The Nesting Season June 1 - July 31, 1976 NORTHEASTERN MARITIME REGION SoA. /Davis W. Finch SeventeenNorth American reportstotaling 23 individuals of Black-browed and Yellow-nosed Mostof New Englandexperienced a hot, dry June-- it Albatrossprior to 1973have been carefullysum- was in fact the hottest and driest June in Massachusetts marized by McDaniel (Am. Birds 27:563-565), history.July was cooler and wetter,but theseconditions oneother convincing Gulf of Maine report(1968) seemedto have no detectableeffect on breedingbirds. being known to this editor. Sevensubsequent Writing of New Hampshire,Vera Hebert characterized reports appearingin Am. Birds involvedeight the periodquite succinctly: "Never has a nestingseason albatrossessighted from Maryland to Nova Sco- beenmore normal". Eventhe severalfirst statebreeding tia: five Black-broweds,two probable Black- recordsin NewEngland came only as gentle surprises. browedsand one positiveYellow-nosed, to which can be added this summer's Massachusetts birds. It mightbe notedthat of this overalltotal of 34 e. North American albatrosses (18, or more than half of them, in the Northeastern Maritime Region), 19 were identified as, and in five instancesproven to be, Yellow-nosed;that while Black-browedis the vagrant albatrossof the e. North Atlantic, North America'sonly provenone is still the 1935Greenland specimen; that aside fromthat bi•d all Black-broweds(11 plustwo "probables")have been reported since 1972; that consideringthe subtletiesof albatrossdiscrimina- tion curiouslyfew, in fact only two havenot been "identified" (see Warham, Bourne and Elliott, Albatross Identification in the North Atlantic-- Am. Birds28:585-603), and that consequentlyan unambiguousBIack-browed photograph would do wondersfor the persistentmalaise many feel regardingreports of this species. Happily, for the first time in over a year recordscam, OTHER TUBENOSES-- Followinga patternmore or fromalmost all partsof the Region,though in somecases less apparent in recent years, the withdrawal of N. they werehurriedly digested to meetthis report'sdead- Fulmarsfrom New Englandwaters occurred rather late line. Records from Prince Edward Island, from New- in the season:the last at Cox'sLedge, R.I., were 15 on foundlandapart from the westcoast, and from certain June 6 (N.H.B.C.) and the last reportedfrom coastal areasof Maine and Connecticutwould be neededto pro- Massachusettswere 11 on the samedate (fide RPE); 960 videa completepicture. werecounted on GeorgesBank June 10 but only three Some contributors (readers?) seem to have missed the werefound there July 12 (JML). In the Gulf of Maine and editor'saddress change. Mail directedto the old address Bay of Fundy, 31 occurred on three round trips of the is randomlyforwarded, not forwarded,or returnedby the "Bluenose"ferry betweenBar Harbor, Me., and Yar- most capriciouspostal serviceanywhere. Use the new mouth,N.S., July7-25 but nonethereafter (KPA, WCT); address. six individuals in waters around Macbias Seal I., June 29 ALBATROSSES-- Two unusualreports from Mas- - July 11 werethe first summerreports for New Bruns- sachusetts this season were an ad. Yellow-nosed wick (DSC et ai.) and 18 off Brier Island, N.S., were con- Albatrossclosely observed on CultivatorShoals off Cape sideredunusual July 6 (RGBB, ELM). Farther north, 28 Cod June 14 (unclescribedto this editor; JML, fide werefound in Cabot Strait July 27 and 119 in the Strait TLL-E)and a Black-browedAlbatross on Jeffries Ledge, of BelleIsle July30 (DWF). Early summerCory's Shear- 18 mi. off RockportJuly 11, the descriptionstressing the watersoff the s. New Englandcoast were more numerous bird's enormoussize, yellow bill and broadly dark- than in somerecent years: a total of 152 occurredon six margined underwing (RSH, party of four). What was tripsto Cox'sLedge June 6 - July23, the maximum50 on assumedto be the sameindividual reappeared two weeks July 17 (RAC, DLK, CW) and off the Massachusetts laterpursued by HerringGulls around Newburyport har- coast105 werereported on four datesJune 14 - July 15, borJuly 24 (RSH). the maximum 52 on GeorgesBank on the latter date 926 American Birds, October, 1976 UML). GeorgesBank maximaof the commonershear- waters were 3200 Greaters and 900 Sooties on June 10; SootyShearwater counts of 100 off Block Island June6-7 and 11S-12Soff Pt. JudithJune 6-9 exceededprevious highs for Rhode Island (RLF). Manx Shearwaters reported this seasonnumbered about 41: ten off the Rhode Island coast June 6-9, 21 off Massachusetts and ten in the Gulf of Maine or Bay of Fundy,all duringJuly. Reports of Leaoh's Storm-Petrelscame from a few breedinglocalities: in NovaScotia the colonyat BonPor- tage I., was found to contain unusuallyhigh numbers June26 (PS,fide PRD) and in Maine 2000 pairs were estimatedat Little Egg Rock south of Mount Desert I., July 11 while 400 pairs werefound breedingat Matinicus Rock (CWB, WCR). Off Massachusetts an estimated 7000 Wilson's Storm-Petrelseast of StellwagenBank July17 wasa notableconcentration 0ML). CORMORANTS. HERONS. IBISES -- In s.w. Con- LouisianaHeron. House Is., MA. Jul), 24. 