My photos of my highlights this week are not exactly worthy of a “cover shot,” so instead, here’s a Northern Mockingbird that posed nicely for me in Biddeford Pool on the 29th.
Winter seems to be settling in! The colder (seasonable, finally!) temperatures should produce another wave of rarities and “lingering/late” birds to find though, and that was the case for my observations of note over the past seven days.
45 American Pipits and ~10 Horned Larks, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 11/23 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, Village Crossings – Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt Trail, 11/24.
1 Northern Shrike (FOS), feeders here at the store, 11/24.
If you stitch together all of my photos, you might be able to make one poor photo of a whole Wilson’s Warbler. Nonetheless, it was a nice surprise that added a splash of color to the week’s birding endeavors. Trust me, the snapshot of the Palm Warbler is much worse!
An above-average number of species such as Northern Flickers, Hermit Thrushes, and Swamp Sparrows still continue around the area.
After seeing the Spotted Towhee briefly a few times late in the morning on the 19th, Jeannette and I returned at the end of the day to see if we could see it better. That worked out perfectly, but the light was getting low for photos, as you can see here. See notes and musings below.
I enjoyed another great week of birding, searching for rarities, and catching up with perhaps an old friend! It’s been a great rarity season to date, and with a return to a more dynamic weather pattern, perhaps it’s only the start.
1 continuing Red-throated Loon, 287 Ruddy Ducks, 363 total Lesser+Greater+too distant Scaup, ~75 Snow Buntings, 2 Northern Pintails, 1 American Wigeon, etc, etc, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
~100 Snow Buntings and 1+ Horned Lark, Plains Road, Turner, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
1 American Pipit, Pearl Road, Turner, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
1 continuing SPOTTED TOWHEE, 1 continuing “Western” Palm Warbler, and 1 Pine Warbler, Seapoint Beach, Kittery, 11/19 (with Jeannette). Is this the same Spotted Towhee as I found last year at nearby Fort Foster? If so, did it return from a summer on breeding grounds? If yes, did it fly back to the actual breeding range of Spotted Towhees (likely near where it was born) or did it continue its navigational mistake and spend the summer distant from any potential mates? Or, has this bird been present locally since last winter? Considering its secretive nature and the amount of dense thickets with no birders between Fort Foster and Seapoint Beach, this is plausible as well. In fact, it being a different bird seems like the least likely scenario! Like all vagrants, it tends to produce more questions than answers, which is what makes vagrancy so fascinating! Photo above.
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet and 1 Winter Wren, Fort Foster, Kittery, 11/19 (with Jeannette).
1 BALTIMORE ORIOLE, private property in Richmond, 11/21. A nice surprise bonus during a yard consultation appointment. Homeowner reports it has been present for three days.
An above-average number of species such as Northern Flickers, Hermit Thrushes, Swamp Sparrows, and Red-winged Blackbirds continue around the area.
It might be Rarity Season, but never forget to take your time to enjoy and appreciate our common resident birds! This Red-breasted Nuthatch was on our feeders in Durham on the 15th. There are a lot more in the area this fall than last winter, perhaps due to the lack of Eastern White Pine cones, especially to our north.
Rarity Season continues to be hot. Some dedicated rarity-searching plus some casual birding, yielded the following observations of note over the past 7 days. Swinging for the fences, however, I felt like Aaron Judge in the MLB post-season: lots of strikeouts and no home runs, but at least I went down swinging.
1 Evening Grosbeak, Cedar Pond Road, Durham, 11/15.
Not surprisingly given the mild weather to date, there are a lot of half-hardies around, such as Hermit Thrushes and Swamp Sparrows which I encountered in a number of places this week. Scattered Red-winged Blackbirds and small flocks of Common Grackles continue as well as is now usual in mid-November.
