Category Archives: Birding in Maine

This Week’s Highlights 8/28– 9/6/2026.

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It’s “uncommon” shorebird season, as evidenced by the scattered Baird’s Sandpipers this week. I found this one at Biddeford Pool Beach during a 21-species shorebird day on 8/30.

Fall was in the air this week, and with it, my first visit to Sandy Point of the season (finally!). It was also a great week for shorebirds, and on our property. Here are my observations of note over the past 10 days.

Highlights from our Durham property this period included 12 species of warblers (led by 5 Cape May and 4 American Redstarts, but also including 2 Bay-breasted, and 1 each of Tennessee, Prairie, and Canada!) on 8/28; 1 Philadelphia Vireo, 3 Scarlet Tanagers, and 11 species of warblers (led by 7 Cape May and 5 Common Yellowthroats but also including 1 Bay-breasted) on 9/2, 7+ Cape May Warblers on 9/5 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group), and up to 4 Cape May Warblers on all other days this week.

  • 5 1st-cycle FORSTER’S TERNS, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30 (with Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth).
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, 8/30.
  • 1 1st-cycle FORSTER’S TERN, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.

Sandy Point Morning Flight, 8/31/2026

A moderate, but good for August, Morning Flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning, thanks to yesterday’s cold front. It must be fall because I am back at “my office!”

55F, clear, NNW 5.3-5.9mph to NW 6.2-9.2mph.

  • 195 American Redstarts
  • 116 Unidentified
  • 105 Northern Parulas
  • 24 Black-throated Green Warblers
  • 18 Yellow Warblers
  • 16 Cape May Warblers
  • 11 Black-and-white Warblers
  • 11 Cedar Waxwings
  • 9 Magnolia Warblers
  • 9 Northern Waterthrushes (*New high count).
  • 6 Tennessee Warblers
  • 6 Nashville Warblers
  • 5 Eastern Wood-Pewees
  • 4 Blackburnian Warblers
  • 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches
  • 2 Black-throated Blue Warblers
  • 2 Baltimore Orioles
  • 2 Least Flycatchers
  • 2 American Robins
  • 1 Swainson’s Thrush
  • 1 MOURNING WARBLER
  • 1 Wilson’s Warbler
  • 1 Prairie Warbler
  • 1 Bay-breasted Warbler
  • 1 Indigo Bunting
  • 1 Scarlet Tanager
  • 1 Eastern Kingbird
  • 1 Canada Warbler
  • 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
  • 1 Philadelphia Vireo
  • 1 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
  • X Common Yellowthroats
  • T=575
  • 3 Cory’s Shearwaters, etc, off of Boothbay Harbor via Cap’n Fish’s Cruises Whale Watch, 8/31. Cory’s have been relatively sparse this year, likely due to water temperatures below recent averages.
  • 5 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 9/4.
  • 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Popham Beach State Park, Georgetown, 9/4.

Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/5.

I had an abbreviated visit to My Office on Saturday Morning, but with a high flight and few birds landing, I chose not to return with the Birdwalk group. Despite NNW by morning and increasing cloud cover, a moderate flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this am thanks to a really massive flight overnight. Birds were still flying when I departed.

6:08 to 7:40

62 F, mostly cloudy, NNW 10.2-11.8 diminishing to 8.5 to 9.8mph.

  • 179 Northern Parulas
  • 161 Cedar Waxwings
  • 160 American Redstarts
  • 124 Unidentified
  • 9 Magnolia Warblers
  • 9 Black-throated Green Warblers
  • 7 American Robins
  • 5 Red-eyed Vireos
  • 4 Yellow Warblers
  • 3 Black-throated Blue Warblers
  • 3 Blackburnian Warblers
  • 2 Chipping Sparrows
  • 2 Common Loons
  • 2 DICKCISSELS (one by B. Thompson only, the second by both of us).
  • 2 American Goldfinches
  • 1 Northern Flicker
  • 1 Merlin
  • 1 American Kestrel
  • 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • 1 Bobolink
  • 1 Baltimore Oriole
  • 1 Blackpoll Warbler
  • 1 Cape May Warbler
  • 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
  • 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
  • 1 Eastern Kingbird
  • 1 Purple Finch
  • x Common Yellowthroat
  • T= 684
  • 1 Green Darner
Magnolia Warbler
Northern Parula
  • 3-4 continuting FORSTER’S TERNS and 3 adult Lessert Black-backed Gulls, Pine Point, Scarborough, 9/6.

