Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report
July 1st - 31st,
2026
Thanks to MCHT and U! U are appreciated
here!
‘Partially’ Completely
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| Wilson's Storm Petrel |
Highlights – Humpback Whales, Black Bear, White-sided Dolphin,
Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Razorbill and young, White-horned Horntail, Wolf Spider
(with babies!), Pine Borer Beetle, a few mushroom photos– lots of critters, more
on shrooms later…
Business: vinalhavensightings@gmail.com
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| Dye Makers Polypore photo by Kris Osgood |
The email address two steps above (and maybe a little to
the side) is the place to send sightings, stories, email addresses,
questions – you name it! The official VSR address is the place to send
things to share! So share!
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| Eider and chicks |
Big, Bold Thanks to
those who’ve shared in this VSR and a pre-emptive thanks to those who’ll share
in the future! So thankful, always thankful…
Tiit trick – click the photos to enlarge!
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| photo by John Drury |
Bob thing – are you finding yourself with a thirst for more VSR but can’t
figure out how to fill that cup and wet that whistle? How about heading
to the bottom of this post? Links to all historic posts can be found at the
bottom of each post! So convenient! So thirsty!
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| humans looking at dolphins from the Skua Photo by John Drury |
Wanna see cool stuff? Then get on the Skua! - Captain John Drury is ready to take
you on a pelagic adventure in August (or September!) aboard the
Skua! This VSR is smattered and splattered with photos John sent in from recent
trips, as well as some photos I took aboard the Skua last month.
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| not totally sure whats going on here |
Things just get better in August with Greater Shearwaters,
Phalaropes, Storm Petrels, Jaegers and so much more showing up! Email john
at johnbdrury@gmail.com to make your
reservation today! And look for photos from the Skua throughout this post!
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| pine sap - parasitic plant |
Vaca-delay - this VSR may feel slightly, a little ‘long overdue’,
but even the baldest of VSR editors take a vacation every now and then, and
that has been the cause of the delay. And yes, it was quite relaxing and got to
see some really nice people. Now, let’s get down to some sightings –
Sightings! – Black Bear! Wowzers!
Isabelle Gaston (via Crickett Warner) shared these two clips of a
Black Bear that tripped a game camera in the White Islands back in
June. Check this out…
Amy Palmer fixed the uploading, she's my hero!
…This is the second Black Bear observed in the Fox
Islands in recent history. This bear eventually made its way to Vinalhaven
Island (proper) and was spotted by none other than Richie Carlson (congrats
Richie!) along North Haven Road in the Crockett Cove/Perry Creek area.
This was in early-mid July. The bear did a ‘smellfie’ with the camera
before heading out of the White Islands. Take a look…
That was weeks ago, and from my understanding no other
sightings have happened on Vinalhaven since Richie’s ... and now last week a
Black Bear did turn up on the ‘wellness trail’ by Penbay in Rockport. Maybe
the same one? A Black Bear swimming
would be one of the ultimate ferry ride sightings. Great White Shark
is another in that category (check!) …Humpback Whales are another (nice
job Mathews!). More on whales after a few bugs…
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| white horned horntail photo by George Kendrick |
Something’s buggin’/arthropodin’ me - George Kendrick sent in this photo of a ‘White-horned
Horntail’ (Urocerus albicornis) while on a stroll at the Huber Preserve. Take
a look at that ovipositor!
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| wolf spider with youngster Photo by Julia Morgan |
Julia Morgan sent in this photo with the message ‘Thought you might
enjoy this mama wolf spider covered with spiderlings that I spotted on Round
the Mountain Road the other day.’ You thought right Julia! Great shot and Thanks
for sharing!
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| pine borer beetle photo by Linnell Mather |
Linnell Mather had a Pine Borer Beetle hop onto her truck at the
Lumber yard. Yike! Maybe not the best place for a Borer of any kind! Thanks for
sharing – fun photo!
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| humpbacks from Skua photo by John Drury |
Humpback Whales! – From the ferry! And around Greens Island (thanks
Elaine Alden via Beth). And from the Skua (of course!).
Well, hopefully you’ve heard about ‘em– and even better if
you’ve seen ‘em! – but there have been some Humpback Whales around and
they have been putting on some shows!
Schools of Atlantic menhaden, aka Pogies (aka fishies)
have made their way in and around Penobscot Bay (and close to shore for much of
the greater Gulf of Maine I suppose) and boy do they attract predators!
Porpoise, Seals, Birds, Sharks and … Humpback Whales!
Micah Philbrook, fisherman out of Owl’s Head, was kind enough to share some
videos he took of a particular humpback that was breaching and tail slapping as
the ferry sailed by – take a look!
