A highlight of a slow weekend on Monhegan were the conspicuous Cape May Warblers, including these two that were regulars in a single tree that often featured every plumage aspect of this delightful warbler.
Following three days on Monhegan, I mostly birded the yard before heading back to the island for another tour.
Monhegan Island, 9/23-25 (with Down East Adventures Monhegan Migration Workshop group):
About as slow as I have ever experienced the island, even considering a nice little influx of birds on our last morning. Cape May Warblers were the most common warbler for the first two days, however, but overall numbers and diversity were extremely low. Highlights were few, but a brief trip report is posted here:
There were more birds in our yard than on Monhegan this week! A particularly active morning on 9/27 included tardy Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, 8 species of warblers including Tennessee and Cape May, a nice influx of sparrows including 4+ Lincoln’s, and my first 4 southern Maine Pine Siskins of the season.
A NOTE ABOUT YOUR “SLOW” BIRD FEEDERS:
Many folks have been reporting extremely slow feeders throughout much of the state recently. This happens on a regular basis, so the end is not near! In fact, a very similiar dearth of birds happened in the falls of 2017 and 2019. I’m currently working on a blog that is more specific to this year, but this blog written in 2017 nicely tells a good part of the story.
This presumed first-fall female Cape May Warbler was a good study in comparison with the other, brighter plumages of this species on display in that single tree on Monhegan.
This delightful Black-and-white Warbler hung out with me for a spell in “my office” at Sandy Point during the huge flight on the morning of the 21st.
While Hurricane Lee was a birding dud here in Maine, I did miss two great flights at Sandy Point and three overall fantastic days of migration while we were out of town. But some good migration over the past four days since our return helped make up for it. Meanwhile, I also posted a blog recounting a little about what I (did not) miss during the passage of Lee.
While there has not been a hoped-for morning flight of consequence over or through our Durham property, it continues to be much better for fall migration than we even imagined. Limited effort produced 12 species of warblers on both 9/19 and 9/22 – which included tardy Northern Waterthrush and Canada Warbler.
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/20.
With winds mostly westerly overnight, and very light westerly winds in the morning, the flight was lighter than I expected. It was also high and distant to the south, so I likely missed a lot of birds, and certainly identified less than I would have liked – both typical on such conditions.
6:23-9:15am
55F, mostly clear, W 2.8mph-4.1
Decreasing to WSW 0.6 to 1.9
Unidentified
164
Eastern Phoebe
2
Northern Parula
84
Eastern Bluebird
2
Blackpoll Warbler
56
DICKCISSEL
2
Cedar Waxwing
22
Bay-breasted/Blackpoll
2
Yellow Warbler
19
Osprey
1
American Redstart
12
Black-throated Blue Warbler
1
American Goldfinch
9
Red-breasted Nuthatch
1
Common Loon
5
Wilson’s Warbler
1
Red-eyed Vireo
5
Baltimore Oriole
1
Cape May Warbler
4
American Robin
1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3
Common Yellowthroat
x
Black-and-white Warbler
3
Nashville Warbler
3
TOTAL
405
Black-throated Green Warbler
3
Horned Lark
2
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/21.
Wow! Although there was an absolutely huge flight overnight on the radar, the calm winds by dawn lulled me into a false sense of security. But as soon as the sun broke the horizon, birds started flowing. At first they were very high and in very large, dense aggregations, rendering identification impossible for me. Later, as the northwesterly wind picked up, many birds were considerably lower and landing in trees. Based on the date, there’s no way American Redstarts were the second most numerous warbler (they’re just easy to identify), and I would be a large proportion of those early, high migrants were strong-flying Blackpolls. But parulas definitely dominated, and at times, a dozen would be in the trees around me. Even as of 10:00am, a trickle of birds continued overhead.
6:26am to 10:26am.
51F, mostly clear, calm.
Increasing to NW 5.5-7.8mph
Unidentifed
1878
Bay-breasted Warbler
2
Northern Parula
947
Palm Warbler
2
Red-eyed Vireo
97* new record
American Goldfinch
2
American Redstart
88
Blue Jay
2
Blackpoll Warbler
74
Prairie Warbler
2
Yellow-rumped Warbler
59
Savannah Sparrow
1
Black-throated Green Warbler
53
DICKCISSEL
1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
47
CONNECTICUT WARBLER!
1 (plus one probable)
Yellow Warbler
43
Bobolink
1
Black-and-white Warbler
41
Brown Creeper
1
Cape May Warbler
16
Chestnut-sided Warbler
1
American Robin
12
American Pipit
1
Northern Flicker
11
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1
Scarlet Tanager
10
Unidentified Empid
1
Magnolia Warbler
9
Mourning Dove
1
Black-throated Blue Warbler
8
Probable Blue-winged Warbler
1
Blue-headed Vireo
7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1
Swainson’s Thrush
6* including two high overhead almost an hour after sunrise!
