Vinalhaven Sightings

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report

November 16^th - December 1^st, 2025

With the support of VLT, MCHT, and U!

Stone Troll Sniffin’

Highlights – Lungwort, Parasites (as promised), Ferry rides, Birdies including juvenile Razorbill, Black-bellied Plover, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and so much more…

Business: vinalhavensightings@gmail.com

Calling all sightings! – Hey – I shouldn’t generalize about you – but chances are you are here because nature is a thing to you, for you, of you. And since nature is a thing for/to/of you, chances are you saw a ‘nature thing’ recently or you have a naturey picture of something or whatever. Why not share your ‘sightings, pictures, somethings, anythings and whatevers’ with similarly brained people who also believe that nature is a thing (to generalize - that’s why others are here as well). Send the reports and photos to the email above. Santas watching so I promise we’ll (the royal ‘we’ll’) be nice. Or something or whatever.

Harbor Porpoise spouts

The list grow-eth!: That’s right humanoids, get you and your friends on the officially exclusive VSR email list before it fills up (never will)!

olde tailed

Anyway - maybe you know someone who would like to receive an email whenever a VSR post, like this one, get posted. Well, give the gift that keeps on giving and giving (ad nauseum) and send their email addresses to the email above. They may even thank you for it!

Black-legged Kittiwake and turbines

Wear orange – home stretch people, if you are reading this you have survived hunting season (hats off to yah!). Stay focused and keep going, you can do this, just a little more to go. Muzzleloaders are still active in the hunt (on the hunt?), so do everyone a favor and still wear some orange when in the woods.

we like Staghorn Sumac

Tiit Trick – click the photos to make them Ginormous!

And hey – a big ‘Thanks for stopping by’ – V. Corningstone

red crossbill, in black and white
with crossed bill showing

Sightings – Cay Kendrick was kind enough to send in some photos from a recent visit to the Basin Preserve, Williams/Wharf Quarry section.

Red-breasted Nuthatch
photo by Cay Kendrick

Cay noted multiple flocks of Red Crossbills and lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches – staples of the maritime coniferous forests in mid-coast Maine these days. Very nice.

Stone Troll Sniffin'
photo by Cay Kendrick

Cay also referred to this photo as ‘Stone Troll Sniffin’. Fantastic summary of the action this picture captured. ‘Stone Troll Sniffin’ is now my current favorite description/phrasing nature thing – and we’ll be on the lookout for these phenomena in our travels. So cool.

Lungwort on Lilacs
photo by Cay Kendrick

Lungworts on the Lilacs. The first field on the Williams trail (like 200 feet down clockwise the trail) has a set of Lilacs that are wonderful and have been for a long time. The shrubs are sizable and depending on your size you may have to lean a little to get under/by them. Well, while you are leaning (to the ‘right’ with a clockwise approach, and to the ‘left’ with a counter approach) take a look at those Lilacs, they be loaded with Lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria)! It’s true!

From a little Wiki search-

‘Lobaria pulmonaria is a large epiphytic lichen consisting of an ascomycete fungus and a green algal partner living together in a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium—a symbiosis involving members of three kingdoms of organisms.’

Why can’t we all get along like a Lungwort?’ Be the lungwort.

‘it is sensitive to air pollution and is also harmed by habitat loss and changes in forestry practices. Its population has declined across Europe and L. pulmonaria is considered endangered in many lowland areas. The species has a history of use in herbal medicines, and recent research has corroborated some medicinal properties of lichen extracts.’

Well, it ain’t endangered on the non-native lilacs in the Basin, I will have you know. Along with the hefty amount of Usnea (old man’s beard lichen – no jokes!), feels like Vinalhaven has some good air quality – nice job everyone!

(minor rant) one of my favorite ‘You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby’ shifts (i.e. - changes in historical knowledge/attitudes as we (the collective ‘we’) got ‘smarter’ over time) is how we (people/humans) don’t rely on the ol’ ‘Doctrine of Signatures’ strategy for figuring out medicinal uses for fungus, lichens, plants and worms (?) like we used to. Medicinal worms? Sounds like I’ve been chewing on medicinal worms, if you follow me. Any Sunfish fishermen in the audience tonight – fishing for sunnies with worms? That was for you. Ha ha!

nuthatch scoring spruce seeds

Anyway – if you are not familiar with the concept that is ‘The Doctrine of Signatures’ well, here’s what some AI thing came up for it.

score!

