It has been quite some time since I have seen a flock of Evening Grosbeaks this large in Maine. Here are a few of the 45+ that I happened upon while driving past the corner of Ross Road and Old Brunswick Road in Durham on the 25th.
Between snow cleanup, brutally cold temperatures, and other commitments, I didn’t get out birding much beyond the windows this week. Nonetheless, I still had several observations of note over the past seven days, mostly during the two frigid tours I led this week!
1 GRAY CATBIRD (even more surprising with the severity of the winter so far!) and 1 Hermit Thrush, Leon Gorman Park, Freeport, 1/24 (with Saturday Morning Birdwlak group).
1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneye, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/28.
3 hen and 1 drake Northern Pintail, Ogunquit Rivermouth, Ogunquit, 1/29 (with Down East Adventures Winter Waterbird Workshop group).
1 Greater Scaup, Perkin’s Cove, Ogunquit, 1/29 (with Down East Adventures Winter Waterbird Workshop group).
1+ continuing FISH CROWS, Anniversary Park, Auburn, 1/30.
This Week in Irruptives.
EVENING GROSBEAKS continued to be scattered about, with my high count this week being at least 40 birds – the largest flock I have seen this winter – feeding on White Ash seeds at the corner of Ross and Old Brunswick Roads in Durham on the 25th. Still very few other finches in the immediate area other than plentiful American Goldfinches.
Freeport Wild Bird Supply is proud to once again partner with Down East Magazine’s Down East Adventures for the sixth year of offering exclusive birding workshops focused on gaining greater knowledge and field skills in a focused group of seasonally accessible birds. Focused on skill-builder rather than list-building, there will be plenty of “life birds,” but also more knowledge and education about birds, habitats, birding, and much more about the natural world. We are honored to be their provider for a series of unique and exclusive birdwatching endeavors. In 2026, we will once again offer four exclusive outings.
As usual, Harlequin Ducks were the stars of the show.
First and foremost, I must commend everyone in the group for being such troopers today! Brutally cold temperatures and a barely broken trail to start the day, with a frigid day barely warming into the low 20’s. But everyone was prepared, everyone was ready to bird, and we all learned a lot.
Between astronomical low tides, days of offshore winds, and recent bitter cold, we encountered many fewer waterbirds overall than expected at this season. We did see some of the stars of the winter show well, such as Harlequin Ducks – always the crowd favorite! – and Great Cormorants. At two sites, we worked our way through learning the various seaducks, while at two other sites we studied dabbling ducks. A short gull workshop was also included. We even finished with another family of waterfowl when a hen Greater Scaup landed in Perkin’s Cove when we returned at the end of the day.
It was nice of this hen Greater Scaup to join us for one last species to learn about.
The Ogunquit Rivermouth was one of the most productive destinations today, with an unexpected 4 Northern Pintails pioneering amongst hundreds of Mallards and American Black Ducks, Canada Geese, and really close views of White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Common Loon, plus a Belted Kingfisher – one of our “honorary waterbirds.” Elsewhere, Black Scoters were the dominant species, with large rafts witnessed at multiple locations.
What is this mess? Impossible to identify, you say? Well, with a little comparative experience, we learned just how quickly we can identify this 2nd cycle Herring Gull.
As rewarding and educational the birding was, I think most people will end up remembering more about the domestic duck roundup attempt that we witnessed at Abbott’s Pond. We were there to study Mallards, American Black Ducks, and hybrids thereof, learning the differences and nuances in plumage of some of our most commonly seen waterfowl. We did that, and then sat back and enjoyed the show as the pond’s caretakers were bringing some “dumped” domestic hybrids to a better home.
We put special emphasis on learning female ducks as well, especially when in direct comparison to the respective distinctive males and other hens around them. We also took time to appreciate the gorgeous intricacies of their plumage, such as on this female Mallard.
2. Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop
May 17, 2026.
(See Northern Parula photo at the header above. Yes, that was enjoyed on our 2025 tour!)
This half-day workshop will focus on the migrant songbirds, especially warblers, that are passing through Maine’s most famous migrant trap, Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery. At the peak of warbler migration, we’ll learn how to identify these charismatic birds, and we’ll discuss their mind-boggling migration and what they’re up to in Maine.
Whether it’s the kind of migration day that legends are made of or a slow day (every day of migration is different), we’ll take advantage of whatever species are present to truly get to know them. Sure, we’ll work on “the list,” but our focus will be on preparing for your next birding outing, giving you the tools to identify birds on your own, maximize your time in the field by predicting where and when to be birding based on NEXRAD radar, geography, habitat, and much more. Of course, if there are too many warblers around, we might just have to simply enjoy them!
