view south

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report

Jan 16^th – 31^st, 2026

With the backing of VLT and MCHT - much appreciated!

 

‘Sure as Spraint’

 

 

belly slide

Highlights –Mushrooms!, Snowy Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Otter slides, Red Crossbills, Black Scoters, American Pipit, Eastern Bluebirds, and so much more….!

 

Business – vinalhavensightings@gmail.com

 

There you have it – the email address above is the/a place for sending in photos, sightings, and stories – anything naturey – that you feel like sharing.

 

It is also the place to send email addresses of anyone interested in this sort of  a blog thing. We are open for business and are currently accepting new emails to be added to the ultra-exclusive list of ‘those who receive an email whenever a new VSR post is posted’. 

 

compact snowshoe hare track

Tiit trick – click on photos and watch what happens! It is very exciting!

 

yellow billed cuckoo
photo by Claudia Dengler

Sightings – Blast from the past – Claudia Dengler sent in a couple of photos of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that was trapped in a building back in October. Such a beauty of a bird – the red on the wings is fantastic!

 

yellow billed cuckoo
photo by Claudia Dengler

Two flavors of Cuckoos (to choose from)– Black-billed and Yellow-billed (Cuckoos)
– can be seen on Vinalhaven. Personally, I tend to see them more in the fall in migration, but ‘recent’ observed nesting attempts on island by Black-billed Cuckoos (Pocus Point), an increase in non-fall Cuckoo sightings and an increase in ‘caterpillars tent webs’ (generic label) leads (every)one to believe/assume that they have been nesting on island. Un-, or under-detected, but that is not surprising due to their ‘under-the-radar’ lifestyle they follow. Life in ‘Cuckoo-time’ has a gentle pace.

 

'merican Robin? Nahhh
The Newfoundland Robin (Turdus migratorius nigrideus)
A 'darker' 'merican Robin subspecies

Anyway – this one got trapped in a building and met its fate. We’ll end it at that. Thanks Claudia!

 

 

snowy owl
photo by Peter Drury

Snowy Owl – Greens Island – Peter Drury – ‘Good ol’ Capt’n Pete!’ – spotted a Snowy Owl out on Greens Island earlier this month and snapped this wonderful photo of it. Peter mentioned that was the one time he’s seen a Snowy Owl on Greens –

 

rodents

Peter also mentioned that he ‘hung out’ with the owl for about a half an hour, had a ‘great conversation about how tasty snowshoe hares are’ with it, and that they (Peter and the Owl) are better beings for the experience. When Snowies are involved it’s always good to share experiences! Thanks, Capt’n !

 

Birds around island – A Belted Kingfisher (or at least one) has been seen around island - apparently making an attempt to overwinter…Eastern Bluebirds (Coombs Neck)….American Pipit (State Beach)….Evening Grosbeaks at a few feeders around island (Thanks John!) …

 

And then we get back to the Red Crossbills… and the Goldfinch, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin and Pine Grosbeak that are being seen/heard around island. We’ve covered this before – here’s a link to some background info –

 

https://www.mcht.org/story/pardon-the-irruption/

 

red crossbills have been getting 
frisky and been singing some
courtin' songs as of late

But really, checking out and cashing in on irruptive behavior can be so much fun. These are the birds of the north – birds that are fine staying way up there (North) but only come down when food sources up there (North) plummet. Where and when they turn up, well, nobody really knows. John Drury has reported that a group of Evening Grosbeaks has been visiting his feeders each morning, while other feeder stations get nailed all day, and other feeders aren’t visited at all. In the woods – well, Red Crossbills are everywhere, but Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks are hit or miss – see them one day in the Basin and then ‘not see them’ the next day. Pine Siskins - I’ve seen them three times this winter as they cruise through looking for grub. Three different locations, three different weeks. Better than rarities.

 

So, it’s an exciting winter for viewing irruptives – and the Snowy Owl that Capt’n Pete is another example – but it’s all about survival for them, the irruptives. So fun to watch, but at the same time we also know we are seeing them because they are stressed enough to migrate/irrupt in search of food. One of those bittersweet thangs, good luck funky irruptive tweeters! Survival.  

 

young RBC
photo by Cay Kendrick

Mushrooms – Cay Kendrick sent in some photos of mushrooms in winter, and when we (the royal ‘we’) daydream about ‘shrooms in winter’ - ‘Polypores’ often come to mind.

 

RBC
photo by Cay Kendrick

Cay sent in photos of two polypore species that take different approaches to spreading their spores. First – the classic, Red-belted Conk (Fomitopsis pinicola), or RBC. These are relatively ‘young’ RBC shrooms, some haven’t even developed the dark layered caps with the red-edge (the ‘red belt’ if you will). In southeast Alaska they are sometimes referred to as ‘Bear’s Bread’ at this stage. Not sure why…

 

RBC

RBC undercarriage
photo by Cay Kendrick

is noticeably large/sizeable, even at this young stage. The RBC fungus within the tree takes its spore dispersal seriously (like all good fungi should) and invests heavily into (maybe) a handful of large shelves that last (and keep growing) for several years. Each RBC shelf’s undercarriage is lined with gagillions of pores, potentially pumping out trillions of spores a year.    

