On Wednesday morning, we woke up at 6:30 to go to Harbor Island, an island about 4 miles from Hog Island. The plan was simple: go to Harbor Island, and bird. We arrived at 8:30, and were rowed by groups of 8 by dory onto the island. Some other people who had been on the island the previous day told us what birds to keep an eye out for. One of the birds they included was an Alder Flycatcher, a rather rare bird for the area. Fortunately for me, I was on the first dory ride, so I was able to bird while the others were being rowed in. Not two minutes after landing, Logan Kahle, my friend from San Francisco, and I heard a sound coming from the trees: wheeeAAAOOoooo. It sounded somewhat like a cat, but it wasn't a catbird (we wouldn't see that until five minutes later). Suddenly, Logan yelled out: "Empid!". For those of you who aren't familiar with this abbreviated term, an Empidonax (or Empid for short) is a genus of smaller flycatchers characterized by their two wing bars and overall small and petite frame. This was exciting, because the Alder Flycatcher is a species of Empidonax. We immediately set up all the scopes on this bird, and all binoculars were on the tree, searching for this surprisingly camouflaged bird. After extensive and thorough observing and studying, we determined that this Empid was indeed the Alder Flycatcher.
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| Alder Flycatcher |
The thing that makes this bird confusing is that it was split from another flycatcher species: the Willow Flycatcher. Before, these two species were lumped together as one species: Traill's Flycatcher. The only way to differentiate these two Empids is by their call. If you don't hear it singing or calling, it is impossible to identify the species. Fortunately for us, it was calling, which made ultimate identification possible.
After the Empid hullabaloo, everyone had landed on the island and we could commence our day of birding. As we walked down the trail, we noticed flocks of Cedar Waxwings flying over. Flashes of yellow that would bolt from one tree to the next signaled the omnipresence of the Yellow Warblers, and the complex and varied songs of the Song Sparrows encompassed us. Then a dull & gray bird hopped onto an open and bare branch: it was a Gray Catbird. This bird is extremely common on the east coast and all of south of Canada. But I've never been to the east coast or Canada, so it was a lifer and I was excited. I was however the only one moved by this locally ubiquitous bird, for all of the campers were from the east coast. Then, we spotted a handsome White-Throated Sparrow chipping from a branch, but was almost immediately startled by an American Crow landing nearby. We found other birds such as Black-Throated Green Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Purple Finches, and Mourning Doves. We stopped on the top of enormous boulders that have an amazing view of Muscongus Bay and many other islands. Some people set up their scopes and began to scan the horizon, in search of any interesting pelagic (oceanic) birds. Then, one camper said he found something but was unable to identify it. Logan was closest to him and looked through. When he answered, he sounded like he didn't believe himself: "Black Scoter?" This was another surprise, scoters should be up in Northern Canada nesting, but instead, a raft of 5 are swimming along calmly. Two different species of scoters on one trip, during the wrong time of the year?: how bizarre.
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| Terrible shot of the Black Scoters |
As we continued to hike down, we found other seabirds such as Black Guillemots, Laughing and Herring Gulls, Double-Crested Cormorants, and Common Eiders. Other land birds that we saw were American Goldfinches, Ospreys, and the highlight of the day (other than the Alder Flycatcher), a flock of Red Crossbills!
We finally arrived at our initial point and had lunch. People went wading, called their parents, and just simply chilled. I did a little birding with Logan, and with our new friends Jack Beltz and Maia Paddock, both from Pennsylvania. The only interesting thing we found was the same Alder Flycatcher.
Finally at 3:30, it was time to go and head back to Hog Island. On our way back, we found a juvenile Bald Eagle flying over the water, and fishing. It was a very cool sight considering the only Bald Eagle we had seen far was perched on a branch. Once on Hog Island, it was the same routine: we had dinner and headed towards a building where the nightly presentation was scheduled. That night's presentation was called "Conversations with the Stars" by Sarah Morris. She talked about the very faint, yet essential flight calls of migrating warblers. She was explained their purpose, why the calls of different species sound so similar, etc... Once again, another very interesting presentation. We went to bed at the same time as usual, but only after listing all the birds of the day and pulling pranks on Jack Beltz, poor guy.
Rather than waking up at the usual 6:30, on the final day we woke up at 5:30 to attend a bird banding session with Sarah Morris and Scott Weidensaul. This was extremely exciting for me because I had never attended this kind of session, and have always dreamt of it. For those readers who aren't familiar with banding, it is when we catch wild birds with very delicate and gossamer nets (to ensure the bird's safety) and attach small metal rings around their legs with a serial code written on it. Banding is a very important part of ornithology and for studying migration. It helps keep track of the life span of a bird, the yearly route it takes when migrating from north to south and vice versa, and even to find out if it's the same bird that nests at the same location every year. This technique changed ornithology drastically, but in a good way. Anyways, that morning we were going to perform target birding, as opposed to passive birding. Target birding is when an audio recording of the bird is played, to attract a certain species of bird. Passive birding is when you set up the mist net, and band any species of bird that gets caught in it. The first bird call they played was that of a Golden-Crowned Kinglet. Unfortunately, the bird responded but did not fly into the net. Scott set up a different net several yards away and played the call of a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. Almost immediately, the bird flew into the net, as if on cue. The bird was retrieved and brought to the banding station where they attached a ring to its leg, made some measurements, and finally released it.
