Last Friday afternoon we boarded the M/V Thomas Leighton and headed to Star Island for a birding weekend organized by Eric Masterson. This trip is timed to be able to see southward migrating birds, especially warblers*. We arrived back on the mainland about 3:30 PM on Sunday.
Saturday dawned blustery and although there were birds present, they were pretty much hunkered down inside the brush and therefore impossible to photograph. The wind died down on Saturday evening and Sunday was much calmer and the photography more productive.
I discovered that (compared to the spring time) photography was much more difficult since most of the plants which were bare in the spring were still more-or-less fully leafed out. Thus getting clear views of small birds was difficult.
The most common warbler we saw, by far, was the yellow-rumped. In addition we observed two rarities for New Hampshire… a lark sparrow and a lazuli bunting; both are western birds. The bunting is the first sighting of this species in NH (if it is accepted by the Rare Bird Committee).
Anyway, without further excuses or ado, here are the photos:
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Another difference between our spring trip and this one, was the number of people. The spring trip occurred before the official opening of the season so the only people on the island were the maintenance staff and a couple of dozen birders. This past weekend us birders shared the island with at least three other groups… the Star Island board of directors, sailors participating in the Gosport Regatta and a group of kite fliers.
I took time away from birding on Saturday afternoon to photograph the sailboats as they neared Star Island (both the windward mark and the finish line were close by).
Here are the sailing photos:
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The sunset on Friday night was spectacular. Here are a few photos of that and a mishmash of other subjects:
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* We participated in a similar trip, timed for the spring migration, in May of 2014; see this post and this one for the details.