Sightings Report
Vinalhaven Sightings October 8, 2009
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Highlights: Manx Shearwater chick, Sea Horse, Tidepools, Turkey Vultures, Raptors, Virginia Rail, Shorebirds, Great Cormorants, Red-necked and Pied Billed Grebe, The return of the ducks!, Mushrooms!- featuring the King!, Frogs, Newts, and so much more.
Kid Stuff: Middle school Outdoor Explorers is off and running as 14 6th and 7th graders made their way to Lane’s Island Friday afternoon (9/18). The group assembled to take advantage of a killer negative tide by exploring the world exposed by the retreating water (not really that poetic). They came to find critters – plain and simple. And no surprises with this crew of intrepid explorers, we found tons of stuff as Lane’s is, or should be, legendary for its tidepools. 16 young Lobsters, 5 Blood Stars, 1 Brittle Star, many Northern Sea Stars, 10 Sea Urchins, multiple Scaleworms and Flatworms, 3 Gunnel Fish, a cute little Lumpfish, and loads more. More importantly though - a great time was had by all. Should be noted, in the picture where Benny and Jensen are watching waves they are not nearly as close to the water as it appears. I’m not saying kids didn’t get wet or anything, just that they weren’t in danger of getting swept away.
5th grade Outdoor Explorers has started up as well, with 13 students turning out for a salamander hunt and a nice pond scooping session. 16 Red-backed Salamanders were found in the woods behind the school, plus a young Spotted Salamander which is not only the first one found on any of our salamander hikes, but also the first I’ve ever seen-young spotted that is (thanks Bailey!). Our pond scooping session was loaded with dragonfly nymphs, backswimmers, water boatmen, bubble-butt beetles, and more. Good times and a really good group – looking forward to a great year of exploring with them!
Sightings: Bobby Warren was kind enough to bring in a Sea Horse he caught in one of his traps from early September. The little Hippocampus was brought in and lived for a few weeks in Amy’s Palmer’s classroom tank (& man she (Amy) is cute!). There are conflicting reports on the internet (no surprise there) on how often and how many Sea Horse show up in the Gulf of Maine, as they are traditionally considered a warm water creature. One outlet talked about only 2 sightings in the Gulf of Maine ever – 1 documented and 1 unsubstantiated – while another mentioned that many fishermen have stories about the “odd sea horse”. Either way this is a super cool finding and one that demands our respect and attention. It seemed to have found a cozy home among the rockweed in the tank. The Sea Horse was enjoyed during its stay and in true catch and release form we let the fish go on Lane’s Island (actually in the water around it). Bobby - Thank you so much for bringing this in for the kids and parents to see!
Matinicus Rock – Very cool news, an almost full grown Manx Shearwater chick (shearwaterette?) was discovered in a burrow on Matinicus rock, sometime around Labor Day week. The bird was first thought to be an adult, with fully grown feathers and looking sharp overall. However it was discovered to be this year’s young - just about ready to fledge- as it still had a few thigh chick downy feather that gave her age away. This super exciting happening is the first documented Manx Shearwater chick ever hatched and raised in the United States! This is not totally unexpected as Manx have been observed circling around and rafting up in the water close to the Rock for years. A single egg was discovered in one of the burrows 2 or 3 years ago, but never hatched and presumedly still hasn’t. In June there was a reported 6 active Manx Shearwater burrows on the small island, which is a high number for sure. Whether or not those other burrows had young that fledged is unknown, as they easily could have left a day or more before this healthy chick was found.
Fungus –Better late(r) than never I should say. Yep, after all my moaning (shut up already baldy!) the tables turned over the past few weeks (at least a little) as far as the fungus scene is concerned. Our Fungus of the Month (da,da,da, dah!!!!) – is the King Bolete)! The King, The Porcini, The Cep (or whatever you want to call it) is “it” as far as I’m concerned and I’m sure you can picture in your mind the fist pumping and cheers that were let out when I stumbled upon this little beauty in the middle of the Roy Dyer trail (9/9) North Perry Creek. Just to look at it requires respect- especially as it towers over the Red Spruce tree, with that thick stalk and the most pure freshly baked bread loaf brown cap on the island (eat your heart out parking lot Lydia/Sophie!)! And hey, it’s probably helping that Spruce grow (Boletes are mychorrizal ya know- they help the trees grow!). It certainly looks good enough to eat and it certainly was tasty in eggs! The last four Julys have been rich with Kings but we’re more than happy to take ‘em in September! “Never met a king bolete I didn’t like” – as they say. Where are the boletes?” – (9/9)
North Perry Creek – A pair of Common Scaber stalks (Leccinum scabrum) was found under Hay-scented Fern…while several Aspen Scaber Stalks 
( were found beneath a cloning patch of Big-toothed Aspen along the Poor Farm Road. This is a yearly occurrence under this particular patch of Aspen. One of my favorite things about this particular genus, Leccinum, is that when you cook them they turn black. It’s a cool look to have black, burnt looking fungus mixed in with your eggs in the morning. And they are yummy to boot!
Also found were some nice patches of Scaly-stalked Pholiotas, like this one on a Birch in North Perry Creek. And we had nice little burst of Honey Mushrooms on the scene the last few weeks. The Basin Falls trail has been especially lined with them.
Also Irregular Earth Tongues, plenty of Cortinarus, Destroying Angels, Tawny Grisettes and other amanitas, and lots of Russulas. Nice rain yesterday could mean more fungus on the way! Yipee!
These Newts were made for crossing….- A few early morning bike rides around the island road crossed paths with a crossing of tiny red-spotted newts! These little ones in the Red Eft stage (once again – state amphibian of Massachusetts – but really - do we care?) were super small, just out of the pond as they say. I tried to give this one a quarter and I almost squished it. North Dakota is the official quarter dollar piece of the Red Eft stage of the Red-potted Newt – little known fact. At least a dozen were seen on both (9/9) and (9/13) – all tiny. Some squished. So it goes with life on the road. Even just this week (10/6) a Red Eft was spotted up by the thoroughfare. Overall it’s been a good year for Red Eft sightings, pretty exciting.
Peeper Alert – There has not been a day (with the exception of today and the days we spent at Baxter) that Leif and I, or at least I didn’t hear a spring peeper somewhere on the island. For most of September I could hear one calling out in our yard – I could hear it through the walls! And I ended seeing another 6 in the flesh as they say. Including the one in from the basin and a few peeperettes and adults on Lane’s. One in a blackberry patch. You can really see that Peepers are tree frogs in this shot – little suctions at the tip of their fingers. Anyway, good to see them in one last round before the big freeze comes around. That’s not the time to shave or be cold-blooded. That’s the fact, jack.
Also with frogs…North Perry Creek way – several days of working on bridging led myself and Gabe to befriend this green frog that lives around what is now the 3rd set of bridging. The Green Frog was there every day scootin’ around in the water. We quickly became friends, or at least he didn’t bother me much.
Basin Watch – (9/10) - Virginia Rail calling from marsh. 3 White-winged Crossbills (only ones this month), Merlin dive bombing a Spotted Sandpiper and then going after a Belted Kingfisher, 1 Turkey Vulture, 8 Great Blue Herons, 3 Belted Kingfishers, 5 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Least Sandpiper, 4 Savannah Sparrows, Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, 3 Osprey, 34 Harbor Seals…(9/14) Black Guillemot (Juvenile), 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Great Blue Heron, Several Flickers, 13 Harbor Seals…(9/20)51 Cedar Waxwings, 10 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 7 Savannah Sparrows, 1 Least Sandpiper, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Belted Kingfisher, 23 Harbor Seals …(9/26) Yellow bellied sapsucker, Nelson’sSharp-tailed sparrow, 3 Savannah Sparrows, 4 Greater Yellowlegs (regurgitates pellet), 2 Harbor Seals (kayakers had scared others off), 2 Great Blue Herons, Belted Kingfisher…(10/3) Peregrine Falcon, 58 Harbor Seals, Bald Eagle, 4 Great Blue Herons, 3 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Black Ducks.