 

Trichaptum abietinum
photo by Cay Kendrick

The Violet-toothed Polypore (Trichaptum) , or VTP species complex, on the other hand, is a (group of ) polypore(s) that goes for the ‘more the merrier’ approach when it comes to spore dispersal. These fungi opt to ‘pump out the spores’ with lots and lots of small shelves whose undercarriages are full of pores and teeth. We all have friends like this.

 

If VTP is growing in/on hardwoods then it is considered Trichaptum biforme. And if growing on conifers , well, then its Trichaptum abietinum .

 

T. abietinum
photo by Cay Kendrick

Sounds simple. But are there more species here? Probably, undoubtedly and for sure. One limitation with mushroom identification is simply a lack of knowledge -  we, the human things, simply do not know a lot of fungal things at this point (but we are learning!). Heck – wasn’t that long ago that a fungus was considered a plant (you wish plants!), so as far as humans and fungal knowledge its ‘we’ve come a long way, baby’ but still have a long way to go.

 

T. biforme
photo by Cay Kendrick

Another limitation, fungal identification wise, is that it can be hard to keep up with what is being learned. And so, we leave things vague, because ‘vague’ kinda sums up fungal knowledge to a certain extent.

 

T. biforme
photo by Cay Kendrick

Anyway, mushroom watching and fungus tracking are exciting and fun activities that always come with a humbling element. Like – after 20 years of learning Latin you find out ‘everything you know is wrong’ (Weird Al). We appreciate that fungus ‘puts us in our place’. Sometimes that slap is a good thing. I’m not asking to be slapped.

 

 

Otter slides – Cay also sent in three photos of otter tracks and trails from the ‘southeast’ side of the island (vague enough for you?). This is a fun collection that highlights a few things ottery. Let’s take a look.

 

photo #1
photo by Cay Kendrick

Photo #1 – the scene – this photo does a wonderful job capturing the tracking scene here. A belly slide on the left and bounding pattern on the right. The belly slide and size tells you otter, as does the bounding pattern on the right. Is this a case of ‘up and down’? Where the otter bounded up the hill, maybe visited a latrine, and then slid back down? We’ll see.

 

photo # 2
photo by Cay Kendrick

Photo #2 – simple set of tracks. Its an interesting set of tracks, and as with all tracks conditions, especially snow depth and consistency, play a role in the otter’s movement strategy and thus the trail pattern left behind. From the first shot (#1) you can see the otter was working hard, (pretty much) bounding up the hill. Mustelids bound a lot, but otters not so much as mink and weasels. Deep snow on hills tends to remove the ‘more regular’ ‘loping’ option from their movements. In this photo the otter almost makes the perfect bound – where back feet land exactly where the front feet were – but ends up looking more like a hopping pattern – snowshoe hare and squirrel being examples of hoppers. Anyway…

 

photo #3
photo by Cay Kendreick

Photo #3 – where the trails cross. This is a cool photo that shows a bottleneck, or the top end of a bottleneck of sorts – where the bounding trail going up the hill and the belly slide heading down the incline meet. It’s towards the bottom. Take a look at the first set of tracks in the bounding trail. The left track of the otter bounding kicked up snow into the belly slide, thus was made after the belly slide had happened. So, what does this mean?

 

spraint on the rocks
photo by Cay Kendrick

Well, hard to tell, but I would say that this is a trail worth following. Here are a few likely/possible scenarios of what this scene is – 1) the otter has a den wherever this trail leads to and was resting in it when this photo was taken. B) this trail is part (one end really) of a longer, over-land short cut trail between two bodies of water and this is the regular route the otter takes. 3)  that there was a latrine up the incline that the otter visited but took a different/alternative trail/route back to the water. Trails, dens, and latrines – solid options, fun to speculate on.

 

spraint - maybe at the beginning 
of a trail?
photo by Cay Kendrick

Following otter trails PSA – now, we here at the VSR clearly encourage people to explore and learn about the wildlife of Vinalhaven (and everywhere else) firsthand. That’s the way we learn best, so why not you? 

 

otter bound

Well, some people over the years haven’t quite been on the team ‘learn by experience’ so much, to the point where twice I was asked ‘do you think its appropriate/responsible to tell people how to find otter dens?’ . My answer both times was ‘yes’. Mostly because few if any people ever actually do look for otter dens, but still I do see the point they were trying to make and it’s all about impact. And that’s a huge thing, or at least it can be. So here are a few points to lower your impact on otters if you decide to follow their trails.

 

A) – never bring a dog to an otter den, nor when you are looking. Impact potential shoots through the roof when a pet is brought along, and if an interaction does occur I can almost guarantee your dog is going to get the worst of it. bad idea to bring a cat as well. Parakeet? I’ll leave that up to you  

 

2) do your business well away – does an otter spraint in the woods? You betcha, and sometimes humans do too. But whether its peeing or pooping, it’s best to do ‘it’ well away from otter dens, trails, and latrines if you can – especially if you drink so much coffee that your pee comes out caffeinated.

