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).
- 2 1st-cycle Iceland Gulls, Auburn Riverwalk, 1/18.
- 1 continuing drake Barrow’s Goldeneye, Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, 1/22.
- 1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneye, Cumberland Town Landing, 1/22
- 4 continuing GADWALL, 1 continuing pair Green-winged Teal, and 1 1st-cycle Iceland Gull, Mill Creek Cove, 1/23 (with Bill Thompson).
- 8 Greater Scaup, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 1/23.
- 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.
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.
Thursday, January 29th (3 spaces remain).
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.
Maine Birding Field Notes 