‘The belief that a plant can heal the body part it resembles is known as the ‘Doctrine of Signatures’…This theory suggests that a plant’s appearance, such as its color, shape or texture, indicates its healing properties for a similar looking body part or illness’.

common loon, typical look
these days

Well, Lichen ain’t no ‘plant’ (part plant, but we don’t hold that against it), but the Doctrine of Signatures has been around since back when people thought mushrooms were plants! So, we cut ‘em some slack. Hey Humans – just another gentle reminder – we’ve come a long way, baby!

The Doctrine of Signature with Lungwort that I’ve heard about is, of course, tied to the lichen’s strong visual resemblance to the lungs. In this case, if a human had developed bronchial problems ‘back in the day’ and they visited some sort of medic/healer human, they might be given this lichen in a dried state and be instructed to inhale the lichen when it’s burnt and in a gaseous state. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, as they say.

more Harbor Porpoise spouts

Did this make the bronchial issue go away? Probably not – actually, almost undoubtedly made things worse. Hard to tell, though, since people didn’t live that long back then for a variety of reasons, with the Doctrine of Signatures certainly being one of those reasons. (I’d rather take a hit of the extract, please!).

and splashes

And with that, we can be thankful for ‘progress’ we’ve made here. So, take a deep breath – be thankful for good lungs and relax, because….

you’ve come a long way, baby.

Editor’s note and way too long of an unnecessary explanation – The phrase ‘You’ve come a long way, baby’ has now come up a few times in this post. This is, of course, a reference to the 1968 marketing slogan of the cigarette brand (and the sophisticated lifestyle) called Virginia Slims. It was created so Virginia Slims could cash in on the equal rights movement and social progress exemplified not only with the acceptance of women smoking in public, but of women having their own style of cigarettes. Slims. You know, real social achievements we take for granted now, but ones our fore-mothers fought hard for ‘back in the day’.

Mixed, confused message – In the VSR, we use the phrase for two reasons - first because of its message – we have come a long way. Long way to go, and maybe a hard sell these days – but we have made progress. I’m not selling anything here.

We also use it in jest, but not only because it – once again - originated with early celebrations in the social acceptance of equal rights in the cancer developments/personally developing cancer movement. Virginia Slims was also a sponsor, and it seemed like the major sponsor at times, for women’s tennis when I was growing up. I remember seeing Virgina Slims banners while watching Martina and Chris battle. I wonder if they ever puffed on the Slims. I bet Billie Jean King did – she’s so badass.

Bonaparte's Gull

Also, there is an underlying tone of – sure, you’ve come a long way but I’m still gunna call you ‘baby’, baby. You know some dude came up with this campaign. And it worked!

Bonaparte's Gulls

And that’s why it’s here. No scandalous, sexist agitations looking to stir the pot. Just good, clean, wholesome fun…about equal rights and cigarettes.

Long explanation is over – you’ve come a long way baby.

Back to Cay

orange jelly
photo by Cay Kendrick

Anyway - Cay also sent in a couple of mushrooms shots – Orange Jelly (Dacrymyces palmatus) – the conifer classic! Have I ever mentioned how important this mushroom is…selfishly to me! Pardon if you have heard before, but I’ll mention it again for people just tuning in – For years I did seasonal work at Environmental Education centers/camps in the school year mixed with ecotourism stuff in the summers. Ended up spending ‘seasons’ in 14 states or so and let me tell you – Orange Jelly is everywhere.

For just about any place in the USA, you are literally a rainstorm away from ‘em - literally ‘Just add water’ and BLAMMO! – you got Orange Jelly. And it’s edible and can be eaten raw! It’s like 90% water with no taste – a refreshing treat on a warm day with no after taste or calories to slow you down! Kinda like Tab cola. Come a long way…

Anyway, I’ve eaten this mushroom with literally thousands of kids (of all ages) – and those are some fungally edible experiential education memories I love. Cool shroom.

russula sp.

Also, from Cay - a lovely red Russula – Emetic Russula?, think we would haveta take a closer look at spores to confirm species on that one – so we’ll call it ‘Russula sp.’. Sometimes getting to genus is enough. Or should be!

Anyway – we love them Russulas in all colors of the rainbow, and the red ones are always lovely to see. Russulas are mycorrhizally symbiotic with trees, helping them grow. So, if dig trees you should probably also dig the fungus helping em. U heart Trees = U heart Russulas – ladies and gentlemen - the mycorrhizal property of equality!

