Daily Archives: May 21, 2026

 This Week’s Highlights 5/16– 5/21/2026.

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Dan Nickerson and I enjoyed quality time with a foraging Louisiana Waterthrush at a regular location in West Poland on the 21st. We enjoyed watching its foraging technique in and out of the water.

It was another fabulous week of birding, and the season has finally (mostly) caught up with the date on the calendar. Several great nights of nocturnal migration allowed a lot of breeding birds and passage migrants to arrive, although there were few concentrations of migrants this week as most birds went overhead, unimpeded. The 19th was my best day of the spring so far, however! My observations of note over the past 6 days, before I head off to Monhegan, are as follows:

  • In addition to the usual handful of breeding locales, the recent spring overshoot event has brought quite a few more ORCHARD ORIOLES to the state than usual. I saw three this week, including at known breeding locations(*): 1 female Old Town House Park*, North Yarmouth, 5/16 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group); 1 immature male, Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, 5/17 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group), and 1 adult male Capisic Pond Park*, Portland, 5/17 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group).
  • 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 5/16 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 2 Yellow-throated Vireos, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/18 (with Jeannette).
  • 10+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, our property in Durham, 5/18. Unfortunately were flushing out of the woods (likely eating Amelanchier blossoms) before I could get an accurate count of the flock size. Incredibly late date.
  • Incredible day for migrants on Bailey Island in Harpswell on 5/19 (with Ian Doherty). We tallied 18 species of warblers, led by ~60 Common Yellowthroats and ~40 Yellow Warblers, at least 18 Swainson’s Thrushes (FOY), 25+ Red-eyed Vireos, 10+ Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, etc. Best day of migrant observation for me this season so far!
  • 2 American Oystercatchers, Bailey Island, 5/19 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 1 Vesper Sparrow, Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport, Auburn, 5/21 (with Dan Nickerson).
  • 1 Louisiana Waterthrush, Johnson Hill Road, West Poland, 5/21 (with Dan Nickerson).

My other personal “first of years” (aka “FOYs”) this week also included:

  • 3 Red-eyed Vireos, Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, 5/17 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group).
  • 1 Canada Warbler, Capisic Pond Park, Portland 5/17 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group).
  • 1 Eastern Wood-Pewee, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/18 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Indigo Bunting, our property in Durham, 5/18.
  • 25+ Common Terns, Bailey Island, Harspwell, 5/19 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 1 Willow Flycatcher, Bailey Island, 5/19 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 4 Blackpoll Warblers, Bailey Island, 5/19 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 6 Bay-breasted Warblers, Bailey Island, 5/19 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 1 Tennessee Warbler, Bailey Island, 5/19 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 3+ Common Nighthawks, our property in Durham, 5/19.
  • 2 Alder Flycatchers, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/20 (with Evan Obercian).

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch has come to an end.

The 20th year of the project began on March 15th officially concluded at 5:00pm on May 15th, but Zane went up for a few hours on the 16th…and yeah, the rest of the week looked pretty decent, too. Where was this weather during the count period!? Here’s the final, Week 9 report.  

Upcoming Tours (with space available).

​June 12-14, 2026

The latest incarnation of our Bicknell’s Thrush weekend offers more chances to see the enigmatic Bicknell’s Thrush and even better boreal birding opportunities!

​With two full mornings in the area, we’ll have flexibility to offer two visits to the realm of the Bicknell’s. While Bicknell’s Thrush is the primary target, this enhanced itinerary will also give us an even better chance at other boreal species, including Canada Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Woodpecker, Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Palm and Blackpoll Warblers, and especially Philadelphia Vireo and Mourning Warbler.  By staying in Colebrook, NH we have the opportunity to look for additional boreal targets anywhere from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom (the famous hotspots are only 30 minutes from Colebrook!) to the Umbagog NWR area.