Here are my shorebird high counts over the past 10 days, led by a productive 21-species of shorebird morning in and around Biddeford Pool on the 30th, for a week’s total of 23.5 species.

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 13, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.
  • Black-bellied Plover: 203, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/30.
  • Killdeer: 15, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/29 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 129, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.
  • Piping Plover: 5, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.
  • Hudsonian Whimbrel: 8, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/3.
  • MARBLED GODWIT: 2 juv, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/30. One bird has been present for a couple of weeks, but this second bird appears to be “new” this morning.
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 13, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30.
  • Red Knot: 31, Hill’s Beach, 8/30 (with Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth).
  • Sanderling: 81, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 9/4.
  • BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 1 juv, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30.
  • Least Sandpiper: 40++, The Pool, Biddeford, 8/30.
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 1, several locations.
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 1, Hill’s Beach, 8/30 and 1, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 9/2.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 490, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30.
  • WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 juv., Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 45, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/30.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 2, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/30.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, multiple locations this week.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 189 (a new record for here!), Walsh Preserve, 9/2.
  • (Eastern) Willet: 5 (including continuing leucistic bird), Pine Point, Scarborough, 9/6.
  • (WESTERN) WILLET (FOY): 2-3, The Pool and Hill’s Beach, 8/30. Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth found two at The Pool, a short time before I found one at Hill’s Beach. The bird had departed Hill’s Beach before I encountered two at The Pool.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 8, Walsh Preserve, 9/2.
  • RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: 1, offshore of Boothbay Harbor vis Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, 8/31. One, just one, lone phalarope spinning away on a mat of seaweed.
It’s been another great week for Cape May Warblers in our yard in Durham, including this 1 (of 7!) on 9/2.

This Week’s Highlights 8/21– 8/27/2026.

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It’s been another great summer for Forster’s Terns, and Biddeford Pool has been the epicenter of their appearance. On the 24th, Jeannette enjoyed a photo session with several of the 4 1st-cycle birds
that were present that day.

Thanks to an 18-species shorebird pseudo-Big Day on 8/24, I tallied 19 species of shorebirds this week. During that day, we may have experienced lower numbers of most shorebird species than we had hoped, but overall had an exceptional day, including a lot of “uppercase” observations of note of more than just shorebirds. That productive day fueled an excellent week of noteworthy observations for me over the past seven days:

  • Highlights from our Durham property this period included a fist fall female MOURNING WARBLER and 1 continuing Cape May Warbler on the 21st; 3 Common Nighthawks (FOF) at dusk on the 22nd; at least 10 Cape May Warblers and 1 Tennessee Warbler on 8/23 (with Dan Nickerson); 9 Common Nighthawks, 8/24; daily multiple Cape May Warblers continuing through week’s end.
  • 1 adult RED-NECKED GREBE, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 8/23 (with Dan Nickerson).
  • 1 continuing proposed HYBRID TRICOLORED HERON X SMALL WHITE EGRET(S), aka “Patches,” 1 DICKCISSEL (FOF), 1 American Wigeon (FOF), 3 Gadwall, etc, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/24 (with Jeannette). 
  • 2 female Blue-winged Teal, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 4 1st-cycle FORSTER’S TERNS, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 continuing pairs of Red-necked Grebes and 1 continuing 1st-summer Great Cormorant, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/24.
  • 1 3rd-cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/24 (with Bill Sheehan and Jeannette).
  • 2 1st-cycle FORSTER’S TERNS, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (FOY), Jones Creek, Pine Point, Scarborough Marsh, 8/24 (with Jeannette). Pretty sure we were about the last birders to see one this year!
  • 1 DICKCISSEL and 2 Roseate Terns (1 adult and 1 juvenile; very rare within Casco Bay), Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/26.