Thanks for sharing, Cay!

Eastern Spruce Gall

And now for something completely different….

I think we can all agree that when it comes to parasites, there is almost always something interesting going on. Often when people hear ‘parasites’ they think of icky stuff, and yes sometimes the ‘interesting parts of parasitism’ cross into the ‘gross’. When it comes to parasites on plants, however, the parasites tend to be a little less grosser (never achieving a state of complete grosslessness) than many parasites – especially the ‘moist ones’ that get into animals. All kinds of ways and in all kinds of places. Ecch!

Not sure why we started down the gross path since the two parasites to be mentioned aren’t gross. No, they’re not really gross at all. These photos were from White Spruce along Seal Bay though they are not exclusive parasites, in that they can be found on other Spruce species. They are open-minded, and that does not go by unnoted.

We’ll start with a parasitic insect that results in Pineapple gall adelgid/ Eastern Spruce Galls! These are common galls on White Spruce around island. Here’s what wiki says.

‘The pineapple gall adelgid (Adelges abietis) is a species of conifer-feeding insect that forms pineapple-shaped plant galls on its host species….The adelgids (genus Adelges) are pear-shaped, soft-bodied green insects with long antennae, closely related to the aphid.[1] Adelges lays up to one hundred eggs at a time, one on each needle.

The eastern spruce gall adelgid (Adelges abietis) is an introduced species that feeds only on spruce. At least in 1985, the species was found in Canada from Ontario eastward and in adjacent parts of the United States.

Only females of the pineapple gall adelgid are known

In spring, the newly hatched nymphs formed from over-wintered eggs feed at the bases of the growing needles; the induced swellings eventually coalesce to form the pseudocone structure, each cell of which contains about twelve nymphs. The nymphs overwinter under wax threads at the base of buds.[6]

In late summer (July–September) the fully developed nymphs emerge from the galls and crawl out onto the needles, where they molt and develop wings. These adult adelgids may fly to other susceptible conifers, such as larch (Larix), pine (Pinus) and silver fir (Abies alba) or may continue the cycle on the same tree, as some are poor flyers.[1] They die shortly afterwards, leaving the eggs, which resemble white, cottony twigs, protected beneath their bodies.[7] Several generations are raised on these secondary hosts, however no galls are formed. In July of the following year winged adelgid appear and fly to the spruces to breed there again, completing the life cycle.’

that white powder may be telling us
something

So, a lot going on here and a lot of it is cool. Like – only females are known. What? That is so rad. Sperm is cheap and with inflation being what it is Adelgid sperm ain’t only worth next to nothing – it got completely cut from the system, reproductively system speaking, of course.

Bold move, but one that can be made when genetic diversity isn’t a priority. And truly it’s purely the adelgids business - what works for the adelgids, stays with the adelgids. Unless its Hemlock Woolly Adelgid – we are not big fans of those or their reproductive ways.

lots of molts here.
or bodies to cover eggs?

Anyway, I got some photos of post dispersal galls, which are charming in their own way. One looks to have a bunch of molted exoskeletons from where the adults emerged from the nymphs. And remember - all of them are ‘shes’. Were ‘shes’. Hanging out with these Adelgids is the furthest thing from a sausage party.

And I love that one of its common names is ‘eastern spruce gall’ which reflects its range in North America, even though its endemic to Europe. Non-native, but haven’t seen anything about it slaying or pushing out native species so they get a free pass. But not the Hemlock Woolly Alegids – we are not even the tiniest of fans of those nor their slaying and pushing ways.

dwarf mistletoe

Anyway – there are plenty of White Spruce to look at on island, maybe you see some galls? See what you see.

If not, you forget (slips the mind – mind slip), we’ll revisit next spring/summer when they the galls look like ripening pineapples, rather than composting pineapples.

The other parasite -

Eastern Dwarf Mistletoe – On White Spruce, with a slightly different feel than when seeing it on Red Spruce which is ‘normally’ where I see it, but maybe I just look at more red spruce in general. Could be wrong here. Question everything.