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| Breeding male Yellow-Rumped "Myrtle" Warbler |
The next bird we tried to attract was a Black-Throated Green Warbler. This bird took a little longer to fly into the net, but eventually and unknowingly made himself the next bird we banded. This little, and seemingly harmless, warbler was in fact a vicious and feisty fellow. It incessantly nipped the instructor's fingers.
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| The pernicious Black-Throated Green Warbler |
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| Black-Throated Green Warbler |
Unfortunately, this exciting and enlightening banding session had to end eventually. However, the most exciting part of the day hadn't yet begun. That day was the day that we finally headed to Eastern Egg Rock, where the established puffin population is nesting. We got to witness the fruitful results of Project Puffin in person. I was so excited. We all got on the boat, binoculars in hand, and ready to bird. As we were on our way towards the island, we were all scanning the horizon, hoping to find some interesting pelagic birds, such as Greater Shearwaters or Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Unfortunately, none were found. Finally, we saw the island and we all began to cheer, as if we were stranded out at sea, and we hadn't seen land in weeks. As we approached the island, we began to see our first clown-billed, harlequin Atlantic Puffins. These alcids are truly one of a kind and were a treat to watch.
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| Our first Atlantic Puffins! |
Once we landed on the island, we are greeted by the scientists that are staying there for the summer. However, we were also greeted, or rather mobbed, by the local nesters. Common Terns began to dive-bomb us as we approached them too closely. Once everybody was on the island, we walked towards the center cabin that could hardly fit 5 people. The scientists gave us a rundown of what we were going to do that day. Everybody was going to be put in blinds, by a certain species birds' nests and take notes of what we saw. I was put in the blind by the Roseate Terns' nests. Roseate Terns are endangered birds, so it's great that they are nesting on Eastern Egg Rock.
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| Roseate Tern couple |
Other birds nesting all over the place were Common Terns, their nests were so plentiful, that it was hard to take step without almost stepping on tern eggs.
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| Common Tern Eggs |
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| Common Tern |
The third and final species of tern that nests on this island, and the least populous species on the island, is the Arctic Tern. To tell this species apart easily from the Common Tern, look at the bill. Common Terns have black tips, whereas Arctic Terns have the integrality of their bill red.
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| Arctic Tern |
I was cramped in an individual blind on a remote part of the island, far away from any of my fellow campers. But this meant that I was the only one that actually got good views of the Roseate Terns, as they were primarily on my side of the island.
On my faraway edge of the island, I was frequently being harassed by the same male Common Tern. He would fly out of the nest, and dive-bomb my hand whenever I stuck it out. He also nipped my hat several times, and defecated on me quite a few times as well. I wasn't a big fan of his.
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| The evil Common Tern during an attack. |
After shooing the mean tern away, I noticed something black-and-white flying really quickly over the water 100 yards from my blind. I put my binoculars up to my eyes and shouted out: "Razorbills!" The Razorbill is an alcid closely related to the extinct Great Auk. There are a couple of these birds nesting on the island, but I only saw them over the water, rather distant.
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| An extremely grainy shot of the two Razorbills I saw. |
While watching the Razorbills flying quickly over the water and passing by the island, I noticed a brownish blob on the rocks. I looked closer and was astonished to find my lifer Ruddy Turnstone! This little sandpiper-like bird should have been nesting up in the arctic, but decided to hang around there for the summer. When it flew away, I wondered if anybody else had seen this bird. As it turns out, no one else saw it!
Puffins were everywhere you looked, they were either swimming around, or flying, or waddling around on the rocks. Another alcid that was very frequently seen was the Black Guillemot. These little guys would always land on the island, but terns always attempted to thwart them by cawing in their faces. They would eventually succumb to the harassment and fly away, but reluctantly, as they would always fly back five minutes later.
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| Black Guillemot chilling when terns aren't around to scare it off. |
Finally, another common nester on the island is the Laughing Gull. Their calls were everywhere you turned. They were loud, aggravating, and absolutely enchanting all at once.
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| The startled Laughing Gull isn't laughing anymore. |
Unfortunately, this amazing trip had to end. We all got onto the boat and waved goodbye to the dedicated scientists that spend countless amounts of hours doing research on these wonderful birds.
However, it wasn't just the trip to Eastern Egg Rock that had to end, it was our last day on Hog Island as campers. It was pretty incredible, and to celebrate its ending, we had a lobster feast. As I have never eaten a lobster (west coast swag), Scott Weidensaul taught me how to crack and tear and devour this witty and armored crustacean. Not many people can say they had a famous author teach them how to eat a lobster. To top off the delicious dinner, the chef made some apt puffin éclairs. They were incredibly delicious!
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| Puffin Éclair! |
However, before heading off to bed, I decided to stop by the famous Northern Parula nest that I have failed to mention previously. This warbler creates its nest by fabricating a cup out of the Old Man's Beard Moss. Its chicks were impossible to see, but you could sometimes hear them cheeping.
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| Northern Parula nest |
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| Northern Parula |
That week was incredible. I learned so much beneficial information about birds, birding, and ornithology. The faculty was incomparable, the food was delicious, and the setting was stunning. I highly recommend this camp to any teen interested in birding or nature.
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| Our incredible team! |
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