We’ll meet at the main entrance on Stevens Ave. to Evergreen Cemetery at 7 a.m. (or as soon as the front gate is opened), near the first building on the right. From there, we’ll caravan to the best birding location, returning to the entrance around 11. If the birding is slow, we’ll relocate in the mid-morning to another nearby park.
To get an idea of what you may see, read the 2022 , 2023,2024 and 2025 trip reports.
A side-by-side comparison of “Eastern” vs “Western” Willets was one of the highlights of the 2025 shorebirds workshop.
With more than 35 species of shorebirds (a diverse group including plovers and sandpipers) regularly appearing in Maine, this workshop is designed to appreciate the diversity and beauty of this fascinating family.
We will hit some of the marshes, beaches, and rocky roosts that shorebirds prefer at the peak of their migration. The ebbs and flows of the season, daily and recent weather, and other factors could produce more than 20 species of shorebirds in our time together. Our focus will be in comparative experience, learning how to recognize each species both near and far. Starting with the basics, such as plover vs. sandpiper, we’ll work our way up to the identification quandaries such as the “peeps” and the yellowlegs. We will provide you with a “toolkit” to approach shorebird identification on your own, using a combination of habitat, shape, size, structure, behavior, and plumage to identify this wonderfully diverse and attractive group of birds. Migration, conservation, and natural history will also be discussed.
We’ll meet at the public Park & Ride lot between Sea Dog Brewery and Cabela’s, off Payne Road at exit 42 of the Maine Turnpike, at 8 a.m. (please arrive 15 minutes early so we can depart on time) to carpool to the day’s birding destinations, based on tides, weather, and especially the birds themselves! We’ll return by 4 p.m., with an hour break for lunch (not included), likely at a place with multiple nearby options
For an idea of what to expect, see the trip report from our 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2020 outings.
Join Derek Lovitch for three days of birding at Maine’s famous Migration Mecca. As the summer crowds dwindle, the island becomes a birders’ paradise, with birding opportunities around every corner. This tour will spend three days sampling what the island has to offer during the peak of migration, from warblers to hawks to sparrows to the unexpected. Weather (and sometimes, lack thereof) will dictate how much we do or do not see, but every day is different out there. We’ll learn that fall warblers are rarely if ever “confusing” and why migrants – and vagrants from any direction – drop by this offshore migrant trap.
While finding and seeing birds will be the priority, we will also do a bit of informal workshopping in the afternoons to learn more about the mechanisms and marvels of bird migration. Day one will begin at the dock for the Hardy Boat in New Harbor. We’ll keep an eye out for birds from the top deck of the boat as we make the hour-long crossing to the island. Upon our arrival, we’ll hit the ground running to make the most out of our first morning at this special place. Once we’re on land, we’ll be on foot for the next 2 days, with several walks throughout the day. We’ll mostly be on dirt roads with some steep sections, but we’ll also traverse some narrow trails full of roots and rocks. Expect to spend time on “unimproved surfaces.” You will set a new personal record on your step-counter – especially when the bird we most want to see gets discovered on the opposite end of the island just before mealtime!
On the first day, after we check in lunch will be on your own, with a variety of options scattered about the town. After a break, we’ll head back out later in the afternoon for some more birding, before assembling again for an evening “cocktail hour” (BYOB; also available on the island) and our migration workshop where we’ll discuss the birds of the day, how and why we saw (and didn’t see) what we did, and more (when time and energy levels permit). The next two mornings we’ll once again maximize our time on the island. Following a short walk shortly after sunrise, we’ll enjoy the famous Monhegan House breakfast before birding for the remainder of the morning. Once again, we’ll break for lunch before reconvening for some afternoon birding: on the second day until we prepare for our evening “cocktail hour and migration review, and on the third day, right up until it’s time to head to the ferry.
For 2026, we’ll be staying at the venerable Island Inn. More details will soon follow. Stay tuned!
See Derek’s blog entry to see how the 2025, 2024, and 2023 trips went.
Need help identifying all of the exciting gulls at Mill Creek Cove this winter (such as this 1st winter Iceland Gull present on the 23rd)? Well, we have just the workshop coming up for you (see below)!
After being out of town for a week, we returned late on the 16th and got back to work. Sneaking in some morning birding on most days yielded a nice array of winter notables, without needing to venture too far afield. Here are my observations of note over the past 7 days.
For at least the second consecutive winter, an adult Red-shouldered Hawk has been frequenting the edges of Rte 136 in Durham, near the Freeport Town Line.
3 drake and 1 hen Barrow’s Goldeneye, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/17 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
Like clockwork, Brant arrived in Cape Elizabeth in the 3rd week of January. I had 30 (FOY) at Kettle Cove, with another 24 (or part of the same group) at Dyer Point a short while later on 1/23.