 

C) keep other smells away – could be food for a picnic, or you have a nicotine addiction and smoke like a chimney – either way, keep it away from the dens! And the latrines. Be aware, be responsible, be cool and be low impactful.

 

 

Ferry Ride – (1/21) Olde-taileds, Common Loons, Black Guillemot, Black Scoters, Surf Scoter, Harbor Seal, Common Eider, Red-necked Grebe, lots o’ Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Black-legged Kittiwake,…

 

black scoters

Stories here – Black Scoters – they are around but I don’t see them from the ferry all that much. Some winters no sightings at all, this is the first this winter for me, always fun to see..

 

Black Guillemot
molt startin'

Black Guillemots – the molt is on! – We here at the VSR are on record as saying one of our favorite things about winter ferry rides is learning from Guillemots. And here we go – January 21, 1 month into winter, one month into longer daylight parts of days – and Black Guillemots are already starting to show signs of molting.

 

Black Guillemot
back of the head turning

Fact - Everyone (should) love(s) Black Guillemots – the easily observable, underappreciated Alcid of the Maine Coast. Instead, everyone wants to see Atlantic Puffins, a desire based largely on the birds’ appearance and aesthetics (ick and ick). Can’t blame people for this -  it’s the same spraint society/the world wants everyone to appreciate – but this the root issue (pretty privilege) that turns out a ‘puffins over cormorants’ kinda scenario. Puffins are worth saving, but great cormorants? They are kinda fugly…. 

 

olde taileds

But hey, let me ask you this – where are the puffins now? One thing’s for sure - they are not teaching us about daily increases in daylight length and the effect that has on birds. (Thanks for nothin’, Puffin!) .

 

olde tailed

Meanwhile the Black Guillemots can’t help but show off their teaching skills, and class is in session from the ferry (and any boat or shoreline!). You see, ‘birds’ (‘funky tweeters’ to the layman) have thin skulls in general. Why so thin? Because like so many animals, the sun and the length (and changes) of daily daylight play a huge role in hormone release/production/reduction in birds, which leads to changes in behavior and physical appearance. In other words (and to generalize), ‘when daylight gets longer, the birds get Randy-er’. And how do birds know the daylight length is increasing? Bird brains, baby. Birdbrains of course!

 

otter slide on Lawry's
goes from way to the left
 over to the crack

Some people call specialized cells in bird brains ‘cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-contacting neurons’, others just call them ‘photo receptors’. Still others call them ‘light triggered sensory brain parts’ . Whatever you want to call them (the neurons don’t give a spraint what you call them) there are cells in the brains of birds – and many other animals other than mammals – that can tell when the daylight length increases. They, in turn, trigger the release of hormones that inspire molting and the disintegration of ‘mixed species flocks’ or even groups of a single species that have formed over the winter. Socializing time is over, time to get ready to get down to business. Passing on the genes, the old-fashioned way.

 

otter belly slide on Potato Island

Locally – and along with Eagles and Owls – Black Guillemots show observable sign of this hormonal change ‘earlier’ than other birds. But while Eagles and Owls are gearing up for breeding and sitting on eggs very soon (let the dance begin!), in January Guillemots show this change by molting. A decerning eye (two is even better!) on the ferry might  notice the subtle changes the Guillemots are undergoing – more dark feathers on the face, head and even the body on some.

 

belly slide up the beach on Strawberry

It’s still early – there is much molting ahead of us! – before you know it the loons will be getting all mottled up with molting – so not every Guillemot is showing , but some are showing and we are now more than halfway through the winter – winter moves too fast.

 

Ma's point otter belly slide
Greens Island

The real story on this ferry ride was the otter slides – everyone loves a freezing ferry ride, but what makes those rides even better – the cherry on top even – is seeing otter belly slides along shorelines of islands. Well and by gum – I spotted 7 different slides from the ferry on this day – here’s the breakdown

 

 belly slide on island

1 on Lawry’s island

1 on Vinalhaven - 'worst ever'

2 on Greens

1 on Strawberry

1 on Potato

And 1 on an island I don’t know what it’s called.

 

Greens island belly slide 2

Was this a personal record (PR) for otter slides seen from the ferry? I have no idea and who cares anyway? PR about nature observation is funny, and not necessarily in a good way, because nature observation doesn’t have to be about the observer and their life lists and PRs. It’s appreciating what’s in front of you – no competition, not even with yourself.  

 

'worst ever' belly slide

That said – it was cool to see all these slides. The deep snow and cold doesn’t really affect otters too much (look at me – speaking like I know what otters are going through) and I say that because all they need is access to water- be it under the ice or in the salty ocean – where they can find their food. But they still must get from their dens and latrines to the water – and that’s where the snow captures the action for all of us to gawk at. Gawk gawk.

 

Oh man – this is long enough and old enough and will be posted promptly.

 

Hope you’ve enjoyed and hope you are getting to enjoy this winter wherever you are.

 

Stay safe, stay warm and we’ll see you out there!