Jeannette and I observed 18 species of shorebirds on 8/24, and I only managed a single additional species all week! But here are my shorebird high counts over the past 7 days:

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 9 Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Black-bellied Plover: 238, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/24 (with Bill Sheehan and Jeannette).
  • Killdeer: 6, Winding Brook Turf Farm, Lyman, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 225, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/24 (with Bill Sheehan and Jeannette).
  • Piping Plover: 3, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/24 (with Bill Sheehan and Jeannette).
  • Hudsonian Whimbrel: 1, Pine Point, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 28, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Sanderling: 8, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Least Sandpiper: 146, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 3, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/26.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 396, Wharton Point, 8/26. (SESA counts have been dreadfully low this season, but this flock of 100% juveniles was a really good sign).
  • WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 juv (FOY), Pelreco Marsh, Scarborough Marsh, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 48, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/24 (with Bill Sheehan and Jeannette).
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 6, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 3, Bridge Street, Yarmouth, 8/22 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) and Auburn Riverwalk, 8/23 (with Dan Nickerson).
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 65, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/25.
  • (Eastern) Willet: 4, Pine Point, Scarborough Marsh, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 19, Walsh Preserve, 8/25.
  • RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: 5, off Boothbay Harbor with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, 8/27.

Upcoming Tours with Space:

​Monhegan Birding Workshop with Down East Magazine: September 11-13, 2026. 

Join me for three days of birding at Maine’s famous Migration Mecca. As the summer crowds dwindle, the island becomes a birders’ paradise, with birding opportunities around every corner. This tour will spend three days sampling what the island has to offer during the peak of migration, from warblers to hawks to sparrows to the unexpected. Weather (and sometimes, lack thereof) will dictate how much we do or do not see, but every day is different out there. We’ll learn that fall warblers are rarely if ever “confusing” and why migrants – and vagrants from any direction – drop by this offshore migrant trap.

 This Week’s Highlights 8/13– 8/20/2026.

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Even though 1-2 pairs of Red-necked Grebes have oversummered off of Ocean Avenue in Biddeford Pool for at least 6 years, I still get a kick out of seeing RNGR in spiffy breeding plumage, especially while wearing shorts and sandals! Not my “best” bird of the week, but definitely my best photo session.

I enjoyed some excellent birding over the eight days, from oodles of shorebirds to a State Bird! I also covered a lot of ground but had some great birding right in the backyard as well. Since I covered all of my shorebird “data points” in the last week, and with so many observations of note, I thought it was best to post now.

  • Highlights from our Durham property this week included a Yellow-billed Cuckoo on 8/18, 2 Cape May Warblers on 8/19, and a juvenile Peregrine Falcon on 8/20 that was our 161st property bird!
  • 1 imm. FORSTER’S TERN, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty and Bill Thompson).
  • 1 continuing imm. FORSTER’S TERN, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 20+ Roseate Terns, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty). Quite a few continue elsewhere around the area as well, many with juveniles in tow. High numbers for this late in the summer continue.
  • 4 continuing adult Red-necked Grebes, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty). See above.
  • 1 imm. Great Cormorant and 1 female Black Scoter, Ocean Ave, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • Migrant passerines at Florida Lake Park in Freeport on 8/15 included one each of Cape May and Prairie Warblers (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • THE continuing THICK-BILLED MURRE, Western Beach as viewed from Pine Point Beach, Scarborough, 8/16 (with Birds on Tap – Shorebirds and Steins! Tour group).
  • 1 continuing CRESTED CARACARA, Rustlewood Farm, York, 8/18 (with m.obs). Present here for at least three days, I caught up with the bird on the morning of its final (for now?) morning here. This was my 409th species in Maine, and #6 on my “My Next Birds in Maine” list thanks to the spate of regional sightings over the last few years. Due to fog and distance, my phone-scoped photos don’t quite do this Mega justice!

And here are my shorebird high counts over the past 8 days (see previous blogs for an explanation of the “data” included here), with a goodly total of 20 species:

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 4, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/16 (with Birds on Tap – Shorebirds and Steins! Tour group).
  • Black-bellied Plover: 124, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • Killdeer: 5, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 8/15 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 345, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • Piping Plover: 5, Hill’s Beach, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 28, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • STILT SANDPIPER: 1 ad. (FOY), Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/20 (with Jeannette).
  • Sanderling: 4, Hill’s Beach, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 1 juv (FOY), Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • Least Sandpiper: 40+, Pelreco Marsh, Scarborough Marsh, 8/16 (with Birds on Tap – Shorebirds and Steins! Tour group.
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 1, Hill’s Beach, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty) and 1 Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/16 (with Birds on Tap – Shorebirds and Steins! Tour group).
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 296, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty). Still a low single-location high count for this time of year.
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 52, The Pool, Biddeford, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty)
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 6, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/14 (with Ian Doherty).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 6-7, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 8/15 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 67, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/20 (with Jeannette).
  • (Eastern) Willet: 3, Jones Creek, Scarborough Marsh, 8/16 (with Birds on Tap – Shorebirds and Steins! Tour group.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 26, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/20 (with Jeannette).
  • RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: 8, First Chance Whale Watch, Kennebunk, 8/19 (with Ian Doherty and Bill Thompson).
  • RED PHALAROPE: 1, First Chance Whale Watch, 8/19 (with Ian Doherty and Bill Thompson).
Bill Thompson and I joined Ian Doherty on a First Chance Whale Watch out of Kennebunkport on the 19th, and enjoyed a great day of sea life. In addition to the phalaropes mentioned above, we tallied 297 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, including this one, 6 Great Shearwaters, 2 Arctic Terns, 8 Northern Gannets, 1 most-cooperative Humpback Whale, 1-2 Minke Whales, and 2 Blue Sharks.

