Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings
Report
May 1st – May 15th,
2026
Big thanks to the Maine Coast
Heritage Trust, as always
‘As if that weren’t enough’ – Frank
Zappa
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| White Violet |
Highlights – Hearings - Whippoorwill, Saw-whet Owl. Sightings - Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted
Grosbeak, Mushrooms, Trip to Calderwood, Warblers, Thrushes, Merlins! and so much more!
Business: before sightings – vinalhavensightings@gmail.com
It’s OK to Share! - Send yer sightings, stories, comments, concerns, clips
to the email address above and they will be shared. Send email
addresses and they will be added to the exclusive list! Know what we
always say - Send, send, share!
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| black and white warbler |
Hey – we’ll even take poems if they aren’t too long or
boring (lay it on me now, not so hard – Beastie Boys). There are a couple of awesome ones (poems) in
this post! See what you think, and you be the judge - are you Bergen County
enough?
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| Cedar Waxwing |
Also – if you are looking for ‘Links to Posts of VSRs Past’
there are links at the bottom of this post to loads of em.
Big Thanks – to those who made it to the 3rd Annual Lanes Island Preserve
Clean Up on the 9th
(last Saturday)! I just made up a poem about the day.
Background - The ‘poem’ (for lack of a better term) is
structured in the traditional ‘Jersey Haiku’ form, specific to
the Bergen County dialect speech patterns and limited vocab. In other
words - most of you won’t get it (might as well not even try Lindquist!),
but everyone will understand it. See what you think…are you Bergen County
enough?
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| photo by Linnell Mather |
Trash got picked
Bayberry got snipped
Seaweed got raked
And we cut the beginning
of a fire break(ed).
Thank you! Thank you very much. And ‘there you have
it!’! We’ll do it again next year if not before! Have a workday at lanes
that is – and more poems!
Pardon Our Appearance! – Speaking of Lanes
Lanes Island Preserve is having some work done this month ‘very
common for a preserve of Lane’s age’ (Arrested Development slightly
altered ‘reference’). Dreamy, perfect world schedules were set, and then
mother nature ‘got things all moist’ and so then things got accordingly ‘fluid’,
a bit.
In other words and what this means is – be aware when visiting Lanes over
the next couple of weeks – be aware that the trail from the parking
area to the field is being worked on (look for large and heavy machinery)
and the road is getting ‘fixed’ (look for the road being closed and
heavy machinery. Machinery may possibly be large as well). And ‘Fixed’
not in the fun that we do with pets either. Fixed as in dealt with. For the
moment, for sure.
Support local captains – don’t forget – Cap’t Oakley Jackson tours out of
the Thorofare area (and beyond!) on his Osprey Adventures – Contact
Oakley by email: ospreyadventuresme@gmail.com. Or phone: (207) 701- 1815.
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| Loon migration 'been a thing' |
The ‘Skua’ (boat, not bird) and Cap’t John Drury
(nice guy, honorary bird) - taking people to nesting sea bird colonies on Seal Island and Matinicus
Rock, as well as to other hot spots. Not ‘since the beginning of
time’ per se; but ‘for a while now’.
Yeah, that sounds nicer. Contact John by email: at Johnbdrury@gmail.com .
‘Hearings’ - Greens Island. And speaking of John Drury –
John’s been using his cellular phone to make recording night sounds (at
night) on Greens Island. Not surprisingly he’s getting great stuff!
Editors note - Well - you are going to have to take my word on this - getting m4a or mp3 stuff uploaded to the blog is just not possible these days. It's undoubtedly all me, but I just spent a half hour trying to upload audio files and it just isnt working and I'm not fully invested in investing time to figure this out. Sorry - John's audio's are great - but we are learning our limitations here at the VSR -
So, in the future, if you want to send in audio stuff, please make a regular video clip and send in. And then we'll see what the problem is from there!
This section was written before this was understood, and thus remains in this form..
