Daily Archives: November 4, 2026

This Week’s Highlights 10/29– 11/04/2026.

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I just like “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrows, as I know I have said here before. This one was along the shoreline of Peak’s Island when Phil McCormack and I visited on 11/1.

With such beautiful and benign weather, the birding was slow this week, especially for rarities – even here in the midst of Rarity Season. I also had a very buys week, so I didn’t get to cover as much ground as I like to during this season. Nonetheless, I had several observations of note over the past 7 days:

  • 4 American Tree Sparrows (FOF), Jordan School Rd, Auburn, 10/29.
  • A growing cadre of waterfowl in Sabattus Pond on 10/30 included: 121 Ruddy Ducks, 265 Lesser Scaup, 116 Greater Scaup, 324 Mallards, 71 American Black Ducks, 25 Green-winged Teal, 18 Common Mergansers, 16 Ring-necked Ducks, 1 American Wigeon, 1 Wood Duck, 1 Common Goldeneye, and more.
  • 1 “Western” Palm Warbler, 8 Semipalmated Plovers, etc, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 10/31.
  • 1 AMERICAN BITTERN (Battery Steele), 1 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, 1 Gray Catbird, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, etc, Peak’s Island, Portland, 11/1 (with Phil McCormack).
  • 1 American Golden-Plover, 24 White-rumped Sandpipers, 165 Black-bellied Plovers, 72 Dunlin, etc, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 11/3 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 11/4.

Upcoming Tours (with Space Available):

The Rarity Roundup Van Tour 2026 – THIS SUNDAY, November 8:  8:00am – 3:00pm​

Portland Explorer and Freeport Wild Bird Supply are teaming up to offer a very special, very exclusive road trip outing in 2026.

Early November is a fantastic time of year in Maine for vagrants – birds normally seen in far-off places.  Due to a combination of weather patterns, changing seasonal food resources, falling temperatures, and other factors – some of which are not completely understood – birds that may have ended up in Maine by “accident” begin to concentrate at the coast in “migrant traps” and “hotspots.”  In other words, this is the time of year to expect the unexpected.

​A traditional “Rarity Roundup” involves teams of birders heading out on a given day during rarity prime time, looking for species that are not supposed to be around. And in honor of that tradition, that’s exactly what we are going to do on this unique tour. We may “chase” a rarity (go to see something that has already been found, aka “twitch”) or we might choose a destination known for rare birds in an attempt to find one of our own. Or perhaps, we’ll do both!

​Anything in southern Maine is fair game, and we might not even know where we will head until we are on the bus and the latest rare bird alert is received. For those who love adding a bird to your Life or State List, and/or basking in the thrill of discovery, well then this is the tour for you! In between seeing great birds, we’ll discuss the complex factors that are involved in delivering rarities to an area, and how we go about finding them.

For example, last year, our Birds on Tap – Roadtrip: Rarity Roundup traveled to Yarmouth to see one of the few MacGillivray’s Warblers ever recorded in the state, then ventured all of the way to Kittery to try and find our own vagrant and the famous Fort Foster Park.