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| Whale Tail photo by Jen Mathews |
Jen Mathews (I would say ‘MCHT’s own’ before her name, but she’s
totally ‘her own’ Jen Mathews, if you know what I mean) was on the ferry cheering when
the tail slapping occurred. Here’s a couple of shots from the other direction!
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| Humpback tail slapping photo by Jen Mathews |
Thanks Jen! Great Shots!
Also, crew from Hurricane Island (www.hurricaneisland.net) were heading
to the mainland and were entertained by the (same?) Humpback whale breaching
by Rockland Harbor. Melina Piper was kind enough to send in this
video a breach and the crowd reaction. Quite a crowd pleaser this one was!
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| Humpback Breach, Gulf of Maine, 2006 |
Propelling oneself completely (or ‘mostly’ completely?, ‘partially’
completely?) out of the water by the force of one’s tail takes a lot
of energy, or so I’ve heard. Sand doesn’t it take a lot of energy to use your massive
pectoral flippers to push your hind quarters out of the water so you can
slap your tail? What’s up with
that? Many reasons for a whale to breach or tail slap (or flipper slap for that
matter), here are three of them…
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| lobtailing, or tail slappin' gulf of Maine, 2006 |
(1) communication. A big splash, the big splash, aka ‘Big
‘ol Splash’, any big splash creates sound waves that can travel great
distances through the water.
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| humpback whale tail with Barnacles and seaweed growing on it Monterey Bay, CA 2026 |
(2) promote healthy skin via parasite removal. We here at the VSR advocate for both
‘healthy whale skin’ and ‘parasite removal’ so this (2) is a
no-brainer to get behind. Here’s a photo of a whale tail that I took in
Monterey Bay, CA two weeks ago – look at those rings where barnacles were!
Parasites, I tell yah….
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| partially complete breach Gulf of Maine , 2006 |
(3)
Social and play behaviors. I used to work on a whale watch – cool tours,
bad company (and I don’t mean the song, or the band, or the album).
It was fun when two whales would get together and breach in unison, with what
appeared to be ‘excitement’ at being together. Or young ones that seemed
to jump for joy, over and over again. I’m not that into belly flopping (in the traditional
sense) but this looks like it could be fun….
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| Razorbills - 2 adults, 1 chick Photo by Jordan Ryan |
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| airborne white-sided dolphin photo by John Drury |
White-sided Dolphins – John Drury also sent in these photos of a session the
Skua had with a group of about 80 White-sided Dolphins about a mile north
of Seal Island!
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| right next to the Skua photo by John Drury |
Tunas were also seen that day, and John mentioned that when the dolphins
appeared they were originally identified as Tuna. You know it’s a good boat
ride when you tunas and dolphins are present!
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| petrels be going through a molt |
Wilson’s Storm Petrels – Alright, so I know we are all ‘suckers for tubenoses
(for sure)’. Tubenoses being the group of pelagic birds. And we talk about
tubenoses we are, of course, talking about birds in the order Procellariiformes.
The order Procellariiformes was named by German anatomist Max Fürbringer
in 1888. The word comes from the Latin word procella, which means a
violent wind or a storm, and -iformes for order.
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| gang of storm petrels photo by John Drury |
There are 4 families of Procellariiformes - the
albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. While
John has seen some Greater Shearwaters already this summer, it’s the Wilson’s
Storm Petrels that have taken over much of Penobscot Bay!
From the ferry, a boat or the porch at Pocus Point, Wilson’s
Storm Petrels have taken the pelagic world by storm, and sightings have
been consistent and numerous.
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| cool jelly - from Skua photo by John Drury |
Tubenoses? Oh yeah – so tubenoses can drink salt water! They essentially
have a desalination plant in their skulls and will shake their heads (at times
vigorously) as then beads of salt are released. Salt comes out of the tubes. Totally
tubular.
Tubenoses also have a sense of smell -which not all birds have by any means. Actually, it’s largely by smell that these Wilson Storm Petrels locate food – flying and weaving through headwinds and a cacophonic cornucopia of smells.
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| cool jelly - purple flavored photo by John Drury |
Being rather small – no judgment – if the food they find is even a little below the surface it may be out of reach (out of beak?) for these dudes. That’s when the Storm-petrels start tapping and slapping their little footsies on the water, creating small currents and upwelling, big enough to bring their prize to the surface for the pickin and mackin’!
Thusly, storm petrels are sometimes referred to as ‘Jesus-birds’
(not by me), as they extend their wings while tapping the surface of the water - essentially 'walking on water'. I don’t know where I land on this one, but I do know I don’t really care. Cool adaptations are cool adaptations.
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| harlequin duck photo by John Drury |
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| Peregrine Falcon - photo by John Drury |
Okay - It’s time to get this one up and posted.
So here are some limited editions…
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| what do you think BTS stands for? |
Scary…
With old friends who are young.
Hope you have a safe
time,
And maybe we see you out there!
