MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND REPORT

[RALPH ELDRIDGE]

THE PAST WEEK IN REVIEW

There was almost no small-bird migration, save a wave of WHITE THROATED SPARROWS with some JUNCOS mixed in, under the prolonged Northeast winds, through until the wee hours of last Saturday, May 5th.  Immediately upon the wind shift to the West and Northwest, the sparrows cleared out.
A couple days later, another wave of White Throated appeared and we still have a strong showing of them. I glanced out at one point Wednesday afternoon and watched several hundred sweeping across one part of the island, as if there was a predator driving them. But hundreds more could be seen actively feeding nearby without a hint of alarm.
A point of curiosity: many of the White Throated Sparrows are feeding on DANDLIONS but I can't tell if they are finding insects or eating pollen/nectar. Anyone know for certain?

We had our first WHITE CROWNED SPARROW yesterday, on the patio.

Until Monday, I hadn't seen even a single warbler. Since then, there has been a grand total of 2 PARULAS & 2 PALM WARBLERS spotted.
Also, several RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS, 4 or 5 PURPLE FINCHES, 1 BALTIMORE ORIOLE, 1 CATBIRD and our 4th PHOEBE appeared on Monday, with the Catbird and at least 1 Phoebe still around this morning (Thursday).

One DOWNY WOODPECKER, one CARDINAL, a handful of ROBINS and a few RED BREASTED NUTHATCHES are around, and I suspect that those birds are the same individuals continuing from a week or more ago.
The ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK was last seen 2 days ago.

Raptors have been active since the weekend.
At least 3 individual EAGLES are frequenting the island, with two associating much of the time. The gulls, of course, are no thrilled by their presence, nor are the Alcids, especially the Puffins.
PEREGRINES have been daily, usually singularly, although there were 5 here at one time a couple days ago. I saw one this morning just at sunrise.
MERLINS have been very scarce, but one or more HARRIERS cruise the island daily.
3 or 4 SHARPIES have spent virtually whole days hunting the island.
Yesterday morning (Wednesday) there was a female KESTREL, our first this season, perched about 40 feet from our patio, eyeing the 30-40 sparrows feeding there.
Apparently, this Kestrel, with its small size, was no worry for the sparrows. That could prove to be a misjudgment though. I have seen Kestrels take White Throated Sparrows on several occasions, including photographing one eating a WT Sparrow on this same patio.

I haven't seen the RAVENS for 3 or 4 days. They usually don't stay away for that long. Perhaps they've found a banquet elsewhere.

Alcid activity is normal with their presence on the island waxing and waning with the weather, time of day, predator disturbance or other factors.
The RAZORBILLS, perhaps a bit more than usual, are working hard rehearsing for roles in porn movies. Any rabbit would be envious.
Of note is the continuing expansion of Razos, both in number and in territory. This has to be impacting the PUFFINS as the larger Razorbills muscle into what was exclusively Puffin nesting habitat.

The Gannet is now plural, with two of them displaying, upgrading the nest and being very vocal. It's been a great opportunity to watch the whole procedure of nest building.
After they have a conversation, involving a lot of necking, one bird will take off and quickly locate a drifting patch of rockweed. It sits down, grabs a beak full of the seaweed, and then heads right back to the nest.
Then some more conversation, seemingly about how the renovation should proceed, and then the seaweed is incorporated into the existing pile, often with much fussing and rearranging. Then everyone settles down to rest from the labours and vigorously repeal any neighbours who encroach on the Gannet's perimeter or try to steal nest material.

No egg, yet.

The aquatic birds are getting into the season without too much out of the ordinary.
For several days during the Northeast flow, there were 200-300 PHALAROPES spread over the cove, mixing with the alcids, and nearly into the surf.  They were actively feeding. I've never seen them here, before, even with identical onshore winds.
Only rarely do I see Phalaropes around here during the day, although night flights are seen.
I couldn't be positive of the exact species nor what they were getting for food. The only hint about the latter was fish scales in the rockweed. Lots and lots of very, very tiny scales, presumably from very small fish.

Not much in the way of shorebirds on the island, other than a couple of lingering PURPLE SAND PIPERS and the first arriving SPOTTED SANDPIPER which was seen yesterday (Wednesday).

Also seen on two consecutive days last week was the TUFTED PUFFIN swimming in the cove among large flotillas of alcids.

A few HARLEQUINS remain. I'm guessing there are still about 20 but I'm unsure of the count because it's so difficult to pick them out among all the Alcids.
COMMON EIDERS are pairing up and a handful have been seen doing flights over the island. Male/Female pairs often make those recon flights in search of a nest site. There are currently nearly 70 drakes around the island so there are likely at least that many possible breeding pairs.
Not much else in the way of ducks, although there was one day when several small flocks of SURF SCOTERS paused briefly in our cove.

There have been numerous flocks (10 - 40 birds) of DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANTS passing over and near the island since last weekend, moving both up and down the bay. I'm thinking that many may be non-breeders. I'm also thinking these are local movements, rather than migration perhaps following food sources.

LOONS, RED THROATED & COMMON, can be seen passing the island in fair numbers but only infrequently do any of them stop here.

There are lots of GRAY SEALS around, with well over 100 usually hauling out on Gull Rock. A scattered few, mainly pups, occasionally pull out on MSI.
A few HARBOUR SEALS are appearing, mainly younger adults. Harbours give birth much later than Grays. Occasionally Harbours give birth here, on MSI, in June as compared with Grays birthing in New England in January/February and then travelling up here.

Gulls continue to haunt the colony looking for any opportunity for a meal. At this point, they are mainly stealing eggs.
Some HERRING GULLS (and maybe 1 or 2 BLACK BACKS) are selecting nest sites and establishing territories here on MSI. There may be a few already on nests. Most years there are a few nests on Gull Rock, as well.
There are also quite a few gulls ....... Herring, Black Backed, a couple Glaucous and a handful of Icelands ...... hanging around MSI and adjacent Gull Rock, upwards of 200 most days. Many of these birds are subadult and all are likely non-breeding.
The Eagles patrolling the area frequently flush the gulls and keep them shifting from one lounging location to another.

ARCTIC TERNS, and maybe a COMMON TERN or two, should arrive soon, so that we get a glimpse into what this year's breeding season may look like.
The Terns arrive almost exactly when sunrise is at 06:00.
At first, a small advance party will appear and circle high over the island for maybe 1/2 an hour, then leave until the next morning. This may be repeated for several days, with the number increasing and the birds staying longer and dropping lower.
At some point the first Terns decide to actually land and investigate nesting locations, usually the sites they used in previous seasons.
The first Terns were heard and see on Tuesday morning.