Monthly Archives: August 2024

Recent Highlights, 8/19 – 8/25/2024

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Brandon Baldwin and Kevin Harding found this American White Pelican off Wharton Point in Brunswick on the 24th. My “lunchbreak chase” ended up taking a few extra hours, but it was more than worth it when a small group of us were treated to the bird flying right over our heads at the end of the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land trail. Luckily, it wasn’t any closer when it decided to lighten the load, as caught in action here.

It was an exceptional week of late summer birding. Once again motivated by shorebirds, I ran into quite a few other species of note while working the usual hotspots. My non-shorebird observations of note over the past 7 days included:

  • Common Nighthawks were on the move this week, while some other widespread migrants and frequent visitors to our Durham property included American Redstart and Yellow, Black-and-white, Magnolia, Tennessee and Cape May Warblers.
  • 1 adult Little Blue Heron and 2+ Surf Scoters, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/21 (with Anniversary Day Birdwalk group).
  • 2 FORSTER’S TERNS, 2 CASPIAN TERNS, and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • 1 female LONG-TAILED DUCK and 2 Surf Scoters, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • 2 continuing adult RED-NECKED GREBES, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 2 Cape May Warblers, etc, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 8/24 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/24. A State Bird for me, it was found about an hour earlier by Kevin Harding and Brandon Baldwin. After it was displaced by a passing airboat, I arrived at about 12:30 and relocated it on the rocky ledge at the southern end of the bay. Brandon and I cut the distance in more than half by walking out to the end of the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land trail. Although closer, the light was brutal, but a small group of us waiting until the tide had inundated the ledge. Then the pelican took off. First it started heading south, but circled back, passed directly overhead (see photo above) and then gained altitude high over Wharton Point before disappearing off to the north.
  • 26 Surf Scoters, Maquoit Bay Conservation Land Trail, 8/24 (with Brandon Baldwin).

Meanwhile, fueled by a successful 19-species “shorebird mini-Big Day on 8/23 with Noah Gibb, my shorebird high counts for a total of 20 species this week were as follows:

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 2, Little Whaleboat Ledges, Casco Bay, 8/25 (with Birds of Casco Bay Boat Trip tour group).
  • Black-bellied Plover: 150+, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Killdeer: 26, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/21 (with Anniversary Day Birdwalk grpup).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 400, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Piping Plover: 1, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 30, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • RED KNOT: 1 ad and 1 juv, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • STILT SANDPIPER: 1 continuing adult, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/19 (with Jeannette) and 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Sanderling: 17, Hill’s Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • DUNLIN: 1 fresh juvenile (FOY), Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Least Sandpiper: 100+, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 6, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1250, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 16, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER: 1 adult, Walsh Preserve, 8/19 (with Jeannette). Photo below.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 3, Ocean Avenue, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations and dates this week.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 54, Walsh Preserve, 8/19 (with Jeannette).
  • “Eastern” Willet: 3, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 8, Royal River flats, 8/25 (with Birds of Casco Bay Boat Trip tour group).

An adult LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was a fun find for Jeannette and I this week at the Walsh Preserve in Freeport. It could have been closer, but this photo shows some of the pertinent identification features in the bird to the right including the larger size and very round shape, hunched back, and uniformly reddish tone throughout much of the undersides.

Recent Highlights, 8/12 – 8/18/2024

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Far from being my best shot of the week, our Saturday Morning Birdwalk group enjoyed 2 Stilt Sandpipers at Freeport’s Walsh Preserve. Here’s one of them (pardon the lousy hand-held phone-scoped photo) flanked by Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs for a perfect comparison. Instructional shorebird identification was the name of the game for my tours this week!

Two shorebird-focused tours, plus a few mornings out on beach/mud on my own produced some solid shorebird high counts. My species list and a few high counts would have been added were in not for the rapidly-approaching thunderstorm as my Shorebird Workshop group arrived at Hill’s Beach on the 15th!  Landbird migration is really picking up as well, with lots of the expected early warblers on the move, including a Cape May Warbler at the Walsh Preserve in Freeport (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) on the 17th.

Non-shorebird observations of note this week:

  • 28+ continuing Surf Scoters, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/12.
  • 2 Common Nighthawks (First of fall), over our property in Durham, 8/13.
  • 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
  • 6 Surf Scoters, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 8/16.

Shorebird high counts this week:

  • Black-bellied Plover: 91, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/12 (with Jeannette).
  • Killdeer: 35, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/12 (with Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: ~300, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 35, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
  • STILT SANDPIPER: 2 adults, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/17 (horrible photo above; with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Sanderling: 13, Popham Beach State Park, 8/16.
  • Least Sandpiper: 20+, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 12, Pine Point, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: ~1750, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group). Honorable mention of ~1200 at Pine Point on 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 8, Popham Beach State Park, 8/16.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations this week.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 2, Walsh Preserve, 8/17 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 54, Walsh Preserve, 8/17 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • “Eastern” Willet: 14, Pine Point, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 41, Wharton Point, 8/13 (with Jeannette).

