Last week, we had attempted to take a ride over to Vinalhaven. As you know, that attempt did not go as planned. This week, we decided to try again.

But first, on Monday, I covered Dane’s day off at the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch so that Jeannette and I could escape on Tuesday. Before heading up to the hill, Dane and I visited Florida Lake Park. Jeannette had over 40 Common Mergansers here on Sunday morning, and since I had not seen this charismatic species at Florida Lake, it seemed like a good way to start the day. In addition to the 14 Common Mergs that were still present, I tallied a goodly 28 Hooded Mergansers, 8 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Wood Ducks – plus the ubiquitous Mallards, American Black Ducks, and a pair of Canada Geese. One Pied-billed Grebe was my first of the year, and a pair of Rusty Blackbirds flew by as well.

After 103 raptors were tallied on The Brad on Sunday, I was very optimistic for my stint on Monday. And, I was not disappointed! Despite light to moderate, and at times gusty, northwest to north-northwest winds and considerable cloud cover all day, I finished the day with 123 raptors – our highest tally of the season to date – including 45 Osprey and my first 12 Broad-winged Hawks of the spring.

Other birds were on the move as well, including 5 Bohemian Waxwings, 2 Common Mergansers, 6 Tree Swallows, my first Barn Swallow of the year, and a total of 9 Purple Finches – finally returning to the area after a multiple-month absence. The show was stolen, however, by a Sandhill Crane that I spotted soaring high above the summit at 11:40am, slowly circling on a thermal with its massive, broad wings outstretched and eventually drifting off to the north. This is my third spring in a row with a Sandhill Crane from the Brad. Most likely, this is one of the 6-8 pairs of cranes now suspected of breeding in the state.

So, when we failed to make the Vinalhaven ferry last week, we were lamenting the fact that we had wasted a beautiful day, which would have been perfect for a boat ride. We thought, “How could we expect a better day in April?” Well, while we didn’t expect a better day, we got one! Unlimited sunshine, a very light wind – seas were about as calm as they get, and mild temperatures in the low to mid 50’s.

The ferry from Rockland to Vinalhaven is well known among birders for its winter birding potential, but much less is to be seen in the spring. However, our tally of 33 Black Guillemots was nothing to shake a stick at, nor where the 150 or so Purple Sandpipers on a rocky islet that all picked up when a migrant Merlin zipped by. We also watched a male Northern Harrier leave the headland at Owl’s Head State Park, and head straight out over the water to North Haven without pause. Also, we spotted a lone Laughing Gull – also a first of the year – roosting on a rock just off of Vinalhaven Island.

Once on the island, we met John, our guide for the morning. John is a local boat captain and lobsterman who is working on developing a little more eco-tourism business for his boat. As you know, Jeannette and I are big fans of local businesses catering to birders (ahem!), so when John got in touch with us, we were very excited to see what he had to offer.

Of course, the captain always gets credit for the fine weather for a day’s cruise (but bad weather is never the captain’s fault!), so he already had scored some major points when we motored out of the harbor. In his 40-foot (or so) lobster boat, we cruised around the shore of Vinalhaven, visiting offshore islands, islets, and random rocks as far out as Brimstone Island. Along the way, we enjoyed the calm water, the lovely weather, and the breathtaking scenery. Of course, as you may have guessed, we also enjoyed the birds!

"Alfred Hitchcock Rock"

A total of 65 splendid Harlequin Ducks were tallied, along with totals of 36 Purple Sandpipers, and 152+ Brant – including a really big flock (for Maine) of 100-125, which was probably the largest flock that I have seen in the state. Black Guillemots and Common Eider were abundant, and Black Scoters were surprisingly common (multiple 100’s, as compared to only 6 Surf Scoters). We also spotted 4 Red-necked Grebes, an American Kestrel and Sharp-shinned Hawk arguing over the two perches on one grassy island, and 2 Bald Eagles – including this one on her nest.

The highlight, however, was a visit to a colony of Great Cormorants. Today, we counted 23+ adults on 14+ nests on one island, which is one of the two southernmost breeding locations for this bird in the Western Atlantic. I have never seen a Great Corm on a nest, nor have I seen their animated displaying, so this was a real treat.

Back on terra firma, we met up with our friend Kirk to search for Long-eared Owls at the nearby Nature Conservancy’s Lane’s Island Preserve. Kirk has been finding pellets all winter (and the occasional Long-eared Owl!) and today he quickly found 7 relatively fresh pellets – he truly is the king of owl vomit! Unfortunately, we were not able to track down any owls, despite plenty of creeping and crawling under clusters of spruce. But, we did give it the ol’ college try.

Since no reservations were available for the 4:30 ferry, we had snapped up a reserved place on the 2:45 boat – especially considering our problem last week. Unfortunately, this meant we had far too little time to bird, and before we knew it, it was time to depart.

While we enjoyed the plethora of basking Harbor Seals on exposed rocks at low tide as we crossed the bay, we also enjoyed a few moments of “resting our eyes.” We also took a moment to reflect on our outing, and think about some ways to offer this excursion as a Wild Bird Center trip next year. Plus, if that Red-billed Tropicbird returns to the Seal/Matinicus area again this summer, there’s little doubt that I will be giving John a call! In the meantime, if you’re interested in an outing, drop us a line here at the store, and I’ll pass on the contact info. I highly recommend the trip. John knows his birds, and where to find them. And, I'm sure he'll guarantee weather like this! (Just don’t try and take your car, of if you do, make sure you have reservations!

Back in Rockland Harbor:

But, even after all of this fun, our day was not yet done (we like to take advantage of our scared day off, especially when the weather is this fine!). We took a detour on the way home to visit the duckage at the mouth of the Abagadasset River in Bowdoinham. Although the mass of birds was about ½ to 2/3rds what it was late last week, it was still impressive nonetheless.

Our total:
4,000+ American Black Duck
1,500+ Mallards
300+ Aythya spp (mostly Ring-necked Ducks and/or Lesser Scaup)
275-300 Green-winged Teal
150+ Common Mergansers
114++ Ring-necked Ducks
~100 Canada Geese
26+ Northern Pintail
14++ Lesser Scaup
4-6 Gadwall
3++ Greater Scaup
3 American Wigeon
3 Bald Eagles
2 Common Goldeneye
1 Pied-billed Grebe
1 Osprey
1 calling American Bittern (our first of the year)

And, shortly after we complete sifting through the masses on the mudflats, an extremely dark Peregrine Falcon came whizzing through, scattering the masses in a flutter of panic (and earning its nickname of “duck hawk!”).

Then, we finished up or outstanding day with a sunset stroll down Brown’s Point Road (actually, the official finish to the day was dinner at the Frontier Café, but this sounds more poetic), serenaded by a cacophony of Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs.

Meanwhile, calm conditions overnight resulted in a nice, big passerine movement for Wednesday morning. At Hedgehog Mountain Park, I had my first Chipping Sparrow of the spring, along with 5 Palm Warblers, a Broad-winged Hawk, 7 Eastern Phoebes, and two each of Winter Wrens and Hermit Thrushes. And, hundreds of American Robins, and tens of Common Grackles were heading north overhead after sunrise. Yes, I really do think it is now safe to say that spring is here!

Finally today, here’s how last night’s flight looked on the radar:
10:00pm:

10:00pm velocity image:

1:00am:

5:00am: