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Ferry ride to the island
Passing a lobster boat
Monhegan Village
Gump's lighthouse
Monhegan's Lighthouse
Lobsters abundant
Loading up lobster traps
The cliffs of Monhegan
Monarch Butterfly |
Birding Monhegan Island in migration season is
like a family reunion. At various times, we ran into groups led by Maine
Audubon, Mass Audubon, and the Wild Bird Center in Yarmouth. The hour-long ferry
from Port Clyde to Monhegan passes a familiar lighthouse. For those
who saw the movie Forrest Gump, this lighthouse is where
Forrest ends his cross-country run.
Saturday dawned
with promising breezes from the northwest, but it became apparent by noon that
most of the nocturnal migrants had flown right over the island. Warbler watching
was slow. However, the hawk migration was phenomenal. We noted all three falcons within
10 minutes of checking into the hotel. We had many sharp-shinned hawks (and one
Cooper's) by mid afternoon. Also noteworthy: the island was overrun by flickers
and juvenile sapsuckers - a trend that would intensify all weekend. The flickers were as numerous as Shriners at a circus.
After awhile, you come to recognize the flicker panic call, which it screeches
whenever pursued by a merlin, peregrine, or accipiter. You know where
the raptors are even when you can't see them. Another wonderful aspect
about the weekend: it was the height of butterfly migration, too.
Thousands of Monarchs settled among the autumn flowers.
Sunday was the warbler fallout. We tallied 18 species on the day,
including Orange-crowned, Cape May, Tennessee, and Northern Waterthrush. But the
White-crowned Sparrows stole the show. They were always underfoot. Hundreds were
encountered. Birders also had excellent looks at rare Lark and
Clay-colored Sparrows. We were particularly keen to relocate a Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, which we failed to do on Sunday despite a fresh sighting report. Monday
was to be a different day.
Monday dawned overcast with southerly breezes. This
may have dissuaded an influx of fresh raptors, but the ones still
present put on a great show around Burnt Head. A mix of merlins and
sharp-shinned hawks kept flashing just overhead as they prowled for
breakfast, often alighting on a nearby snag. At one point, a
northern goshawk brushed by, followed by a merlin that was so
dwarfed in relative size that it looked like an enlarged swallow.
Later in the day, we enjoyed a kettle of six peregrines above White
Head. Throughout the day, panicked flickers told us where the
raptors were. In the meantime, we kept bumping into the elusive
Yellow-billed Cuckoo. An out-of-range female Summer Tanager also
delighted birders.
All weekend, Northern Gannets filled the sea around
the island in spectacular numbers. On the return ferry, Derek
Lovitch spotted a Pomarine Jaeger. Although I've seen numerous
individuals off the Bar Harbor Whale Watch, this was the first
breeding plumage adult I have seen with full-length tail feathers.
Outstanding. So, too, was the poor fate of a solitary sandpiper.
When I first spotted it from the ferry, it was successfully evading
a peregrine. When a second bird joined the hunt, its fate was
sealed. Soon, the smaller, male falcon snared it. Immediately, the
larger falcon snatched it from him. So it goes.
The weekend boasted of extraordinary weather. Let
that be a warning. Even with great weather, each day was a different
experience. That's Monhegan. You goes, you takes your chances. I was
prepared to spend a day indoors playing Scrabble. It was a terrific
experience I wish upon everyone. |
Northern Gannets abundant
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Another
Peregrine Falcon
Hawk food: Northern Flicker
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo w/worm
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
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