Hill’s Beach neighborhood on the 18th.
I didn’t hit too many shorebird spots during this period and coupled with the lower tallies and diversity of late September, so I’ll forgo my Shorebird High Counts this week and just mention some of the highlights here. In fact, I didn’t get out birding much beyond our property and local patches, but I didn’t have to! Therefore, my observations of note over the past 8 days included:
- Notables in our Durham property this week included 10 species of warblers on 9/17 (including two each of Prairie and Bay-breasted); a late-ish Least Flycatcher (9/21 with Katrina Fenton and 9/22 by Jeannette); 11 species of warblers on 9/22 including 3 Tennessee Warblers; our first White-crowned Sparrow of the fall and 33 fly-over American Pipits on the 23rd; a juvenile NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD on 9/24 was our 162nd Yard Bird; at least one Prairie Warbler has been present most of the week, and several Lincoln’s Sparrows were here on most days this week.
- A productive morning in and around the Biddeford Pool environs on 9/18 produced a number of observations of note, including 1 DICKCISSEL and 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Bidd Pool neighborhood); 4-5 Red-necked Grebes, 3 American Oystercatchers, and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (Ocean Avenue/East Point); 1 American Golden-Plover and 17 Red Knots (The Pool), 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 3 American Oystercatchers (Hill’s Beach); 150-200 Tree Swallows swirling around; and 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (Sky Harbor Blvd).
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/19.
A great flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning. There were a lot of very high birds early and some very strong pulses of birds, adding to the high count of unidentified birds. I concluded the count before the flight was over to meet me Saturday Morning Birdwalk group that Jeannette had delivered to the point.
- 6:24-8:24am (count ended with start of Birdwalk).
- 46F, mostly clear, NW 6.3-8.1 to NNW 7.4-10.2mph
- 434 Unidentified
- 371 Northern Parulas
- 186 Cedar Waxwings
- 174 Blackpoll Warblers
- 96 Northern Flickers
- 38 Yellow-rumped Warblers
- 31 American Redstarts
- 29 Black-throated Green Warblers
- 16 Magnolia Warblers
- 12 Yellow Warblers
- 11 Palm Warblers
- 10 American Goldfinches
- 8 Cape May Warblers
- 8 Black-and-white Warblers
- 8 Nashville Warblers
- 7 Canada Geese
- 6 Red-eyed Vireos
- 4 Tennessee Warblers
- 4 American Black Ducks
- 3 American Pipits
- 3 Swainson’s Thrushes (at least two crossed!)
- 3 Eastern Phoebes
- 3 Blue Jays
- 3 Rusty Blackbirds
- 2 Bay-breasted Warblers
- 2 Philadelphia Vireos
- 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets
- 2 Purple Finches
- 2 Common Loons
- 2 American Kestrels
- 2 House Finches
- 2 Dark-eyed Juncos
- 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches
- 1 Blackburnian Warbler
- 1 Scarlet Tanager
- 1 unidentified Catharus
- 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
- 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- 1 NORTHERN PINTAIL
- 1 Pine Warbler
- X Common Yellowthroats
T=1493
After I ended the “official” count, I met my the Birdwalk group in the parking lot. 18 White-throated Sparrows, 2 Lincoln’s Sparrows, and 3 Eastern Wood-Pewees were new for me on the morning, while additional migrants tallied can be seen here.
- 1 drake Ruddy Duck (FOF) and 1 pair American Wigeon, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 9/21.
- 3 molting juvenile STILT SANDPIPERS, 62 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Pectoral Sandpiper,etc, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 9/22.
- 1 Rusty Blackbird and 3 Solitary Sandpipers, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 9/23.
Upcoming Tours With Space Available:
I’ll just leave last year’s trip report right here.
Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for eagles, migrant waterfowl, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common resident and migratory water and shoreline birds of the region while keeping an eye out for recently arrived wintering seaducks.
During our previous outings in which we became the first birding groups ever on the island, we found oodles of Yellow-rumped Warblers, other migrants, and learned about the island’s ecology. But we were also captivated by Captain Pete, who guided us through the historic fort, sharing a wealth of historical knowledge and fascinating stories. Once again, we’ve been granted special permission to come ashore and scour the island here in the peak of fall migration. We’ll follow well-maintained trails through the island’s mosaic of open habitats, scrub, and young woods. These are great habitats to search for a variety of migrants, and perhaps even a rarity!