Instead, its photos of lichens and mushrooms
Here’s an audio clip of a Saw-whet Owl that John reports has been hooting (or beeping rather!) for a couple of weeks now. It was my friend Larry whom I first heard describe the Saw-whet consistent beeping as a ‘small bus moving backwards’. Larry would then imitate the Saw-whet beeping pattern out loud – beep beep beep … . Accompanying the beeping Larry always teamed up a hand that looked to be holding an invisible hot wheels car along with an arm motion that moved the invisible hot wheel slightly backwards with every beep. Just picturing this makes me chuckle, hardily. Anyway,
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| Marasmius sp. |
How about something even cooler? –
cooler than an owl?
No way! You say
But it is the way
Or so they say
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| Marasmius sp |
– is the recording of
a Whippoorwill that John also recorded with this cellulite phone. Hear
it goes…
Many folks on island have stories of Whippoorwill sightings,
and with many of these stories comes the ol’ ‘haven’t seen them in years’. Charity
Appell McNabb heard a Whippoorwill up Coombs Neck Way this month as
well. Good year for Whippoorwills? Maybe a premature statement, but a fun one
to say nonetheless!
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| Marasmius sp on a single spruce needle |
John was also kind enough to send in this recording of a
funky sounding Hermit Thrush song. Hear it goes….
It’s easy to think of bird songs being precise for each
species, and the majority of songs of a particular species – say, Yellow
Warbler – sound pretty much the same to me. But within each species, from bird
to bird even, you may hear partial songs, different/unfamiliar call notes, and variety
within the actual song. Thanks for sharing John!
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| bunch of orioles photo by Linnell Mather |
Sightings – Feeder systems – ‘If you feed them, they will eat’
Linnell Mather had a week plus of Baltimore Orioles visiting her
feeder station right in town! Bright (and dare I say ‘brilliantly’ colored)
orange and hungry, three male Baltimore Orioles feasted their way
through bags and bags (slight exaggeration) of Clementine orange fruit
things. Here are a couple of action videos that capture some of the ‘mackin’
going on’.
Linnell was just getting ready to plant an orange grove to
support her new neighbors when ‘poof’, the Orioles were gone – suddenly
and just like that. Birds at the feeders can feel warm and fuzzy, while
birds leaving can be a shock to the system that never feels good. Especially
if you just bought a big bag of oranges.
In the end, the Orioles were just ‘passing through’ – some
people call it ‘migrating’. Good for you Linnell, providing some nourishment
for the weary travelers that are looked upon differently because they happen to
be bright orange. Birds of all colors are welcome at Linnell’s feeders, we all
can learn something from her! Way to be Mather! Thanks for sharing!
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| rose-breasted grosbeak and goldfinch photo by Dick Lacourciere |
Dick Lacourciere sent in this photo of a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak
that visited his island feeder system. Dick noted that it was the first one he or
Kathy had seen ‘since they were kids’. In fact, the title of his email
was ‘1st sightings of rose breasted grosbeak since we were kids. But lots of
goldfinches this year’. And its all true! It has been a good year for
Grosbeaks (it’s always a good year for Grosbeaks! Ha Ha!) and there are
lots of Goldfinch around! Jersey state bird! Thanks Dick!
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| later Scoters |
And now, some goodbyes – (5/13) while cutting through the
Fox Island Thorofare on my way to Calderwood Island, we (the ‘royal’
we) said our last goodbyes to some of the wintering Sea Ducks. A handful of
Surf Scoters were present…
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| ye olde tailed ducks |
…as well as this healthy group of Long-tailed Ducks,
which some of us lovingly refer to as ‘Ye Olde-tailed Ducks’ because
‘long-tailed duck’ isn’t a cool enough name for these funky quackers!
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| ye oldes in breeding plumage! |
And maybe it’s better to say – see you soon (is it
November yet?) – to these salty waterfowl. Looking forward to it!
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| Common Terns on 12 |
At the same time, we say hello and welcome to Common Terns,
seen here lounging on a buoy thing. Lots more seabirds to arrive! Good time to
be on the water – never been a better time, than right now!
Trip to Calderwood Island – (5/13) Unreal day.
Birds: Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Winter Wren,
Spotted Sandpiper, Black-throated Green Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Song
Sparrow, Bald Eagle, Osprey.
First visit to Calderwood is always a pleasure. The tweeters
were fun, but the real story was the butterflies. And butterflies are often
the real story when it comes to Calderwood Island – the place is
legendary for em.
