol’ Mick.’ That will be fun. Plus I’ll be like 150 years old or something. I think 150 is the ‘dolomite birthday’ celebration.

 

A closer look revealed, what looks to look like a Balsam Fir sapling starting to rise from the cap as well! Wholly moley!

 

To round out the scene (can you tell I am getting closer to being ‘done with’ and posting this post?), the drying remains of a sizable Tapioca Slime was also spotted on top of this wonderful Mick habitat. So much life a foot or so off the ground! Good times!

 

So this VSR is getting long enough, time to post!

 

getting a drink from the spring

Thanks for joining in – see you out there!