1976. Photo/ necticut an imm. Great Cormorant present June 20 William Ervin. through July was unprecedentedin the Greenwich- Stamfordarea (DB et aL). the onlyother birds reported in New Englandthis seasonbeing five immatures linger- representa first provincialbreeding record (PS, fide ing around a colonyof 323 pairs of Double-crestedsat PRD), althoughthe birds may breed in small numbers Duck I. in the Isles of Shoals,Me. (ACB). Table 1, show- along the New Brunswickborder. Scarcenesters in s. ing countsof heronsbreeding or presentat four of New New England, Yellow-crownedNight Herons were again England'scoastal heronties is incomplete,lacking data thisyear reported nesting in a discreteand successfulcol- from Connecticut'sNorwalk Is. herontad, saidto be thriv- onyon Ram I. in the Norwalkgroup OS). Word of inland ing, from Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket,and from heronsis sparsebut in New Hampshire Vera Hebert Wood I. at the mouth of the Saco R., Me. Dick Ferren reportedtwo Great Blue herontiescontaining a total of termed the Gould I. herontad a disaster,its declineunex- 100 birds and noted that B.B.S. figures in that state plained, but reportedthat a heronryat Block Island's indicated a "crash" in Am. Bittern numbers. Southern "Grove" censused June 7 contained 89 nests of Black- heronsreaching Nova Scotiathis season,including some crowned Night Heron, three Little Blue Herons and previouslyunreported spring birds, were single Green seven Snowies, these two species unconfirmed as and Little Blue Herons,two Cattle Egrets,three Snowies breedersthere (HL). The Region'sfirst nesting Louisiana and a Glossy Ibis, another in New Brunswick. Much Herons were found this summer at Chimon I. in the Nor- morestartling were single White Ibisesoccurring at Cape walk group where at least one nest was found July 6-7 Sable, N.S., an adult June 14 (BJS, BS, CS) and an (DBu, AS,fide JS)and at HouseI., (seetable) wheresix immature in mid-July (NC, BJS), the only previous youngof two (probablythree) pairs were found July 24 reports for Atlantic Canada being a Bon Portage I. (RAF, WRP et aL). About eight other Louisianaswere specimen(adult, July 13-15, 1959), a Brier I. sightrecord reported elsewherein s. New England this summer, (DWL), and Newfoundlandsight recordsof ten or more anotheroccurring as far north as SaintJohn West, N.B., in the CapeBroyle area Apr. 2-6, 1967and ten or moreat July 14-19 (CLI et aL). In Nova Scotiaa youngBlack- RameaMay 14, 1971.•de LMT), the latter three records crownedNight Heron at Bon PortageI., June26 seemsto not previouslyappearing in Am. Birds. Table 1. CoastalHerondes in NewEngland, 1976 AppledoreI., HouseI., off Clark'sI., in Gould I., in Islesof Manchester, DuxburyBay, SakonnetR., Shoals, Me. Mass., June Mass., June R.I., June 12 June (ACB) (fide RPE) (fide TLL-E) (RLF) Little BlueHeron 1 ad., 2 imm.* 6 4 pairs 2 birds* Cattle Egret 2 adults* -- -- 2 birds* Great Egret -- 1 4 pairs 24 nests SnowyEgret 60 pairs 451 245pairs 2-3birds* Louisiana Heron -- 5 -- -- Black-cr.Night Heron 35 pairs 28 245 pairs 74 nests Yellow-cr.Night Heron 1 adult* -- -- -- GlossyIbis 2Spairs 20 60 pairs ? a fewnon- breeders* 1. HouseIsland count is of birdsseen going to roost. * Nopr. oven nesting. Volume 30, Number 5 927 WATERFOWL- Indicativeof the species'continued those inclinedto study such introducedstocks might increasein s. New Englandwere four nestsor broodsof encounterRock Partridges.Two King Rails at Sutton, Gadwallsfound June 11 - July12 in RhodeIsland, where N.H. werethe northernmostreported in the Regionm onlyfour previousnests had beenknown (RLF, DLK). recent years (Vernon; KCE, HWP, fide VHH, date More surprisingwas the reportof a femaleand broodof unspecified).A Purple Gallinule was found at Orono, 12 duringJune at AppledoreI. in the Islesof Shoals,con- Me., in late June (fide WCT) and another at Bolton, stltutmga first Maine nestingrecord and anothercase of Mass., July 4-9 was the first in WorcesterCounty since northeastwardrange extensionbypassing New Hamp- 1888 (DHC, FMcM et al.). In New Brunswicksingle shire (ACB, OHH). A "first" Maine nesting of Am. Corn.Gallinules were seenat Deer I. July 17 (KH, MT) Wigconwas also reported, details withheld for publica- and on July 19 at Red Head Marsh, wherebreeding has tion elsewhere(HES); several lingered at Howland beensuspected in somerecent years (CLJ,fide DSC) throughMay andJune (PV). A pair of N. Shovelerspres- ent to at leastJuly 11