Vinalhaven Sightings

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report – November 7, 2022

Supported by the VLT and MCHT!

‘It’s grown to the size that requires a ‘two-parter’ scenario’

Highlights – Sapsuckers, Red-bellied Woodpecker, molt and migration, Pogies and what follows, Sparrows, Ducks, and so much more

including Rick Morgan photo gallery

Business: 2 part season – been adding to this here VSR for a while now and it’s clear that it’s gotten too big for one post. So this here VSR will be divided into two sections, one being posted today and in theory another later in the week! No ‘holding of the breaths’ please.

Hunting season – wear orange – good habit to get into even if you are just walking around your house. Every (hunting) season it’s good to meet hunters half way for safety sake by putting on an orange hat, shirt or whatever. Orange shoelaces probably aren’t good enough, and neither are orange boxers! Even if you wear them on the outside of your dungarees.

Sharing season - Contact us – Why not? Things get buried at times, so it can take two tries, but still – it’s worth it! Send in your sightings, photos, reports, and everything nature on the Fox Islands to vinalhavensightings@gmail.com – and share! As in ‘Sunny and share’! Brighten your own day, and others probably to. Heck – we’ll even take poems!

Tiit trick season – click on the photos to jumbo size them. Lord only knows there are enough photos in this one!

Retirement season – we would be remiss if we at the VSR didn’t give a big tip of the hat and a big hand to salute the retirement of VLT Executive Director (now former), Linnell Mather. Linnell has been wonderfully supportive of the VSR from the get go and has been an often contributor sharing her photos of varying qualities. Most of all it’s been great becoming friends with Linnell over the years and we look forward to more photos of varying qualities from her in the future! Adios and see you around!

Sightings – (10/12) Jay Manning reports a Red-bellied Woodpecker up at the Fox Rocks parking area, Red-bellieds historically were a more southerly woodpecker, but over the last few decades or so have become a somewhat uncommonly, regular (thou increasing) presence in mid-coast Maine. Maybe not seen every year, but is seen most, and some years there can be a bunch. Nice spot!

And speaking of bunches of Red-bellieds, since Jay’s report I have seen heard Red-bellieds on North Haven, Vinalhaven and on the mainland. Thanks Jay for setting the pace! Gunna be a great year Louis.

More woodpeckers – Every Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the world was on Vinalhaven earlier in the month of October. Loads passed through, and for a few weeks it seemed like you couldn’t go anywhere with seeing a few. No one was complaining about that.

Northern Flickers – now it seems like Flickers have taken over as the ‘golden woodpecker’ of the times. Multiples on the ground, tops of trees, or in flight with there

ring necked snake
photo by Linnell Mather

Snakes! - Linnell Mather sent in this photo of a ring neck snake from Skoog Park. It was in the VLT driveway and Linnell ‘rescued’ it, which we take to mean that she made sure it wouldn’t get run over or maybe even inadvertently stepped on. Snake hero!

On the water - What’s bubblin’ – been seeing this on the water?

It’s been going on most, if not all summer, but the pogie presence in the bay and in coves continued to rage through October.

Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is the species of Pogie in the Gulf of Maine, and what a show it has put on this year. Here’s a little background info gleaned off the World Wide Web.

Menhaden - Menhaden are a pelagic schooling fish that migrate inshore during the summer and off-shore in the winter months. The juvenile and larval menhaden migrate to shore and in-land waterways through currents during summer months to grow while feeding on the phytoplankton and eventually zooplankton once they have matured.

porpoise bombing through Pogies

Menhaden may have a bit of an identity problem. Most of the Northeast refers to them as "bunker." But around Massachusetts they're often known as "pogies." They are also referred to as ‘the most important fish in the world’,

'Menhaden are crucial not only because of their keystone species-status in the food web, but also because of their ecological services. The way menhaden filter feed on phytoplankton helps to mitigate toxic algal blooms. These algal blooms, which are often detrimental to a number of fish, bird, and marine mammal species, create hypoxic conditions. The phytoplankton being preyed upon are photosynthetic organisms, converting sunlight into energy which is then transferred to menhaden and then to bigger species of fish or other larger marine organisms such as birds or mammals. The consequence of this behavior is that if menhaden are eliminated or significantly decreased, there are limited means of energy transfer among trophic levels - making menhaden a true keystone species with ecological services that are invaluable to humans.'

What the pogies have done for sure is attract predators from below (seals and porpoise) as well as from above – gulls. Interesting to see (at times) active lobster boats with zero gulls behind them while the gulls are focused on the pogies. Fun scene to watch!

Update from the ferry – migrations, numbers and molt

common loon - diggin' in

Common loons – Lots zippin’ around the air these days. Look for the dangling of feet off the back of the bird in flight.

Lots of loons on the water these days as well, with some still working their way through post breeding most, getting out of those breeding colors. Won’t be too long before they molt their way back to breeding plumage in the spring!

loon over the sun

gang of guillemots

Black Guillemots – loads of them, fully molted and ready to run on water!

Northern Gannets – Not an overwhelming number of Gannets from the ferry these days, but enough to make any bald observer smile.

gannet in front of the organized rock pile

rock pile with Great Cormorants
and some hills in the back

Great Cormorants- The only ones I have seen from the ferry were from the North Haven ferry on top of the organized granite boulder jenga thing that the gannet flew in front of. Always fun to see.

surf scoter

Surf Scoter – more and more showing up, Hurricane Sound is a good zone to look for (and see!) them, but they could be just about anywhere along the ferry route.

white-winged scoters

White-winged Scoters – small groups flying by the ferry in the morning on a few days. Have not seen any on the water.

Ye Olde-taileds Ducks, aka the duck formerly known as ‘Oldsq**w’) – They’re back! More and more seen from the ferry the first week of November, maybe 8 the other day – Nov 4^th or so. Hearing them in seal bay as well. Numbers should increase with the inclement weather (windy) heading our way.

Common Eiders – fun to see the males come out of eclipse plumage and regain their white heads and upper backs. Another molt into breeding plumage that happens before winter solstice! Days getting shorter, ducks getting randy. Fantastic. (can't locate photo, will keep looking...kinda)

bonaparte's gulls

Bonaparte’s gulls – some around, I took this photo in the awful light that only a morning ferry from Rockland can provide. Maybe one or two (or none) on most rides. Still a few laughers hanging around as well!

black legged kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake – as I’ve complained before – the lighting to observe from the Rockland based 7 am ferry is awful on a well-lit day, tolerable on an overcast morning. I got this sprainty photo of a Black-legged Kittiwake from the ferry Friday. Tough light, but good enough to see the yellow bill and the solid black wingtips.