While Ian Doherty, Bill Thompson, and I had two Tricolored Herons off of Eastern Road on the 24^th, they were fairly distant. This photo was from a much closer encounter with one of the two birds last week from the same location.

Boat trips and shorebirds are the name of the game at this time of year, yet many of my notable species were wading birds during this recent period! Here is a very photo-laden report of my observations of note over the past 10 days, including my aggregated Shorebird High Counts:

• 1 Glossy Ibis, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 7/15 (my 175^th Patch Bird here!). There’s been an impressive showing of GLIB well inland this summer.

• A trip to Eastern Egg Rock via the Cap’n Fish’s Puffin Cruise out of Boothbay Harbor on 7/16 with a group from the American Bird Conservancy enjoyed a great visit to the island with above-average numbers of Atlantic Puffins in the water, particularly good looks at Roseate Terns, and two seasonal rarities: a drake Long-tailed Duck in the Inner Harbor and a kleptoparasiting PARASITIC JAEGER about 1/2 mile off of the west side of Eastern Egg.

• 1 continuing SANDHILL CRANE, Bar Harbor Airport from Rte 3 as we were heading into town to catch our boat, 7/18 (with Bill Thompson).

• Highlights from the Bar Harbor Whale Watch/Flukes Seabird Island and Lighthouse Tour (with Kelley Sharp, Bill Thompson, et all) on 7/18 included 150+ Red-necked Phalaropes, 1 Sooty Shearwater and 60++ Great Shearwaters in all, many hundreds of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, scattered migrant shorebirds, oh yeah, and a few thousand Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills, and Common Murres and all three terns, etc. And breaching Humpback Whales!

• 2 TRICOLORED HERONS, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 7/24 (with Ian Doherty and Bill Thompson.
• 1 presumed/suspected WHITE-FACED IBIS, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh 7/24 (with Ian Doherty and Bill Thompson). Bill likely has better photos from Eastern Road, but the photos below are of what appears to be the same bird an hour or so later at Pelreco Marsh (with Ian).  Adult bird in post-breeding plumage aspect and beginning to molt, showing pure red eyes, wide but faded white border to the face and behind the eye, pale pinkish-flesh facial skin, but too far past high breeding to fairly ascertain color. Vocal difference when it took flight: less croaky, and more of a goose-like honking tone. Red knees seen well at Pelreco. While nothing is suggestive of a hybrid, the lack of useful facial skin coloration might make it impossible to fully discount a hybrid given the season and plumage aspect.

As I do every year at this time of year, I post my shorebird high counts. Since most of my – and just about everyone else’s birding at this time of year is focused on migrant shorebirds – I use it to synthesize my observations of the ebbs and flows of the protracted fall shorebird migration season. Each period, I am sure to visit at least one of each: high tide hotspot, a low tide hotspot, freshwater hotspot, Wharton Point in Brunswick, Walsh Preserve in Freeport, and a Killdeer/grasspiper hotspot. In previous years, I have done this every week, but due to my current life and schedule, I’m going to do it every 10 days (which is a long time in fall shorebird migration) this year instead, just to be sure that I hit all 6 of my “data” points each period. Therefore, here are my shorebird high counts over the past 10 days (no Biddeford environs this period):

• Black-bellied Plover: 2, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 7/22.
• Killdeer: 9, Highland Road, Brunswick, 7/22.
• Semipalmated Plover: 55, Pine Point, Scarborough, 7/21 (with Jeannette).
• Piping Plover: 5, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg 7/20 (with Jeannette).
• Hudsonian Whimbrel: 3, Pine Point,7/24 (with Ian Doherty). 1 on 7/21 (with Jeannette) was my FOY:

• Ruddy Turnstone: 9, Matinicus Rock via Bar Harbor Whale Watch/Flukes Seabird Island and Lighthouse Tour, 7/18 (with Kelley Sharp, Bill Thompson, et all).
• Sanderling: 6, Popham Beach State Park, 7/20 (with Jeannette).
• Least Sandpiper: 30+, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 7/24 (with Ian Doherty).
• Semipalmated Sandpiper: 125, Pine Point, 7/21 (with Jeannette).
• Short-billed Dowitcher: 17, Pine Point, 7/21 (with Jeannette).
• Spotted Sandpiper: 1, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 7/15.
• Solitary Sandpiper: 3 (FOF), Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 7/15.
• Lesser Yellowegs: 103, Walsh Preserve, 7/24.
• (Eastern) Willet: 24, Pine Point, 7/21 (with Jeannette).

• Caption: photo from the Eastern Road Trail on 7/14…I just didn’t get my photos sorted in time for the last blog entry…but I had to share this one!
• Greater Yellowlegs: 21, Walsh Preserve, 7/24.
• RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: ~150 between Machias Seal Island and Mt. Desert Rock via Bar Harbor Whale Watch/Flukes Seabird Island and Lighthouse Tour, with Kelley Sharp, Bill Thompson, et all, 7/18.

Upcoming Tours (that have space):

Boothbay Harbor Whale-Puffin Cruise with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises

This Sunday, July 26 – 9:00AM.

​​This is the second of the two trips this summer where Derek will be onboard as a Guest Naturalist for this special “Whale Watch & Birding Buffs Combo” Cruise. The itinerary will include a visit to Eastern Egg Rock as well as whale feeding grounds. Nesting colonies and pelagic sightings will be highlighted. Around EER at this time we can expect to find Atlantic Puffins, Common Terns, Arctic Terns, Roseate Terns, Laughing Gulls, Double-Crested Cormorants, Common Eider, Black Guillemots, with a chance of Razorbill and Common Murre. Off-shore sightings may include Northern Gannets, up to 4 species of Shearwaters (Great, Sooty, Cory’s, and Manx), and Wilson’s Storm Petrels. Who knows? Perhaps the wandering TUFTED PUFFIN will be spotted! Sorry, no chumming this time, but we tend to get a little more time around Eastern Egg, and if there’s enough of us, a little more freedom to chase birds offshore!

Trip Report:

Speaking of photo-laden reports, here is my trip report from our new “The Magic of Machias Seal Island,” tour which took place on July 5^th and 6^th.

The Magic of Machias Seal Island Trip Report, July 2026

And finally this week, Jeannette had some quality time photographing Roseate Terns on our 7/21 visit to Pine Point.