I usually miss at least one “Mega” rarity whenever I go away, so I was pretty pleased that this Common Gull – found on 10/31 by Evan Obercian at the Samoset in Rockland – stuck around until we returned. I was able to see it on 11/3. It took a while, but when it eventually spread its wing, the species/subspecific ID became certain. Separated by the abundant Ring-billed Gulls by the smaller size, slightly darker back, and thin bill, we can rule out the West Coast Short-billed Gull by the length of the bill and the wing pattern. Separation from Kamchatka Gull is more challenging, but it wasn’t particularly dark, the head was lightly flecked with brown, and there’s a relatively distinct bill band. According to Ayyash (2024), the shorter gray tongues on the outer primaries, the large P9 window that connects with the large P10 window, and little to no white at the end of the tongue on P8 all suggest Larus canus canus (and not Kamchatka Gull).
It’s November, and that means “Rarity Season” and unlike recent Novembers, Rarity Season is off to a roaring start. Here are my observations of note over the past 6 days. Below, see the trip report for our 7-day birding cruise that included time in Maine waters.
Although I chase even less frequently these days, I did make time to go see one of the two COMMON GULLS at the Samoset in Rockland on 11/3. Photos and discussion above. Additionally, I caught up with the YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT that was found there that day, although I blew the photos. A “Western” Palm Warbler, several American Pipits, and 4 Horned Larks were also present.
1 Pine Warbler, Bailey Island, Harpswell, 11/5 (with Jeannette).
1 RED-EYED VIREO and 6 American Tree Sparrows (FOF), Trout Brook Preserve, South Portland, 11/7.
Biddeford Pool environs, 11/8:
1 BALTIMORE ORIOLE
1 PRAIRIE WARBLER
1 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow
1 Rusty Blackbird
2 Lapland Longspurs
2 Greater Yellowlegs, 22 Black-bellied Plovers, and 26 Dunlin.
2 Northern Pintails
4 Hermit Thrushes and 1 Swamp Sparrow, etc.
Our Durham property is much quieter overall these days, but a few Red-winged Blackbirds have been around, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet was present 11/5-6, our first Pine Siskin of the season at home visited on 11/5 and increasing daily since, and Dark-eyed Junco numbers have continued to grow. At least one each of Swamp and Savannah Sparrow continue.
TRIP REPORT
Last week, Jeannette and I boarded a Princess Cruises ship in New York City to unofficially survey for rarities and things like Great Skua. The entire trip report is here, but our highlights from Maine specifically included:
1 RED-EYED VIREO, 2 Orange-crowned Warblers, 2 Field Sparrows, etc, Eastern Promenade, Portland, 10/29. Yes, we took a cruise only to go home!
Passerine FALLOUT, 10/30. Awoke to birds on deck before dawn. 16.5 nautical miles southeast of Mt. Desert Rock. 12 species of passerines, led by 8++ Yellow-rumped Warblers but also including 1 Rusty Blackbird, 1 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, 1 Snow Bunting, and perhaps most surprisingly, 7 European Starlings. Another birder on board photographed a Pine Warbler.
Very little time was spent in daylight in Maine waters, unfortunately, but we did have a couple of Northern Fulmars in Maine waters very early on the 30th.
Cruise ships are big, stable platforms that allow for pelagic birding in comfort and with the use of spotting scopes!
In 2019, Jeannette and I took a cruise through the Gulf of Maine and northwestern Atlantic Ocean in the hopes of finding Great Skuas in particular. It was wildly successful, and if we could repeat this success, perhaps there would be a cruise-ship-based tour to offer. At least it would be more comfortable than last week’s attempt!
Therefore, on the evening of 10/26, Jeannette and I boarded Princess Cruises’s Enchanted Princess out of Brooklyn, New York. Our hope was to replicate the success of our 2019 trip. We were planning on a second scouting trip in the fall of 2020, but then COVID.
After finally feeling ready to consider a cruise again, we found the itinerary had changed, and we would need to spend seven days to get two full days offshore..we even needed to come back home first! But alas, we had pandemic-era credit that was going to expire, so off we went. Is this a reliable way to see Great Skuas in North America? Could I document a Barolo’s Shearwater this time?
We started our birding, however, at Brooklyn’s Greenwood Cemetery, home of this massive Monk Parakeet colony.
We departed New York Harbor with about an hour of usable daylight, picking up a single Cory’s Shearwater and plenty of Northern Gannets.