Some of the 24 Brant off the rocks at Dyer Point on the 23rd.
This Week in Irruptives.
I encountered a few more Purple Finches here and there this week, mostly singletons. A lone Red Crossbill at Mt Apatite Park in Auburn on 1/21 (with Jeannette) was the first I have seen away from Red Spruce in a while, but one singing in flight at Village Crossings in Cape Elizabeth on the 23rd was a surprise. Meanwhile, EVENING GROSBEAKS continued to be scattered about, with 3 visiting our feeders in Durham on the 19th.
Upcoming Trips and Tours.
Gull Identification Workshop -THIS WEEKEND!
It’s not too late to join us for our Gull Identification Workshop! The classroom session will be held tomorrow, Saturday, 1/24, but the field trip has been postponed until Sunday, February 1st due to the dangerously cold weather expected. You can sign up for just the lecture portion.
In this workshop, we’ll hit a few of the prime viewing locations along Maine’s southern coast. But we won’t just be working on the checklist today. Instead, we’ll be focused on learning how to search for these birds – the how, when, and why – and how to identify them. We’ll learn about microhabitats, weather considerations, and seasonal timing to aid our search today and in the future. By visiting several seasonally-productive sites, we’ll compare similar species while taking time to savor the splashes of color offered by winter seaducks in an otherwise gray and white landscape.
This drake Barrow’s Goldeneye was one of the foursome currently in the Androscoggin River between Auburn and Lewiston, most often in view from the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge. Jeannette paid them a visit on the 6th, where she found this one male just below the bridge.
Except for a delightful morning at Reid State Park, my birding outings were short and local, but I did enjoy catching up with local patches and their winter denizens, especially Barrow’s Goldeneyes. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.
2 drake and 2 hen Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/4.
1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, 1/6.
1 SNOWY OWL (FOS), 9-11 Red Crossbills, 58 Red-necked Grebes, 1 Savannah Sparrow (subspecies undetermined), 26 Sanderling, etc, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 1/8.
1 hen Barrow’s Goldeneye, Front Street Boat Launch, Bath, 1/8.
This is how I like my Snowy Owls…safe in the distance, backlit, poorly phone-binned, and otherwise unconcerned with my presence. Later, I spent 30 minutes observing it in the distance as it moved around, perhaps to get in position for hunting, or perhaps because it was getting too warm!
This Week in Irruptives.
American Goldfinches and Red-breasted Nuthatches remain very abundant. While a number of customers at the store have continued to report scattered small flocks of Evening Grosbeaks at feeding stations, I did not hear or see any yet again this week. In fact, my only irruptive in limited time birding was a single Pine Siskin at Florida Lake Park on the 7th, until I re-entered the Red Spruce zone at Reid State Park on the 8th. There, there were several Pine Siskins and at least 9-11 Red Crossbills – including two singing males suggestive of upcoming mid-winter breeding!
The state’s 4th or 5th Virginia’s Warbler – and the first away from Monhegan – was one of the rarest birds of the year in Maine, and it was even more special for me since I found it on Peak’s Island in November!
It’s once again time for my annual Predictions Blog, where I view into my crystal binoculars and attempt to forecast some of the “new” birds to grace the State of Maine – and then my own personal state list – in the coming year.
But first, let’s look back at last year’s predictions.
It was a great year for birding in Maine, with rarities at every season, especially during a truly epic November Rarity season. As a snapshot of just how many notable species were in the state in 2025, consider Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth’s Maine Big Year total of 332 species broke the old record by an astounding 10! Surprisingly, with such an eventful year for rarities in the state, no new species were added to the state’s list in 2025. With that, I’m going to keep Next 25 Species to be found in Maine list the same, but based on current trends and regional sightings, I am doing a little shuffling at the top to bump up Limpkin as the northward mini-irruptions of this tropical/sub-tropical bird continue.
1. Limpkin
2. Scopoli’s Shearwater
3. Neotropical Cormorant
4. European Herring Gull
5. Black-chinned Hummingbird
6. California Gull
7. Gray Heron
8. Bermuda Petrel
9. Graylag Goose
10. Little Stint
11. Audubon’s Shearwater
12. Common Shelduck
13. Anna’s Hummingbird
14. Heerman’s Gull
15. Common Ground-Dove
16. Allen’s Hummingbird
17. Spotted Redshank
18. Lewis’s Woodpecker
19. Ross’s Gull
20. Black-capped Petrel
21. Lesser Nighthawk
22. Dusky Flycatcher
23. Painted Redstart
24. Hooded Oriole
25. White Wagtail
It’s only a matter of time for Maine to be visited by its first ever Neotropic Cormorant, but it’s another Neotropical species that took the stop slot this year!