Raptors- Lane’s Island – (9/11) Red-tailed Hawk hunting over the fields. This must be this year’s model for me, as it seems I see only about one Red-tailed a year out here. Always nice to see…(9/12) Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, 3 Merlins, Sharp-shinned Hawk…(10/6) 4 Merlins, 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Bald Eagles…Pleasant Street- (9/12) Sharp-shinned Hawk…Basin (9/10) Merlin hunting spotted sandpiper and belted kingfisher…(10/3) Peregrine Falcon…Old Harbor (10/8) Sharpie flying over the bridge – no creepy guys with binoculars there to see.
And they are not really raptors at all – But, Turkey Vultures have been sighted at several locations around the island in the last month. Jessica Farrelly has seen different pairs of Vultures at random spots around the island, while several folks have mentioned seeing individuals as of late. Seems as though we saw a lot more last year, but this latest rush is still impressive. Especially since prior to last summer Turkey Vulture sightings out here were few and far between. Whatever the case may be it’s great to see them and to realize that one more roadkill raccoon will be processed by the pros who visit our island on shakey wings (almost poetic).
Pellets– Shorebirds – I’ve seen a few handfuls of Whimbrel pellets out in California (dime a dozen pelletheads might say), but I’d never watched a shorebird toss one up before. That all changed during the (9/26) Basin Watch when this Greater Yellowlegs (or Yellowleg as it seems to be in the photo) stood on this rock below the Basin Bridge and hacked up this oval of indigestibles. From the coloration it appears this Yellowlegs might have been feeding on copepods - a fine snack for a sunny afternoon.
…Speaking of pellets –I’m wondering if anyone is interested in spending a little time this winter searching for Long-eared Owl pellets on Lane’s Island. We’d go out a few times a month when it’s not so cold and see if we can track these Owls and their movements around the preserve by their regurgitations. Doesn’t that sound lovely. Anyway, get in touch with me if you are interested in doing a little pellet searching – it’s actually way more fun than you could imagine (in your whole life) and you may even get to see an Owl or two.
Welcome back ducks! – We’ve had our first wave of wintering ducks show up – Black Ducks – Old Harbor pond has had a raft of about 20 or so (undoubtedly missed by the creepy guys with binoculars), and they are starting to be seen in the Basin as well…Red-breasted Merganser (10/8) in the Basin…and 15 Surf Scoters (9/21) off of Brown’s Head Light. Lots more to come – looking forward to the winter.
Around the island…Canada Geese are back in Carver’s Pond and have been observed migrating past our world…lots of huge groups of Double-crested Cormorants, in “V” formations have been seen heading south… Lane’s Island (9/16) A Prairie Warbler was mixed in with a Blackpoll Warbler and several Yellow-rumped Warblers, as well as many Red-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and Black-capped Chickadees…(10/3) many, many yellow-rumpeds plus a single Ruby-crowned Kinglet…State Beach- - Abundant migrants include – Cedar Waxwings, Northern Flickers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, American Robins…Singing Birds – Red-eyed Vireos, Brown Creepers, Golden-crowned Kinglets…
Brown’s Head Light –Ever since Neil Armstrong put “Ol’ Glory” on the top of the loaves this Bald Eagle has been hanging out there…Old Harbor Pond – (10/8) 2 Pied-billed Grebes
And hey – I figured out the increase in plane traffic over the Basin as well as the rest of the island – it's folks coming to see the turbines go up (not a real mind shocker there, but it took me long enough. whatever). “They look awesome”, “I’m so proud of us”, “If one of those blades lands in my yard, I’m keeping it!” are just a few of the quotes I’ve heard folks babble the last few days. There’s no two ways about it – they look awesome!
Hey – see you all around, you are the best. Stay classy Vinalhaven!
Kirk Gentalen