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| American Lady |
Showing up in the first half of May was a little early
for me (usually I get to Calderwood right before Memorial Day), and so wasn’t necessarily
expecting much. But the day was golden and the island was still rocking with
Buttered Flies, and there was no shortage of American Lady butterflies. The
place was lousy with em.
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| American Lady undercarriage |
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| Grey Comma undercarriage see the comma? |
I also crossed paths with a Grey Comma buttered fly.
Saw it twice, in two different spots – but pretty sure it was the same one –
the timing and direction between the two places was perfect. Or it could have
been two! Ha ha!
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| Grey Comma - 'Spread buttered'? 'Buttery spread'? |
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| spotted sandpiper |
Plus the session with the Spotted Sandpiper in
breeding plumage was fun too!
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| 'merican Redstart |
Around the island – Lanes (5/13) – American Woodcock, Red-winged Blackbird,
American Goldfinch, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Cedar Waxwing
Basin (5/14) – Red Crossbill, winter wren, brown creeper,
Black throated Green Warbler, Northern Parula, Blue Jay, Hermit Thrush,
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Driving North Haven Road (5/14) – Magnolia Warbler, Northern
Parula, Ovenbird, Black-throated Green Warbler
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| Northern Parula, looking that way |
Armburst Hill (5/14) – magnolia warbler, American Redstart,
Nashville Warbler, Black and white warbler, Black throated green warbler,
hermit thrush, ruby-crowned Kinglet, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped
Warbler, Brown Thrasher, Merlin Displaying
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| northern parula looking this way |
Reach road – (5/14) – snowshoe hare, Red Crossbills,
White-throated Sparrow, Merlin displaying!
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| red crossbill belting it out! |
Huber (5/14) – Ovenbird, lots of Crossbills, Red breasted
Nuthatch, Black-throated Green, Northern Parula
Poor Farm Road – (5/14) Wood Duck
Barney Point – (5/14) – White-throated Sparrow, Grackle,
Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red Crossbill,
Purple Finch, Merlin Displaying, Otter slides and runs.
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| hairy woodpecker - flexible |
May 14th was a good day, got some quick visits to a bunch of preserves. Things were so loud it was hard not to notice/be distracted. Almost like the songbirds and merlins were demanding to be heard. Which, of course, they were demanding, just not demanding of me ears, but I could shut them out. Distractions for life.
The trifecta story starts, of course, with the warblers (1).
And the wood duck in the little pond along poor farm road was fun for
sure (B). But the three different
Merlins displaying at three different locations on island really hit the
spot (3). It’s gunna be a good year Louis! (Revenge of the
Nerds).
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| merlin |
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| merlin in the midst of it's flutter-flight display |
harbor seal mum and pup - 5/19/26
mum and pup - big head small head
5/19/26
2 things we are talking about here is – Harbor Seals with
pups. Mid-May is traditional Harbor Seal pupping time, and at least 7
mothers and pups were visible from the ferry last week. By the time the next
VSR is posted the mother/pup relationship may be over – quick parenting 3-4
weeks total– so see em while they are hot! From the Ferry, in the Basin and
around island!
Pink Lady Slippers – People love orchids, and who can blame them. The traditional
thought is to visit Lady Slipper patches the first week of June – and that
still holds. There can be early bloomers though, and so maybe checking historic
lady slipper spots in the meantime wouldn’t hurt? I’ve seen a few lady slipper
bloomers on the mainland already – undoubtedly some on island as well! Huber
is legendary for Lady Slippers, and they are right along the trail so there
is no reason to step off the trail- no reason to mess with them in any way. Thanks!
Last June over 500 lady slipper plants were counted along the first ¼ mile
or so of the trail at Huber, with over 300 in bloom total. Heck – in
June you can see 20 from the parking lot! Doesn’t get any better than
that, Lady Slipper wise of course.
But hey – this is getting long in the tooth or whatever, so
we’ll wrap it up.
And a few limited editions
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Happy Birthday Peebles! Did not know I was the same age as Peebles – neither one of us has aged a day!
See you out there! And thanks for stopping by….
and a few last peepers