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
1 Juv. My 196th all-time Patch Bird!
Horned Lark
6
Sharp-shinned Hawk
1
Red-breasted Nuthatch
5
Baltimore Oriole
1
Nashville Warbler
5
House Wren
1
Common Loon
4
Common Yellowthroat
x
Eastern Phoebe
4
Philadelphia Vireo
3
American Kestrel
3
TOTAL
3,467
Rusty Blackbird
2
Golden-crowned Kinglet
2
This cooperative Prairie Warbler was one of 18 species of warblers that passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, on the morning of the 21st.
Hawkwatching over the store, 9/21! The big migration day continued, with Jeannette tallying 752 Broad-winged Hawks, 4 Bald Eagles, 3 Turkey Vultures, 2 American Kestrels, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, and 1 Cooper’s Hawk in just over 2 hours of observation right out our front door!
It was a good week for Caspian Terns, and it’s always a treat to see one sitting still. This adult was on the Lubec Flats on the 4th.
A busy week of birding included our annual late summer/early fall trip to Washington County and a bunch of guiding, producing the following observations of note:
25-30 Common Nighthawks, over Chebeague Island in the mid-morning, 9/3 (with The Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust birdwalk group).
1 juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERON, 1 CASPIAN TERN, 1 Great Egret, 5 Surf Scoters, etc, Lubec Flats, Lubec, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
A relatively slow morning in Head Harbor Passage from Eastport on 9/5 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends) was most noteworthy for the continuing large numbers of COMMON MURRES. I tallied 109, but that seems very conservative. We only had 4 Razorbills and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Quiet time with just us and a Fin Whale more than made up for it though.
The afternoon whale watch on Eastport Windjammers to the same waters that day (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, and Jeannette) yielded an adult LITTLE GULL, 3 CASPIAN TERNS, 1 late ARCTIC TERN, 2 Great Shearwaters, etc. Incredibly experience with 2 Fin Whales, 1 Humpback Whale, and 1 Minke Whale though.
We always enjoy our quality time with Black-legged Kittiwakes in the Head Harbor Passage area at this time of year.
2 American Pipits (FOF), Sanborn Cove, Machiasport, 9/6 (with Jeannette). Interestingly, we had pipits at a number of places throughout the day, with a high count of 22 at Addison Marsh, Addison.
1 Great Egret, Addison Marsh, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
1 Great Egret, Essex Marsh, Bangor, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
High count for warbler species in our Durham backyard this week was 11 on 9/7 (with Angela Woodside).
3 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/8 (with clients from Texas).
Great whale-watching trumped the bird-watching again this week with 3 lunge-feeding Fin Whales off of Boothbay Harbor aboard Cap’n Fish’s Cruises on 9/8 (with clients from Texas). 3 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, 1 Great Shearwater, 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, 10 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels and making it back to shore before the violent thunderstorms add to the success of the trip!
Meanwhile, my shorebird high counts this week were as follows. While reduced in diversity by a lack of visitation to southern Maine shorebird hotspots, Downeast yielded some excellent numbers and I found some uncommon species in unexpected places for a goodly total of 18 species (“shorebird season” is far from over!):
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 1, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/8 (with clients from Texas).
Ruddy Turnstone: 1, flying 10 miles off of Boothbay Harbor, 9/8 (with clients from Texas). Odd sighting of a single juvenile bird circling the boat repeatedly in hazy conditions where the mainland was not visible.
Sanderling: 24, Popham Beach State Park, 9/8 (with clients from Texas)
Our Durham yard has been incredibly birdy this week. The most unexpected migrant was this American Bittern that dropped into our new pond for the morning of the 28th.
I didn’t get out to shorebird hotspots as much this week, but still ended up with 17.5 species and some solid high counts. However, much of my best birding this week was from our yard, which apparently is a fantastic fall migration hotspot. And my first visit of the season to Sandy Point on 8/31 produced a new August record!
Black-bellied Plover: 142, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 9/1.
Killdeer: 3, United Ag and Turf, Auburn, 8/31 (with Jeannette).
Semipalmated Plover: 150+, The Pool, 9/1.
Piping Plover: 1, The Pool, 9/1.
Whimbrel: 4, The Pool, 9/1.
RED KNOT: 16 juv, The Pool, 9/1.
Sanderling: 1, The Pool, 9/1.
Least Sandpiper: 32, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/31.
White-rumped Sandpiper: 11, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/28 (with Jeannette).