Tours and Events:

The 20th Anniversary Celebration Month is underway here at the store.  All the details can be found here, including a silent auction for conservation, and several chances to win a new pair of binoculars!

Recent Highlights, 8/5 – 8/11/2024

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Two of the three Lesser Black-backed Gulls present at Hill’s Beach in Biddeford on the 8th included these two 3rd-cycle birds, seen here with a likely 4th cycle Herring Gull for a nice comparison.

Once again, I focused on shorebirds this week, and not surprisingly the non-shorebird highlights I encountered were while looking at said shorebirds. Meanwhile, passerine movement is really ramping up, with lots of early warblers like Yellow, American Redstart, and Black-and-white on the move. Some of the other migrants on our Durham property this week included Canada Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Bobolink, and Barn Swallow.

Non-shorebird highlights this week:

  • 1 juvenile BLACK TERN, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/5 (with Jeannette).
  • 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (one 1st-summer; with Dan Gardoqui and two 3rd-summers arriving later), Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/8.

The adults of a lot of species of shorebirds are peaking now, and a growing number of juveniles are arriving, providing for some good numbers at a variety of locations. Shorebird high counts this week:

  • Black-bellied Plover: 86, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/8.
  • Killdeer: 21, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/5 (with Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 150+, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/11 (with Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! Tour group).
  • Piping Plover: 6, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/8.
  • Whimbrel: 2, Pine Point, 8/11 (with Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! Tour group).
  • STILT SANDPIPER (FOY): 1 adult, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/9. Still present at low tide on 8/10 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group – All-time Saturday Morning Birdwalk Species #253!)
The All-Time Saturday Morning Birdwalk List
  • Sanderling: 14, Hill’s Beach, 8/8 (with Dan Gardoqui).
  • Least Sandpiper: 73, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/5 (with Jeannette).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 1, Hill’s Beach, 8/8 (with Dan Gardoqui) and Yarmouth Town Landing, 8/10 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 5, Eastern Road Trail, 8/5 (with Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1500+, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/8 (with Dan Gardoqui).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: ~40, The Pool, 8/8 (with Dan Gardoqui).
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations this week.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, several locations this week.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 71, Walsh Preserve, 8/9.
  • “Eastern” Willet: 18, Pine Point, 8/11 (with Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! Tour group).
  • “WESTERN” WILLET (FOY): 1, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/8.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 12, Wharton Point, 8/6 (with Jeannette).

Tours and Events:

Recent Highlights, 7/29 – 8/4/2024

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Despite being focuses on shorebirds this week, my most productive photo session were with Roseate Terns on Hill’s Beach on 7/30. This was my favorite shot, of a juvenile still hungry while its banded parent went out in search of more fish.

Shorebird season is in full swing, and since our return from our summer vacation, shorebirds have been my birding focus. As I often do at this time of year, I like to organize my weekly (or thereabouts) observations into a “high counts for the week” summary. This is really for my own organization of notes and allows me to quickly evaluate ebbs and flows across the summer, and across various years. To get a good sample, I need to hit at least one high tide and one low tide hotspot each week, along with one “grasspiper spot,” freshwater location, and “local hotspot.” I never accomplished that in any period in July before our trip, so I will start that pursuit this week. I hope you too find values from these brief syntheses.

This week’s non-shorebird highlights:

  • 1 White-throated Sparrow, our property in Durham, 7/29. They don’t breed withing several miles of the property, and this was our first summer record. It was a molting adult. I think short-distance “molt migration” in songbirds of the Eastern Forest is under-appreciated (see, for example, recent spate of boreal warblers on offshore seabird islands).
  • 1 1st-summer Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 7/30.
  • 1 Black and at least 23 Surf Scoters, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/4.

Shorebird high counts this week:

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 3, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 7/30. Plus 1 at Pine Point on 8/1.
  • Black-bellied Plover: 44, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/4.
  • Killdeer: 32, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/4.
  • Semipalmated Plover: 343, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/1.
  • Piping Plover: 6, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 7/30.
  • Whimbrel: 3, Pine Point, 8/1.
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 11, Hill’s Beach, 7/30.
  • Sanderling: 8, Hill’s Beach, 7/30.
  • Least Sandpiper: 40+, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/1.
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 1, several locations this week.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 800+, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 7/30.
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 88, Hill’s Beach, 7/30.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 3, Eastern Road Trail, 8/1.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, our property in Durham, 7/29.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 61, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/1.
  • “Eastern” Willet: 64, The Pool, 7/30.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 28, Walsh Preserve, 8/1.

Tours and Events: