Vinalhaven Sightings

Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report

Feb 15 – March 15, 2026

MCHT and VLT sponsored, and we here at the VSR thank them!

And you!

RIP – Terry Goodhue, Interesting Nature Guy & Character

Highlights – Accipiter on the traps, Skunk Cabbage, Woodcocks, American Pipit, Thick-billed Murre, Great Cormorant, Razorbills in the bay, Tidepools and so much more!

Business: vinalhavensightings@gmail.com

Don’t forget to share there, Sonny - Seen something you think is cool while out in ‘the nature’? Hey - why not share what you’ve seen with others? Seriously, people want to know what you are seeing! Well, actually - I can only speak for myself, but I want to hear what you’ve seen! That’s how we (the royal ‘we’) learn, or it’s one way to learn. Send in your sightings to the email above and help with my education. I/we/they all want to learn about what’ s going on around the island.

Is there anybody (else) out there? - Know someone who you think would like to receive an email every time one of these VSRs are posted? Send those email addresses to the email above and give the gift that keeps on giving, and giving and giving…

lots of loons molting these days

VSR Retro RSV - Like the new VSR? Interested in old VSRs? Access previously posted VSRs and the ‘wealth’ of knowledge they contain by scrolling down to the bottom of this post. And every post! Enjoy!

old tails getting out of the way

Tiit Trick – click on a photo and it gets bigger – its true!

woodcocks are easy to see
when they are in the road

Upcoming things: Woodcock Walk – Friday April 10^th – 7pm

Have you seen this bird? Woodcocks are back and are being reported around island and all over the state! Crepuscular (dusk and dawn) visits to fields and alder zones increase the chances of hearing the wonderful ‘peent!’ calls and witness the males impressive flight display.

Lanes island otter slide

Lanes Island is legendary view spot to watch for male Woodcock displays in March and April, and thusly ‘we’ shall pay an organized visit to the preserve to maybe catch a glimpse of these cool birds. Friday, April 10^th at 7pm we’ll meet in the parking lot at Lanes and quietly make our way to some great viewing spots to check out the Woodcock scene! Joint VLT/MCHT effort!

Basin Clean-up – April 11^th, 9am

No better way to celebrate seeing Woodcocks on a Friday night than by helping pick up trash in the Basin the next morning! Another VLT/MCHT happening, we’ll meet at the VLT parking area and then make our way to the Basin bridge where we will ‘get into’ the marsh and ‘meander’ along the Basin shores picking up trash and enjoying each other’s company. That’s the plan at least. Boots, gloves and appropriate clothes for ‘meandering’ and ‘getting into’ the marsh works best! No pressure – but we’ll see you there and thanks in advance! Ha!

accipiter hawk
photo by Dinah Moyer

Sightings: Dinah Moyer sent in this photo of a Hawk that had landed on some lobster traps by her place. So cool she got this photo – Thanks for sharing Dinah!

So what kind of Hawk? The coloration and pattern on the body and head stand out here and really scream one genus. That Genus is ‘Accipiter’, of which there are three species lovingly referred to as ‘the accipiters’. All three species – Northern Goshawk, Cooper’s Hawk, & Sharp-shinned Hawk - could possibly be seen on island. This bird is also an adult – based on the pattern of reddish body and dark head – which eliminated Northern Goshawk. So we are left with a classic case of ‘Sharpie or Coopers’?

mossy maple polypore
favorite way to identify Maples in winter

Have I said this before? - I will admit that from previous experiences with hawk watching I find it easier to distinguish between these two species when they are in flight. A Long, rounded tail and a neck sticking out far ahead of its wings (head projection) are readily observable traits of a Coopers Hawk ‘in flight’. The short and squared off tail, and shorter head projection of a Sharp-shinned can often be seen from a distance when the bird is ‘on the wing’. We like flying hawks.