 This Week’s Highlights 7/15– 7/24/2026.

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While Ian Doherty, Bill Thompson, and I had two Tricolored Herons off of Eastern Road on the 24th, 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 175th 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 5th and 6th.

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.

The Magic of Machias Seal Island Trip Report, July 2026

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New for 2026,  “The Magic of Machias Seal Island Tour” took place on July 6th and 7th. I think we can say this new tour was a success.

After a welcome and strategy dinner on Sunday night, we met on the morning of the 6th for a carpool from Machias to Cutler, where we boarded our boat to one of the most special places on the continent.

It could not have been a more perfect day. Mostly clear, glass calm, and a comfortable temperature rising from 60F to the low 70’s by the afternoon – an absolutely gorgeous day!

With such calm waters, the trip out to Machias Seal Island was delightful. We encountered lots of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels…

…and soon numbers of Razorbills, Common Murres, and Atlantic Puffins on the water. There were lots of Harbor Porpoise, and we even glimpsed a Minke Whale.

As we arrived in the vicinity of the island, an exceptional number of birds were in the water and surrounding the boat.

But following the safety-first procedures, we made our way to the island, and divided into groups. We chartered the boat for the tour but chose not to maximize the number of participants so we could all have a little more elbow-room in the blinds, especially with all of the long lenses in tow.

Words don’t really do the experience of being in the blinds on MSI justice, and while you all know I have words, I am going to simply let the photos do the talking.

But even on a beautiful day like this, life is tough out here. Without a permanent tern colony to mob predators, danger is always lurking, such as this Herring Gull

One blind on our tour witnessed such a thing, when a different Herring Gull grabbed a puffling out of its burrow, with the helpless adults unable to do a thing about it. At least it was quick.

After our allotted hour in the blind  – which feels like 5 minutes and forever at the same time, as time flies when you are having fun, but time also seems to stand still when fully immersed in the experience of being inches away from some of the most charismatic and entertaining birds in the world- we made our way back to the center of the island, where a couple of dozen Arctic Terns are trying to reestablish a colony, and enjoying other island denizens like Savannah Sparrow and Spotted Sandpiper.

Back on the boat, we took the traditional “victory lap” with such calm water and so, so many birds to look at. Photographers snapped away. Others sat back and enjoyed the show. I just tried to look at every single bird to find a rarity, like the famous Tufted Puffin.

I’d be happy to hear of a possible fish ID from anyone on these, but this large tasty morsel was being brought home for chicks by Razorbills and Common Murres all day, arriving mostly from nearshore waters.

During the entire ride back, we had more Wilson’s Storm-Petrels and alcids with us, until nearly within the confines of Cutler Harbor.

Now, as a guide, it’s hard to top that, but I at least tried to entertain folks for a little longer.  First, we visited the bog at Boot Head Preserve (heard a Palm Warbler and saw some of the more common warbler species in the woods), mostly to look at plants and the unique habitat.

Then, back in Machias, we strolled the section of the Downeast Sunrise Trail along the Machias River and eventually had some great looks at Nelson’s Sparrow, two likely-southbound-migrant Greater Yellowlegs, several fishing Ospreys, and a good show of Bald Eagles – including two youngsters branching about around the nest.

On our second morning, there were no expectations to top MSI, but we went birding anyway. Spruce Grouse was our goal, and although they are no longer seen often, if at all, at any of the regular places, I had a new secret spot trick up my sleeve.

I scouted it on Friday and found a dust bath with a Spruce Grouse feather.