As for me, there were so many great birds seen in Maine in 2025, and the birds I chased just scratched the surface of the litany of vagrants this past calendar year as once again, my birding involves fewer and fewer chases each year. The MacGillivray’s Warbler in Yarmouth in November was one of the highlights – including becoming the 255th All-time Saturday Morning Birdwalk bird!- and a Fork-tailed Flycatcher in the Kennebunk Plains in July.
My first self-found rarity of the year was a Ruff at Walsh Preserve on 5/9…
..and Jeannette I chases the Northern Wheatear in Scarborough Marsh in September for a new ABA Area bird for her.
Black-throated Gray Warbler on Monhegan. A state bird for almost everyone, but “just” an exceptional “Island Bird” for me.
I even added two species to my State List in 2025, starting with an overdue Cerulean Warbler (#11) found by Doug Hitchcox in Evergreen Cemetery on 5/6. But nothing beats a “self-found” rarity, so finding a Virginia’s Warbler (#20) on Peak’s Island on 11/24 was even more special!
Of course, a few potential State Birds got away from me last year. However, all appeared to be one-day wonders, so it’s hard to complain: Crested Caracara in Scarborough Marsh on 4/30, a Franklin’s Gull (some day!) in The County on 5/21, an Anhinga over South Portland on 5/27, and an un-chaseable Ancient Murrelet at Matincus Rock on 6/19.
So, with those hits and misses, my updated list of the Top 25 Next State Birds for Me is now:
Franklin’s Gull (this is getting amusing/frustrating)
Neotropic Cormorant
Brown Pelican
California Gull
Brown Booby
Crested Caracara
Slaty-backed Gull
Boreal Owl
Calliope Hummingbird
Graylag Goose
Gull-billed Tern
Pacific Golden-Plover
Limpkin
Wood Stork
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Anhinga
Yellow Rail
Scopoli’s Shearwater
Western Wood-Pewee
Red-necked Stint
European Herring Gull
Gray Heron
Heerman’s Gull
Little Stint
Well there ya have it, let’s see what 2026 brings, at least when it comes to the birds in Maine.
I think it’s about time for another Wood Stork to visit the state as well.
This Rufous Hummingbird graced a Bath yard for almost two months. The story below.
Life in retail during the holiday season, followed by a trip to the Motherland of New Jersey for Christmas resulted in limited Maine birding for me over the past two weeks. However, a couple of good days in the field here in Maine produced several observations of note:
Recent ice and more snow resulted in a nice little surge of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches into our Durham yard. A male Purple Finch on ½ was the first I have seen locally in at least a month, and a Northern Flicker dropped in on 12/30.
1 continuing drake Green-winged Teal and 1+ Fish Crow, Auburn Riverwalk, 12/23.
2 drake and one hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Bernard Lowne Peace Bridge, Auburn-Lewiston, 12/30 (with Kelley Sharp)
3 Fish Crows and 1 1st-cycle Iceland Gull, Auburn Riverwalk, Auburn, 12/30 (with Kelley Sharp).
1 pair American Wigeon, Rockland waterfront, 1/1 (with Jeannette).
Rufous Hummingbird in Bath, 10/31-12/26, 2025.
A Rufous Hummingbird arrived in a Bath yard on Halloween. And she stayed until the 26th of December! These birds are just incredible! Unfortunately, it was not in a yard that was conducive to visitation, so we had to keep the sighting under wraps. I really am sincerely sorry about that, but the homeowner’s rights and the bird’s welfare will always be put first and foremost with us. But it was well photographed, well studied, and well monitored. Here’s the story, identification particulars, and more.
We only had one morning for birding after visiting family, and we chose to spend it with an estimated 100,000 American Robins!
It was awesome and I hope these videos do it a modicum of justice! This was in Oldwick, NJ, discovered by Evan Obercian (yup, a birding friend of mine since high school who also now lives in Maine!) around 2021 (although he heard of a former roost not far away before this one). This was the largest gathering he has seen, at least around Christmastime. We just enjoyed the show, but he recently made the estimate (based on counting sample minutes and extrapolating). There were also about 1,000 European Starlings – look for a couple of dense flocks exiting the leaning bamboo during the videos. A few hundred Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds were also present (mostly exited before sunrise in the first video), and Jeannette and I picked out a single Hermit Thrush. 3 Cooper’s Hawks and a Sharp-shinned Hawk were present, but they too seemed to be overwhelmed by the masses!
The videos can be seen here:
New Year Predictions Blog!
I know you are waiting with bated breath, but I’ll publish this soon. Of course, when I am delayed in getting it posted, something really rare shows up! So keep you eyes open!
Maine Birding Field Notes 