this raccoon survived the deep snow

When adult Accipiter hawks are perched identification becomes a slightly different game. You still look at the tail – rounded or squared – and catching a view of the head and back goes a long way. Cooper’s hawks show a dramatic distinction between their ‘cap’ and ‘back’, where a Sharpie’s back ‘flows more’ pattern wise. Go with the flow…

Note in this photo that neither the back nor the tail are super observable – those things happen! It looks ‘smallish’ but with Accipiters its best not to just go with the apparent size of the bird (unless it feels really really small, or really really big and then still question yourself more). I didn’t see this bird and it’s hard for me to get a feel for size from a photo -even with a trap for reference! I’ll go as far as saying this ‘doesn’t appear too big’. Vagueness, baby, vagueness!

lanes island otter trail
in the AM

Hard to pick up any exact detail on the face and body, and is its neck extended? So many questions. Head shape? Sure, it’s there, both the head and its shape that is. The one detail that seems clear in this photo – and I’m not totally convinced this is a reliable mark – is the paleness of the bird’s nape. I know – sounds kinda inappropriate to be talking about this. Anyway, the bird is looking to the left and you can see how behind the eye and upwards to the top of the neck is pale-ish, or at least not dark. That paleness, leads the jury to say that the bird is more likely a Coopers’ than a Sharpie? Go figure!

same trail in the PM

This is not a first level characteristic, nor a second level for that matter. But you know, what you can pick up of the tail it doesn’t seem too small, and its hard (for me at least) to judge head or other details. From this photo I would keep it simple go with an identification of ‘Accipiter species’. Possibly a Coopers, and less probability it’s a Sharpie. There you have it.

Vague enough for yah, governor? Thanks again Dinah! Fun photo!

you must pipit

State Beach Special – American Pipit – what a cool bird. Close relative of the ‘Wagtails’ of the ‘Old World’ and ‘Asia’, American Pipits are ‘never expected’ and ‘always a treat’ to see.

This one at State Beach has, presumedly ‘overwintered’ at the beach as it was first reported in the VSR back in January (?), chances of that original one leaving and a new Pipit showing up seems less likely, so we go with the overwinter status.

same pipit

The last 3 months (mid Dec- mid/late March) have been pretty good for Pipits along the coast – John Drury spotted one on Greens and another two turned up near the Rockland Breakwater – one of which made it on the local Christmas Bird Count, and most recently Mike Bonney photographed on in Liberty (like literally) today or yesterday. Undoubtedly more around but having friends and myself cross paths 5 in one winter is notable in my experience.

surf scoters

American Pipits breed on the Tundra way up north, and their breeding range extends south along mountain tops and high altitudes in the Rocky Mountains. ‘Normal’ (ha, ha!) Winter range is most of the southern US – starting around Jersey and south along the coast – across and thru Arkansas and Texas to California. As for Pipits breeding in Maine, there is one spot – Mt Katahdin – where they breed way up on the final plateaus when approaching the peak (from some directions).

Getting’ Buzzed in the Basin Preserve – (3/10) – Clearing the trail off of Wharf Quarry Road it was hard to not notice the constant, consistent and somewhat insane amount of Red Crossbill activity. Singing, chasing, chip noting – just a literal buzz was in the air the entire session. Literally loud and more than a little distracting.

her's a latrine with a view

The only reprieve from the Crossbills was getting the chainsaw going and putting on the ol’ hearing protection. It’s matin’ season and there was a whole bunch of courtship going on! I don’t need to hear that, not too much at least.

not sure why - but the blog wont let me upload crossbills singing. Tried three times. Time to move on.

Joining the Crossbills were healthy amount of Pine Siskins, the largest group of Siskins I’ve heard this irruptive winter season. Got the feeling they were not courting, just adding to the chatty buzz. Red-breasted nuthatches, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadees, and American Goldfinches as well. Dark-eyed Juncos were singing – buzzy trill added!

brown creeper from below

A Brown Creeper was also singing; the first singing creeper I’ve crossed paths with this year – and an early singer at that! This winter has been an interesting one for creepers in the mid-coast – they have stuck around in numbers! I can’t recall seeing multiple creepers in January and February before – and in both months there were several I crossed paths. Overwintering creepers – gotta love that.