Screenshot
Arriving off Newport before dawn the next morning, we got the first shuttle to town, where our friends Bill and Jess picked us up for a lovely day of birding (Clay-colored Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, late Nashville Warbler) before returning to the boat. About 45 minutes of deck time produced 8 Cory’s and a single Great Shearwater.
Newport arrivals. “Western” Palm Warbler at Sachuest NWR.
Unfortunately, this particular boat offered less-than-ideal viewing opportunities compared to our first trip, with the best deck space on Deck 7 (a great height) but way too aft. Even with our scopes on the steady platform, this was going to be a challenge.
Approaching Boston on the morning of 10/28, we checked the decks for passerines (none) before taking our place on Deck 7. There were a lot of Northern Gannets, 4-5 Cory’s Shearwaters close enough to identify as borealis, and a pod of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins. A Song Sparrow flew aboard just outside the outer harbor islands, but before that, our first real surprise of the trip: an American Woodcock appearing from the north and cruising alongside the length of the boat before disappearing. That’s not a “pelagic” we expected!
We birded Boston’s Greenway a bit, but returned to the boat well after dark. Sailing slowly overnight, we returned to Portland (the original itinerary had us visiting Bar Harbor), where a long, thorough check of the Eastern Promenade yielded two Orange-crowned Warblers and a very late Red-eyed Vireo.
Darkness reached us a tantalizingly-short distance to Cash’s Ledge, so we retired to rest up for the big day at sea tomorrow (finally!).
Waking up in Maine waters about 16.5 nautical miles southeast of Mt Desert Rock, I stepped outside well before first light at 6:05am. I immediately texted Noam, the other birder on board that we rapidly had become friends with, and I hustled Jeannette outside. With some drizzle arriving ahead of approaching light rain, we had ourselves a fallout!
Unexpected considering there were little to no birds on the Maine radars overnight, and with a south wind through most of the night, I was surprised to immediately hear the flight calls of several Yellow-rumped Warblers. Sparrows were scattered about on the open decks. Noam and I had to usher a Rusty Blackbird out of a foyer, while Jeannette had to steer a Dark-eyed Junco down a hallway.
“Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow – that was an unexpected migrant, but makes sense considering we were southwest of Sable Island!
Clearly disoriented by the obnoxiously superfluous lighting of the ship, dozens of birds were around…often being flushed by now-awakening crew and passengers. Luckily, few birds seemed to be in dire straits – only one Yellow-rumped Warbler looked to me to be thoroughly exhausted, thankfully. In fact, most birds were leaving the boat as the sun rose and they were able to reorient themselves. While some birds seemed to arrive in the 15 or so minutes after sunrise, just about all passerines had departed the boat by 7:30 or so.
This photo, taken from off Eastern Point in Gloucester, MA the night before shows just how bright these ships are, and how disorienting they can be to birds.
With birds circling the boat before dawn, calling continuously, and others hiding in corners before being flushed to another corner, it was tough to count, but I estimated and counted a bare minimum of 8 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 8 American Robins (mostly overhead), 7 European Starlings (surprisingly), 6+ Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 Purple Finches, 2 fly-over American Pipits, 2 Savannah Sparrows, and one each of Palm Warbler, Snow Bunting, White-throated Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing, and Rusty Blackbird. Additionally, Noam photographed a Pine Warbler.
The three of us were in place on Deck 7 by 7:30, but the passerine show continued. A flock of 12 Red-winged Blackbirds flew by, while a flock of 14 American Robins joined by two more red-wings flew alongside the boat for several miles later in the morning before overtaking us and heading back to Nova Scotia.
Throughout the day, other passerines appeared and disappeared, some of which could easily have been sheltering out of sight somewhere inaccessible on the boat. These included a few more robins, 3+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, and one each of Palm Warbler, Song Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing, Snow Bunting, American Pipit, and Lapland Longspur.