So , feels weird and sorry to send you somewhere else – but I actually wrote something already about dwarf mistletoe. It was a few years ago and seems silly to repeat myself (slacker move) – instead I welcome you to check out something I wrote called

youngster dwarf mistletoe

‘Parasites are selfish, and so am I’

https://www.mcht.org/story/parasites-are-selfish-and-so-am-i/

Thanks for looking at that! Saves me the trouble of reading my own writing – which I do not like to do.

surf scoters

Ferry Ride – 11/20 - 55 Olde-tailed ducks, 40 Common Loon, 42 Black Guillemots, 3 Black-legged Kittiwake, 5 Bonaparte’s Gulls, Purple Sandpipers, 10 Surf Scoter, 20 Bufflehead, Harbor Porpoise, juvenile Razorbill in Hurricane Sound.

Black-legged Kittiwake

Ride Trifecta - Black-legged Kittiwake, Razorbill, Purple Sandpipers

Story here – so the first Black-legged Kittiwakes (personally) seen from the ferry this season – always a welcoming and welcomed sign of winter! Looking forward to more!

Purples on a ledge

Purples on a ‘new’ ledge – once again ‘new for me seeing them on’. But always fun to see.

juvenile Razorbill

And the juvenile Razorbill. The closest bird to the boat, this was cool.

There are winters where Razorbills are so numerous in Penobscot Bay that not only are they the #1 bird for most rides – lines of 50+ in flight not unheard of, so dreamy. Those are winters where the number of Razorbills is the norm for most ferry trips.

Late fall 2025 has not necessarily been ‘full of Razorbills sightings from the ferry’, but it’s early still and they do follow food. So, who knows? Maybe there were gagillions when the gannets were around. Anyway, this one was north of the ferry route in Hurricane Sound, I had never seen a Razorbill there before.

Keep the coast Alcidified! – A little background here – Razorbills are a species in the family of Sea Birds called ‘Alcidae’. Members of said family are lovingly referred to as ‘alcids’. Black Guillemots are the mostly likely alcid to be seen and are probably the ‘most taken for granted alcid’ in Maine. While Atlantic Puffins are the ‘most well-known alcid’ as well as the ‘most over-rated alcid’ (funny how those two often go together). You may pick up on the smell of personal biases here – way to use your senses!

snowshoe hare scat

Like with any group of birds, you have your rare Alcid visitors to Maine – This past summer a pacific Alcid - the Tufted Puffin – spent time zippin around between Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island? Matinicus Rock? Another pacific Alcid - Ancient Murrelet – has been seen around seabird breeding colonies in recent years. The tiny alcid ‘Dovekie’ (Alle Alle!) is a winter visitor, sometimes in big numbers offshore, and sometimes in small numbers around islands.

raccoon scat

Anyway – Quick rundown on IDing this bird – it’s a big alcid – dark on back, white on belly, white line on wing. Narrows it down to potentially three species. Here’s what it’s not

Its not a Common Murre. The back is black (hit the sack!) and Murres are brown/sooty grey on the back and head. This can be hard to determine at times, but not with this one being so close to the ferry. Secondly, the white on face is clean, where a wintering Murre has a “dark postocular spur’ – in other words a line – that divides the white on its face into two sections essentially. Lastly, the bill is too thick, Murres bills are thin. Common Murres breed on Matinicus Rock I believe, I used to see tons out west and have never seen one from the ferry.

same freaking bird

It's also not a Thick-billed Murre - for similar reasons. Both Razorbill and Thick-billed Murre are black, but the white on the face of a thick-billed murre does not extend up to the eye. In fact, one might argue that the white on a wintering Thick-billed murre is on its neck. I don’t know why we are arguing.

state beach

The bill on a Thick-billed Murre isn’t as thick as one on a Razorbill (maybe should have been called ‘really thick-billed murre’), but to make things even easier a Thick-billed Murre’s bill has a distinctive white line in the upper mandible – can see it a mile away. Of which a razorbill does not have, or course. And there you have it.

red-necked grebe

11/20 – State beach – 4 Great Cormorants panting, Black-bellied Plover with injured leg, 10 Red-necked Grebe, Olde-taileds, Common Loons, Common Eiders …

Black-bellied plover with injured leg

Great Cormorants panting on the ledges was fun, Black- bellied Plover with an injured leg was not so much fun. It could still fly, which was nice, but Plovers use the old ‘see em, run to em, eat em’ strategy for getting food. Would be hard with the limp this one had. Best of luck to the Plover and may the scavenger you feed use the energy gained wisely! (ugh).