This Week’s Highlights, 4/5-4/11/2025.

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Some Greater Yellowlegs (usually males) can look very dainty, and at this time of year have a virtually all-dark bill, suggesting Lesser Yellowlegs. Luckily, this one called to confirm, which is always helpful at this season when breeding plumage is often not fully developed.

There were not a lot of days this week that felt like spring, but spring birding was in full swing this week, at least when I was actually out in the field. Rare and once-rare waterfowl led the way once again, with an increased appearance of new arrivals of a wider range of species as well. Here are my observations of note and new arrivals over the past seven days:

  • Three Fox Sparrows continued at our home feeders in Durham through week’s end, while at least 1 continues here at the store as well.  
  • 1 continuing Brown Thrasher, 450+ Greater with a few Lesser Scaup, 350+ White-winged Scoter, 3 Swamp Sparrows, etc, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 4/5 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Eastern Phoebe at the store on 4/6 – feeding on dried mealworms from within the starling-proof bluebird feeder. This was a first for me. They rarely eat mealworms, let alone dried mealworms, and I have never seen them enter a restricted-space feeder.
  • 1drake “EURASIAN” GREEN-WINGED TEAL, Mouth of the Abby, Bowdoinham, 4/7 (with Jeannette. Perhaps the same individual I found here on 3/27 with Bill Thompson.
  • An incredible 44 Gadwall in the salt pannes at the Eastern Road Trail, Scaborough Marsh, on 4/9. This is likely a new state record high count.

My personal “first of years” this week also included:

  • 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (first of spring), here at the store, 4/5.
  • 3 Piping Plovers, Pine Point Beach, Scarborough, 4/9.
  • 14 Great Egrets, total in Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 18 Greater Yellowlegs, total in Scarborough Marsh, 4/9 (see photo above).
  • 51 Glossy Ibis, total in Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 1 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 1 Pine Warbler, Powell Point Preserve, Freeport, 4/10.
  • 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, our property in Durham, 4/11.
  • 2 Chipping Sparrows, our property in Durham, 4/11.

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch

The Week 3 report can be found here.

Upcoming Tours (with Space Available):

Evergreen Cemetery, Capisic Pond Park, Orange Bike Brewing and TBA with our partners Portland Explorer (formerly Maine Brews Cruise).

A week-long immersive skill-building seminar for beginning and intermediate birders based in Steuben.

Caption: While there have been a few nights with decent songbird migration so far this year, the night of the 10th-11th was the first one with a sizeable enough flight to be clearly detectable on the overnight NEXRAD radar. It’s on!

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