Maybe I shouldn’t have taken my low-clearance hybrid as far in as I did, but I am glad, because a fairly short and easy walk yielded this:

Yup, she was heading right to the dust bath!

We birded the woods here and at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge without encountering any other boreal species (heard one likely Bay-breasted Warbler, but that was it), so after another great lunch, this time at the famous Helen’s, we headed over to Lubec for some really productive birding.

We did look at other birds too, such as this female Common Yellowthroat.

At the overlook of The Bar, we had a migrant flock of 6 Least Sandpipers, perhaps just arriving from points north. Oversummering Arctic sea ducks included at least 6 White-winged and 3 Surf Scoters, along with about 10 Red-breasted Mergansers and plenty of Common Eiders of course. We sorted through the loafing gulls hoping for a rarity.

Based on their behavior when a Bald Eagle flew by, there is a pair of Northern Harriers nesting near Carrying Place Cove – an unexpected bonus. That was great to see.

Quoddy State Park did not disappoint, although even the several dozen Razorbills offshore were a little anti-climactic. They’re still nice to see from land, however. And a Red-throated Loon, very rare in summer, was an unexpected treat, as was a Laughing Gull, which is quite rare this far East, at least in mid-summer…for now.

And we walked to the bog. Because bogs.

ALWAYS stopped to smell…and photograph, the Twinflower.

Even on the drive back, the birding success continued. A Ruffed Grouse crossed the road with two chicks, and I was not shy about using my vehicle to assure them safe passage. Meanwhile, for those of us staying at The Bluebird Motel, we began each day with a Tennessee Warbler singing in the parking lot and finished up daylight with Common Nighthawks foraging overhead!

Oh yeah, and as usual on an FWBS/Derek Lovitch tour…we ate really, really well, wrapping things up with one last indulgent lunch at Helen’s.

Local Cobscook Bay scallops, and their pickled beets are perfect. Both almost as good as the pie!

I guess I don’t have to say that you’ll see this tour on the calendar next year…I have already confirmed it.

This Week’s Highlights 7/5– 7/14/2026.

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I led a tour to Machias Seal Island on the 6th, and I’ll let two snapshots with my phone do the talkin’  This place is just so special and needs few words.

In addition to our new The Magic of Machias Seal Island Tour downeast this period, my birding took me around southern Maine as well, including lots of quality time with Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows, Roseate Terns, and migrant shorebirds,.  Here are my observations of note over the past 10 days.

  • 1 COMMON GALLINULE, 1-2 American Bittern, etc, Penjajawoc Marsh, Bangor, 7/5.

Observations of note from my 2+ day tour to Machias, including a visit to Machias Seal Island included the following (the full trip report, chock full of photos, can be seen here):

  • 1 Tennessee Warbler singing each morning and 1-2 Common Nighthawks each evening for those of us staying at the Bluebird Motel in Machias.
  • 1 SPRUCE GROUSE, Edmunds Twp, 7/7.
  • 1 pair Northern Harriers, 6 White-winged and 3 Surf Scoters, 10 Red-breasted Mergansers, etc, The Bar and Carrying Place Cove, Lubec, 7/7.
  • 1 Red-throated Loon, 1 Laughing Gull, 30++ Razorbills, Quoddy State Park, 7/7.
  • Migrant shorebirds included 9 Short-billed Dowitchers and 5 Least Sandpipers on MSI on 7/6; 2 Greater Yellowlegs along the Downeast Sunrise Trail in Machias on 7/6; and 6 Least Sandpipers at the Lubec Bar on 7/7.
  • 2 Upland Sandpipers, Schoodic Road, Columbia, 7/8.
  • 1 continuing proposed TRICOLORED HERON X SMALL WHITE EGRET SPP (“Patches!”) and 1 continuing TRICOLORED HERON, 12 Least Sandpipers, 9 Lesser Yellowlegs, 4 Little Blue Herons, etc, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 7/10.  I only saw Patches flying away, but I saw very few dark flight feathers. This could be yet another individual in the complex. I’ll need to look at photos from others and see it better myself, but regardless, this is year 14 of this quagmire in the marsh!
  • 2 Pectoral Sandpipers (FOF), Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 7/11 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • The continuing TRICOLORED HERON and a growing number of shorebirds, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 7/14 (with clients from Florida and Virginia).

Upcoming Tours (that have space):

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

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!

This Week’s Highlights 6/25– 7/4/2026.

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These atrocious “doc shots” of the Gull-billed Tern as it flew even further down Seawall Beach as I was viewing from Popham Beach State Park in the late morning on 7/1. Unfortunately for me, this was the closest I would get! But note the whiteish wings and very pale upperparts, with the narrow black trailing edge on the primaries and the thick, blunt namesake bill. Its swooping feeding behavior was also evident. I wondered if it was feeding on tiger beetles, or hopefully, greenheads, on the beach!

I have been thoroughly enjoying local breeding birds with my self-limited tour schedule in June. However, my tour season is ramping up again, led by several boat trips, the first of which was last weekend, and the next is Monday. Meanwhile, despite the heat, “fall” southbound shorebird migration is underway! Here are my observations of note over the past 10 days, even with 3.5 of them being out of state:

  • 2 RAZORBILLS, including one carrying food or nesting material, Eastern Egg Rock, 6/28 (with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises/Freeport Wild Bird Supply “Puffin and Whale Combo Tour” tour group). The Puffin Project recently reported the first nesting of RAZO on EER in over 100 years!
  • 39 Great Shearwaters and 30+ Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, offshore, 6/28 (with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises/Freeport Wild Bird Supply “Puffin and Whale Combo Tour” tour group).
  • 1 Willow Flycatcher, our property in Durham, 6/28 (Yard Bird #161!).
  • 22 Short-billed Dowitchers and 2 Least Sandpipers (first of “fall!”) and 8 Black-bellied Plovers, Popham Beach State Park, 6/30 (with Jeannette).
  • The continuing GULL-BILLED TERN, Seawall Beach/Popham Beach State Park, 7/1 (with m.obs. Photo above). This was #11 on my personal “Next State Birds for Me” list.
2026 “Next Maine Birds” Predictions Blog
  • Migrant shorebirds between Hill’s Beach and The Pool, Biddeford, 7/3: 7 Least Sandpipers, 5 Short-billed Dowitchers, 2 Semipalmated Plovers (first of fall), 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers (FOF), 2 Black-bellied Plovers, and 1 Greater Yellowlegs.

Upcoming Tours (that have space):

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

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!

 This Week’s Highlights 6/15– 6/24/2026.

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Caption: Bill Thompson found this Black Skimmer at Pine Point on the 18th, and I was able to successfully chase it with a client from Australia who hoped to “experience a twitch” while we were out together. We saw it about 20 minutes later, just before it flew by Bill for the second time.

After my Bicknell’s Thrush Weekend tour in New Hampshire and Vermont (full-frame views of Bicknell’s Thrush!), I returned home late on the 14th.  I’ll summarize the tour with these two photos from Bill Thompson.

And here’s the full tour report:

2026 Bicknell’s Thrush Weekend Trip Report.

Upon my return, catching up from the yard to the store and everywhere in between, and finding myself involved in a most interesting project, reduced my dedicated birding time. Now in the heart of the breeding season (and with a concerted effort to make time to enjoy it!), my observations of note over the past 10 days included the following:

  • 11 Grasshopper Sparrows, numerous Vesper Sparrows, etc, Kennebunk Plains, Kennebunk, 6/16.
  • 1 continuing drake Northern Pintail and 2 Greater Yellowlegs, Sanford Lagoons, 6/16.
  • 1 BLACK SKIMMER (see above), 2 continuing Purple Martins, 7 American Oystercatchers, etc, Pine Point, Scarborough, 6/18 (with client from Australia).
  • 1 pair ORCHARD ORIOLES (at nest), Capisic Pond Park, Portland, 6/18 (with client from Australia).
  • 1 Green Heron, our property in Durham, 6/20 (Yard Bird # 160!)
  • 1 pair ORCHARD ORIOLES, 8 Glossy Ibis, etc, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 6/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 9+ Grasshopper Sparrows, California Fields Wildlife Area, Hollis, 6/21.
You are what you eat!
  • 1 drake Long-tailed Duck, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, Purple Martins and Fish Crows, etc, Drake’s Island and Wells Harbor, 6/22 (with Ian Doherty).

But mostly, I took advantage of my intentionally-reduced June schedule to casually enjoy our summer specialties, from Roseate Terns to Saltmarsh Sparrows to all of our delightful warblers… while also enjoying all of the finer aspects of life in early summer in Maine.   

