Prior experience with this species 
     
    

    
     Although rare but annual in Minnesota (mostly SE), I have never seen a Golden Eagle in my state. But I 
     
     have seen them elsewhere a half dozen times in my life, most recently a couple'individuals in various plumages 
     
     January 2003 in south New Mexico while birding with a VENT tour. I have never carefully studied their plumage 
     
    
   
   
    
     variations in the field, and relied heavily then (and this time) on collective opinion of the group to confirm the 
     
     identification. 
     
    
   
   
    
     TWO NEW DRAGONFLY SPECIES FOR PEI: by Robert W. Harding 
     
    
   
   
    
     The number of dragonfly species known from PEI now stands at 67, and the latest two additions are from 
     
     the Emerald (Corduliidae) family: the Forcipate Emerald (Somatochloraforcipata) and the Incurvate Emerald (S. 
     
     incurvata). These medium to large sized dragonflies have dark bodies with metallic green reflections and the most 
     
     brilliant emerald green eyes. They are strong graceful flyers, are secretive and rarely encountered, and can be 
     
     quite challenging to net. The two species discussed here are very similar and can only be positively identified by 
     
     close examination in the hand. 
     
    

    
     The newest dragonfly recorded from PEI, the Forcipate Emerald, was found earlier this summer by my 
     
     son Jake, as part of his summer job with the provincial environment department assessing the status of selected 
     
     insect species. It was collected in Prince County, near the Ellerslie Bog Interpretation Site along the 
     
     Confederation Trail. This inhabitant of slow moving waters is of generally northern distribution, and has been 
     
     found elsewhere in the Maritimes. . 
     
    

    
     The second most recent addition to the PEI list, the Incurvate Emerald, was first recorded in 2001 from a 
     
     bog near the Old Pisquid Road in Queens County. This species has since been found in Kings and Prince counties, 
     
     again through Jake’s work this summer with the PEI environment department. The Incurvate Emerald’s breeding 
     
     habitat is Sphagnum bogs, and in Maine it has been designated a Species of Special Concern. 
     
    

    
     When the Atlantic Dragonfly Inventory Program (ADIP) was established ten years ago, the PEI list stood 
     
     at 49. Besides the current efforts of the provincial environment department, work on dragonflies has recently been 
     
     done by UPEI, Parks Canada, and on Natural History Society field trips. As more dragonfly surveying is done, the 
     
     list of species known from PEI will likely continue to grow. 
     
    
   
   
    
     KITE FLYING OFF EAST POINT: by Dan McAskill 
     
    
   
   
    
     I never thought flying a kite would be part of an offshore birding and whaling adventure but fact is often 
     
     stranger than fiction. A phone call from Lorne Yeo on July 28'h led to an offshore adventure that I will long 
     
     remember. Lorne recently retired and his fellow staff at the Guardian, knowing his passion for fishing, presented 
     
     him with a tuna fishing trip as a gift. Thus, just before 9 am on July 31“, Lorne and a group of four friends whom 
     
     he invited boarded Captain Jeff MacNeil’s boat at North Lake for a day of fishing on the waters off the north 
     
     shore. 
     
    

    
     The harbour itself had a significant number of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls and a small number 
     
     of Ring-billed Gulls. Just off the harbour buoy, we were joined by a few Bonaparte’s Gulls and we seen small 
     
     numbers of these small gulls during the day as they plucked up tidbits from the surface of the water. As we 
     
     cruised out in the morning sunshine, the water was very calm with only a gentle swell. Our first stop was about a 
     
     kilometre off the harbour where we were surrounded by the tuna fleet as each boat fished for mackerel for the 
     
     boat’s live well (a circular plastic container which has a water jet circulating the water to keep the mackerel alive). 
     
     Only a few were caught at this spot so we moved to a second area to the east. Here we quickly caught about 40 
     
     mackerel on unbaited streamer flies. We then headed eastward along the shore. The sonar revealed huge numbers