Ferry Rides- The last couple of weeks of ferry rides have had the ‘usual’ high numbers of Old-tailed Ducks, Surf Scoters, and Buffleheads (what a great bufflehead year!). Lately though an impressive number of Razorbills have also been present – rafts of them even, even if the rafts are ‘smallish’ (10-20 per), that added up to over 70-80 razorbills on the water (3/2)

15 razorbills in this photos (at least)

Seeing the rafts of razorbills still floating around the next week – (3/10) – gave the feeling that there was food around and/or they were possibly in a good place to molt into breeding plumage. Time will tell what the case is, or time won’t answer anything. We’ll see what’s up on the next trip!

more razorbills

1st winter Razorbill
whisp of white on the face

thick billed murre

Thick-billed Murre – what was also seen on the (3/10) ferry ride was a thick-billed murre. Been a while since we (the ‘me’ we) ‘slapped some glass’ on a Thick-billed from the ferry, but they are not a totally unexpected sight from the ferry in the winter – especially in March. Got a couple of crappy photos of this one. A lack of white on face (how much more black could the face get?) of the 3 ‘similar looking and possibly spotted’ local Alcids (Razorbill, Thick-billed Murre, Common Murre) that might be seen from the ferry in wintering plumage is distinctive to the Thick-billed Murre.

thick billed murre
about to dive

Hard to see but also look for the ‘distinctive white line on the cutting edge of the upper mandible’ that Thick-billed Murres have, which is unfortunately hard to pick up in these photos! It’s there!

great cormorant

Great Cormorant – closing out the ferry trifecta on (3/10) was a fly by by a Great Cormorant. We all know about how Great Cormorant numbers in Maine have dropped – if you are not familiar with this just ask John Drury topic. Sightings from the ferry in winter used to be ‘regular’ – as in like every ferry ride. There is a rock that very locally (like ‘in my head’ kind of local) that is referred to as ‘Cormorant Rock’ because they used to reliably be there. Well, it’s been years since seeing one from the ferry – and not from a lack of looking – trust me! So the fly-by was a welcome sight.

Skunk Cabbage – Must’ve been a weird winter for Skunk Cabbage – seen tiny ones early 2026 and then a month plus under snow – that kind of winter ya know. A winter with the kind of snow that intimidates even skunk cabbage.

In the Basin, and early in the ‘big melt’ (first couple weeks of March) Skunk Cabbage could be seen/found melting snow and ice within the ‘early big melt’. The Skunk Cabbage flowers had already been chowed on a bit by deer (assumed) but maybe not. New leaves coming up arose like a beacon of stench (it’s skunky after all). Here’s the skinny on that…

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) generates heat through a process called thermogenesis, allowing it to raise its temperature 15–35°C above the surrounding air to melt through snow and ice. It achieves this by rapidly metabolizing stored starch in its roots, using high rates of cellular respiration that produce heat instead of ATP, creating a "warm-blooded" effect.

Now that is an interesting plant! Lots more Skunk Cabbage to be documented! So let’s em! Those sexy Skunk Cabbage photos! You know what I’m talking about! Send em in!

dog winkle eggs

Tidepools – (3/4) – caught a good low tide (-1.2) on a breezy cold afternoon, but the numbness only makes us (the royal ‘us’) want to search for more critters! Tidepoolers unite!

Anyway, winter tidepools are different, with hardcore critters that are, at times (and tides) exposed to the bitterest of winter temps – not for the faint of heart. There were no Lobsters or Stars to be found, and more ‘weirdly’ no amphipods where seen! ‘Very little’ to ‘not much’ (but more than Zero) of everything else really.