Pectoral Sandpiper: 2, Eastern Road Trail, 8/31.
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 450-500, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/28 (with Jeannette).
A handful of non-shorebird highlights this week also included:
A productive week of birding on our Durham property produced a number of highlights. In fact, most mornings, it was hard to pull myself away from the yard. At least 11 species of warblers have been in our yard daily this week, with a high count of 12 on the 28th. A female MOURNING WARBLER was present 8/27-8/29. A Phildelphia Vireo on the 28th-29th was our 144th yard bird, followed moments later by the arrival of #145: An American Bittern (photo above). A DICKCISSEL (FOF) briefly paused in the yard on the morning of the 1st for our 146th yard bird! 32-38 Common Nighthawks were feeding over the yard late in the day on 9/1 as well.
12 adult SANDHILL CRANES, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 8/30 (site high count and noteworthy that no juveniles were present – failed breeding season due to high water and flooding?)
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 8/31 (FOY):
6:00-9:15am
57F, mostly clear, NE 4.7-7.6 increasing to 7.3-9.8 and gusty.
This juvenile Marbled Godwit continues at Hill’s Beach in Biddeford, making a nice addition to my “Shorebird Big Day” effort on Tuesday.
After being thwarted by weather on a couple of days recently, I conducted a “Shorebird Big Day” on Tuesday the 22nd. I birded between Sanford and Brunswick, seeking shorebirds from near-dawn to dusk. My goal was “at least 20” species of shorebirds, so I was happy to finish my day with 22 species. Needless to say, that day dedicated to shorebirding produced the majority of my high counts this week:
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 6 adults, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
Black-bellied Plover: 126, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/22.
A nice list of non-shorebird highlights this week also included:
At least 12 species of warblers have been in our yard daily this week, with a high count of 15 on the 24th. A Tennessee Warbler that I spotted while conducting our Bird Safe Open House birdwalk on the 19th was our 141st yard species.
Common Nighthawks have been on the move all week, with nightly sightings. My high counts included 16 over the Bates Mill in Lewiston on the 19th (with Dan and Renee Klem) and 244 in an hour over Wharton Point in Brunswick on the 23rd.
1 continuing proposed TRICOLORED HERON X SNOWY EGRET X SMALL WHITE EGRET SP(P) HYBRID, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough marsh, 8/20.
3 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, Green Point WMA, Dresden, 8/21 (with Jeannette).
1 ad. Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz)
Continuing mid-summer scoter Hat Trick off Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz): 2 White-winged Scoter, 2+ Surf Scoters, 75-100 Black Scoters.
2 continuing adult RED-NECKED GREBES, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
One of two adult American Oystercatchers tending a downy, flightless chick (late) at Upper Green Island in interior Casco Bay, confirming our suspected breeding on this tiny island.
I have spent dreadfully little time enjoying, studying, and counting shorebirds so far this summer, so I tried to make up for that this week! With many species approaching peak numbers, it was a good week to do so. High water in ponds and salt pannes from all of our recent rains impacted some locations and overall diversity, but my shorebird high counts this week were quite good overall:
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 2 ad with 1 downy juv, Upper Green Island, Casco Bay, 8/6 (with Birds of Casco Bay with Seacoast Tours). Confirmed breeding on this tiny island after finding a flighted juvenile with adults last summer at this time. See link below.
Black-bellied Plover: 62, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/9.
White-winged Crossbills were amazingly abundant in Northern Aroostook County during our visit last week (see below).
Returning back from a little vacation to the crown of Maine followed by some time in New Brunswick, I apologize for the late report. Last week was a busy and productive week of birding for me, with the following observations of note.
Seal Island Tour, 7/22:
15 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES inside of Saddleback Ledge; 1 1st summer Great Cormorant, Saddleback Ledge Light; 3 Razorbills still at Seal Island; 1 Great Shearwater on trip back. Dense fog impacted our birding all day, but we had a fantastic performance from Atlantic Puffins and Arctic Terns in particular, and the fog cleared enough to enjoy the number of juvenile Great Cormorants in the growing colony on the island’s south end.
2 Red Crossbills, over our yard in Durham, 7/23. Interestingly, we didn’t have a single Red Crossbill in Aroostook County (unless they were all drowned out by all of the White-wings!). However, the Reds in our area seem to be focusing on coastal Red Spruce.
Aroostook County WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 7/24-7/27 (with Terez Fraser, John Lorence, and Jeannette). Wow, incredible! Over three days of birding from Fort Kent to Stockholm, we conservatively estimated observing about 50 per HOUR while in appropriate habitat! Our high count was 150-200 total along Square Lake Road in Sinclair on 7/26, with single flock of 70-75 individuals!