Upcoming Tours:

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

June 28 – 9:00AM.

​​Derek will once again be onboard as 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!

 This Week’s Highlights 6/6– 6/11/2026.

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The Great-crested Flycatcher has been the “king bird” of our driveway, declaring dominance over the kestrel house we placed on an abandoned telephone pole. They have nested in it for the last three years.

June is a great month for birding in Maine, and this June has been very good so far with rarities around the state. Meanwhile, staying closer to home for much of the week, my observations of note over the last 6 days included the following:

  • Red Crossbills continue on the coastal plain including 5 at Florida Lake Park in Freeport on 6/6 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 adult Red Knot, 1 American Oystercatcher, etc, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 6/7 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 3 Red-necked Grebes, 1 1st summer Great Cormorant, continuing lingering Black and White-winged Scoters, etc, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 6/7 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 1 continuing 1st summer LITTLE GULL, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 6/7 (with Ian Doherty).
  • 1 Louisiana Waterthrush, North River Road, Auburn, 6/8.
  • 1 continuing 1st summer LITTLE GULL (same paler individual as 6/7), 1 American Oystercatcher, 1 Ruddy Turnstone, etc, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 6/9 (with clients from California).
  • 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, our property in Durham, 6/11.

NEW TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT:

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

June 28 and July 26, 9:00AM.

​​Sorry for the delay on scheduling these tours, but we now have set dates. Derek will once again be onboard as 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!

This Week’s Highlights 5/29– 6/5/2026.

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Little Gulls are simply adorable. This is a scientific fact. This continuing 1st-cycle (born last year) individual was at Hill’s Beach in Biddeford on the 31st.

While there are still plenty of migrants moving through the region, especially shorebirds, breeding season is fully upon us now. This June, I have intentionally reduced my tour schedule to take full advantage of what June has to offer, including exploring new areas and enjoying Maine’s astounding array of breeding diversity, and yeah, doing some scouting, too. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days:

  • Scattered Red Crossbills continue around the area, including here on the coastal plain. Blackpoll Warblers and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were among the later migrant passerines still on the move this week; I had several sightings of both species well outside breeding range. A Common Nighthawk over our yard in Durham on 6/2 was also likely a migrant.
  • 36 White-winged Scoters, 41 Black-bellied Plovers, 25 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 4 Dunlin, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, etc, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 5/30 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 200+ Chimney Swifts, Maine Street and Androscoggin River, Brunswick, 5/30 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 continuing 1st cycle LITTLE GULL, 2 Brant, 6 Roseate Terns (FOY), etc, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 5/31 (photo above).
  • 13 species of shorebirds, led by 85 Black-bellied Plovers but including 1 White-rumped Sandpiper (FOY), and 5-7 American Oystercatchers, between The Pool and Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 5/31.
  • Lingering seaducks around the Biddeford Pool area on 5/31 included 120+ Black Scoters, a small number of White-winged and Surf Scoters, 5 Red-breasted Mergansers, and 2 RED-NECKED GREBES (off Ocean Avenue. Back for another summer?).
  • 2 1st summer Great Cormorants, East Point to Ocean Ave, Biddeford Pool, 5/31.
  • 1 Willow Flycatcher, Bethel Rec Trail, Bethel, 6/1 (with Jeannette).
  • 6 (visually confirmed) Philadelphia Vireos, Grafton Notch State Park, 6/2 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 CANADA JAYS, Grafton Notch Forest Wilderness Preserve, 6/2 (with Jeannette).
  • 5 Long-tailed Ducks, 1-2 American Oystercatchers, 16 Semipalmated Sandpipers, etc, Pine Point Beach, Scarborough, 6/5.

2026 Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Tour Report.

Another remarkable Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend is in the books. Every day out here is different in migration, and every tour is unique. But this one was particularly full of superlatives.

It seemed slow. Low numbers, low diversity, but yet with new birds being seen every day we ended up with a very good, above-average tally of 95 species, with the 18 species of warblers being just about the long-term average.

While numbers of individuals, especially warblers, were dreadfully low, we more than made up for it with quality. Quality of species, but especially quality of sightings. Just about everything was seen so well. A recurring theme of the weekend was definitely “wow, that was a great view!” or “what a fascinating behavior!”  The bird-watching was simply divine!

Here’s the photo-laden tour report, including daily birdlists.

2026 Spring Monhegan Migration Weekend Tour Report