American PipitHarlequin Duck (L) with Black Scoters
But this was a seabird trip, and so we remained vigilant over the water. While we only had a few minutes in Maine waters once we began our vigil, the rest of the day was productive overall, although the afternoon was quite slow. As we passed the southern tip of Nova Scotia (we even spotted Seal Island Light that we were lucky enough to visit with a group of birders about 20 years ago), we finally called it quits at 5:45 pm when cloud cover accelerated the falling of darkness.
Here’s our route (left pin to right pin) for the day, thanks to the Navionics Boating app by Garmin.
From start to finish, our respectable – albeit not breathtaking – seabird tallies included oodles of Northern Gannets (including a steady southbound trickle almost all morning), and occasional southbound flocks of all three scoters and Common Eiders. Specific counts included:
47 Black-legged Kittiwakes
36 Razorbills
13 Northern Fulmars
10 Great Shearwaters
6 DOVEKIES (one flock landing off to the side of the boat)
3 ATLANTIC PUFFINS
3 American Black Ducks
3 unidentified large shearwaters
2 Harlequin Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
Great Shearwater
So all in all, not a bad day, but the passerines stole the show, and while Dovekie is one of the target birds of this trip, we didn’t see a skua…or even a jaeger, surprisingly.
The next day we awoke well within Halifax Harbor, but a sunrise passerine check yielded two birds: a White-throated Sparrow, and of all things, a rare Dickcissel!
Local friends Eric and Anne once again rescued us for a day of casual birding and good conversation, but the ship departed after dark; just more time to rest for our second full day at sea!
Halifax Public GardenNorthern Flicker
The morning of 11/1 found us between Downeast Maine and the northern corner of Georges Bank. The rest of the day would be in the same waters of our great success on our trip five years ago. After a passerine check which didn’t turn up anything (which meant nothing was disoriented by the ship overnight or desperate for a place to land come dawn, so this is never a bad thing), it was time to get to work in our usual spot.
Unfortunately, strong southwesterly winds and growing seas, with haze and light fog in the distance, made birding challenging. We worked hard though, but it was slow. We did have some excitement from two Dovekies that landed fairly close to the boat, and two Manx Shearwaters that, thanks to the lighting, I was absolutely sure were not Manx Shearwaters until we carefully reviews Noam’s photos later.
With glare and haze becoming problematic, we broke for an early lunch at 11:30, with the previous 4.5 hours of observation producing only the following, plus two Humpback Whales:
12 Northern Gannets
7 Great Shearwaters
6 Red Phalaropes
4 unidentified large shearwaters
2 DOVEKIES
2 Northern Fulmars
2 Manx Shearwater (after review)
2 Black-legged Kittiwakes
2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
2 unidentified large alcids
1 unidentified small black-and-white shearwater.
Unfortunately, with increasing wind (that we were heading straight into) and seas growing up to 7-10 feet (barely noticeable on a ship this big though, thankfully!), the lower deck was closed off for safety. Later, even the upper decks were closed off due to the very high winds, which were now blowing nearly 30mph out of the southwest.
Screenshot
Luckily for Jeannette and I, we had scored a forward-facing room, and although we were high up on Deck 17, we could see forward. Haze and the angled window were problematic, but we could see birds close to the ship, and we could relax, remove layers, and even crack open a beer. This is pelagic birding in style!
From 1pm to 5pm, when we finally called it a day, the afternoon cabin-watch netted:
11 Great Shearwaters
9 Northern Gannets
5 Cory’s/Cory’s-type Shearwaters
3 unidentified phalaropes
2 Manx Shearwaters
Screenshot
And so our two days at seas concluded without a Great Skua, our primary target species for a future cruise..and perhaps a future tour. Alas, we’re only 1 for 2 in seeing skuas from the boat, and we would need a different class of ship (and, a shorter itinerary with more time at sea and less time in multiple ports) if we were to do this again. We’ll be keeping an eye out from other companies and other Princess ships to see if there’s a more skua-tactic itinerary in the future, but until then, our northeast Atlantic cruisin’ days may have come to a close.
Arriving in New York harbor before dawn, our last sunrise deck check yielded a single Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and White-throated Sparrow, bringing our more-productive passerine birding cruise to a close.
Maine Birding Field Notes 