EVENING GROSBEAKS: just a couple heard here and there, including 1 on Nixon Siding Road, 7/24, 2 at Christina Reservoir, 7/26; and 2 at Square Lake Road, 7/26.
BOREAL CHICKADEES: Mostly heard, but some were unusually conspicuous, especially one (of 3) at Square Lake Road on 7/26 and 1 of 3 at Moscovic Road, Stockholm, 7/27 (all with Terez Fraser, John Lorence, and Jeannette).
Lake Josephine duck tallies (7/25 with John Lorenc and Jeannette): 125+ Gadwall (including juveniles of all ages); 1 drake American Wigeon, two family groups of Blue-winged Teal, 75+ Ring-necked Ducks, 1 American Bittern, etc. Numbers were lower when Jeannette and I visited on the 27th, likely due to Bald Eagle presence.
3 adult Bonaparte’s Gulls, Arnold Brook Beach Recreation Area, 7/25 (with John Lorenc and Jeannette).
Additional species from Square Lake Road in Stockholm on 7/26 (with John Lorenc, Terez Fraser, and Jeannette): 1 Bonaparte’s Gull, 3+ Bay-breasted Warblers, 1 Mourning Warbler, 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher, 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow, etc.
1 female American Wigeon with 10 chicks, Long Lake, St. Agatha, 7/26 (with Terez Fraser, John Lorence, and Jeannette).
3 Common Nighthawks, over St. John River at dusk, Fort Kent, 7/26 (with Terez Fraser, John Lorence, and Jeannette).
Most of the White-winged Crossbills we saw were in flight, or calling and singing in the distance. This male tee’d up nicely, albeit in unfortunate light. We also watched only one group feeding, and they appeared to be eating mostly buds of Tamarack (and maybe some young or old cones).
If I only saw one bird all week, and it was THIS bird, I would have been more than satisfied. The near-mythological Tufted Puffin that has wandered around the Gulf of Maine for the last two summers finally was in front of my binoculars at Eastern Egg Rock on 7/10 (with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises “Audubon Puffin and Scenic Cruise). Unfortunately, it was not seen a mere three hours later when I returned to the island with my previously-scheduled Mini-Pelagic with our partners at Cap’n Fish’s.
While just about anything else would pale in comparison, I did have several other observations of note over the past seven days, plus lots of quality time with Roseate Terns, Salmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows, etc:
Scarborough Marsh migrant shorebirds, 7/9 (with Ken Mettie and Mary Beth Oles): 16 Short-billed Dowitchers (First of fall), 4-6 Lesser Yellowlegs, 4 Least Sandpipers (FOF), and 2 Greater Yellowlegs.
Freeport Wild Bird Supply’s “Puffin/Whale Combo Mini-Pelagic” with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, 7/10: 1 COMMON MURRE and 1 American Oystercatcher at Eastern Egg Rock. Offshore pelagic visitors: 100-150 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, 2 Great Shearwaters, 2 unidentified shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 subadult PARASITIC JAEGER. Some observers had a MANX SHEARWATER as well.
1 LOUSIANA WATERTHRUSH and 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Morgan Meadow WMA, 7/11 (with Jeannette).
Scarborough Marsh and Pine Point migrant shorebird totals, 7/14 (with Alec Humann and Buffalo Ornithological Society tour group): 18 Short-billed Dowitchers, 15 Lesser Yellowlegs, 12 Least Sandpipers, 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers (FOF), 2 Whimbrel (FOF, Jones Creek, Pine Point), and 1 Greater Yellowlegs.
I didn’t hit the shoreline at all this week, other than a quick jaunt to the Brunswick waterfront, so I don’t have a lot of observations of note, other than 2 Upland Sandpipers at Brunswick Landing, Brunswick, 7/1 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) and continued scattered Red Crossbills.
However, bird-watching was fantastic this week overall, even if it did not produce anything out of the ordinary. From a visit with clients to Salt Bay Farm Preserve in Damariscotta on Thursday to a stroll this morning at Old Town House Park, I found plenty of entertainment in the life and antics of our common breeding species.
In fact, on a couple of mornings, I just couldn’t tear myself away from our feeding station, which is chock-full of activity right now, including multiple pairs each of Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Gray Catbirds, Purple Finches, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and 5 species of woodpeckers, including fledglings of many: Downy, Hairy, Pileated, Red-bellied, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Yeah, we’re going through a lot of suet right now!
Therefore, I’ll just leave you today with some of my favorite photos from last month’s tour with NJ Audubon. And maybe next week I’ll have some more time for bird-finding again!
Maine Birding Field Notes 