Category Archives: Week Reports

This Week’s Highlights, 10/30-11/5

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This week’s Orange-crowned Warbler was “slightly” better photographed than the
individual I had here two weeks ago!

With “Rarity Season” now in full swing, my observations of note over the past seven days included the following:

  • 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 10/31 (with clients from Maine and New Mexico).
  • 2 Indigo Buntings, Private property in Cape Elizabeth, 10/31 (with clients from Maine and New Mexico).
  • 1 Great Egret, Mill Creek Cove, South Portland, 10/31 (with clients from Maine and New Mexico).
  • 1 Indigo Bunting, Capisic Pond Park, Portland, 10/31 (with clients from Maine and New Mexico).
  • 1 WHITE-EYED VIREO and 4 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrows (FOF), Reid State Park, Georgetown, 11/1 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and 1 RED-EYED VIREO, Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, 11/3. My 9th-ever here and 2nd of the season. Photo above.
  • 3 Common Goldeneyes (FOF), Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 11/4.
  • 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (likely continuing from 11/3), 1 American Woodcock, 32 Snow Buntings, etc, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 11/5.
  • 2 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrows, Crescent Beach State Park, Cape Elizabeth, 11/5.
These two Savannah Sparrows of the “Ipswich” subspecies were most obliging at Crescent Beach State Park in Cape Elizabeth on Friday morning.

This Week’s Highlights, 10/23-29

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Thanks to our annual note in our newsletter to keep hummingbird feeders up through early November – and to give us a call if one shows up after the first week of October – we received another call about a late October hummingbird this year. I raced over as soon as it returned to study it and get documentation photos. Unlike last year, however, this was “just” a Ruby-throated. I should have known it wasn’t another “mega” rarity as it was way too easy to photograph closely, and I only waited 5 minutes for its arrival!

Before and after the storm, it was a rather great week of birding for me. Rarity Season is now underway!  Here are my observations of note over the past seven days:

  • 1 Field Sparrow, 2 Common Yellowthroats, 7 Semipalmated Plovers, etc., Wolf’s Neck Center, Freeport, 10/24 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 “INTERIOR” (ssp alterus/nelson) NELSON’S SPARROW, Private Property in Cape Elizabeth, 10/24.
  • “First of seasons” from seawatching at Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth, 10/28:

25 Long-tailed Ducks (mostly northbound)

2 drake Harlequin Ducks

2 Snow Buntings

1 1st winter Iceland Gull

1 Horned Grebe

  • 1-2 BLUE-HEADED VIREOS, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 10/28.
  • 1 juv RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, private property in Freeport, 10/28. First seen on 10/26, but not on the 27th. See photo and caption above.
  • 1 DICKCISSEL (photo below; Abner Point Road), 1 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL (first of fall locally), 2 male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS, and 2 American Tree Sparrows (first of fall), Bailey Island, Harpswell, 10/29.

Additional Highlights This Week, 10/16-22

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Here’s the world’s worst photo of the Orange-crowned Warbler that appeared at Sandy Point on Tuesday. I drew an outline around it to (maybe) help you find it. It was my 8th ever here.

My non-Sandy Point observations of note over the past seven days included:

  • ~60 American Pipits, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 10/16 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 10/19 (with Jeannette). Choppy water made a thorough count challenging.

360+ Ruddy Ducks

173+ mixed Greater and Lesser Scaup

31 Mallards

15 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS

3 Buffleheads

2 Common Loons

  • 1 Nashville Warbler, 4 Red-throated Loons (FOF), etc, Peak’s Island, 10/22 (with Dan Nickerson).

Additional Highlights This Week, 10/9-15

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This truant Bobolink was at Wolfe’s Neck Center for our Saturday Morning Birdwalk, and was still present on the 13th when I snapped this photo through my binoculars.

A few additional non-boat and non-Sandy Point observations of for me over the past seven days for me included:

  • 1 Vesper Sparrow, 1 Bobolink, 1 White-rumped Sandpiper, etc, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 10/9 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk). Bobolink still present as of 10/13 (see photo above).
  • I counted exactly 59 Laughing Gulls at Wolfe’s Neck Center on both 10/9 and 10/13; a good count for this late in the fall.
  • 1 Pine Siskin (first of fall), Green Point WMA, 10/12 (with Jeannette).
  • ~70 American Pipits, Highland Road, Brunswick, 10/15.

Additional (non-Sandy Point) Highlights This Week, 10/2-8, Pelagic reminder, and Monhegan trip report.

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This Savannah Sparrow contemplated walking across the channel instead of flying over the water during Morning Flight at Sandy Point.

A few observations of note away from the Morning Flight over the past seven days for me included:

  • 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 10/2 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk).
  • Overall, it was a great week of sparrow migration, with a nice high count on 10/8 from Wolfe’s Neck Center of 125 Song, 100 Savannah, 75 Swamp, 25 White-throated, 2 White-crowned, and 1 Lincoln’s.
  • Sabattus Pond season is underway as well!  On 10/8, I had early-season tallies of 76 Ruddy Ducks (first of fall), 33 Lesser Scaup, 18 Greater Scaup (first of fall), 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers (first of fall), etc.

Notes:

  • And I’ve finally posted my tour report from Monhegan, 9/24-9/28. The blog includes photos and daily checklists:
2021 Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend Tour Report.

This Week’s (Non Sandy-Point) Highlights, 9/24-9/30: Monhegan Island

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This Blue Grosbeak was among the stars of the show from an exceptional weekend of
great birds on Monhegan Island.

I haven’t yet posted a Monhegan tour blog from last weekend, so I figured I’d at least post some of the highlights from our extremely exciting weekend chock-full of great birds!

9/24 (with Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend tour group):

  • 1 adult GREAT BLACK BACKED X HERRING GULL HYBRID
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull
  • 1 Sora

9/25 (with tour group):

  • 1 adult PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. Found by me at “Chat Bridge” and refound nearby a short while later by Kristen Lindquist and part of my group.  Only bird of the weekend not seen again.
  • 1 YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
  • 8 DICKCISSELS (in flock together at one point)
  • 2 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS (in flock with 8 Dickcissels).
  • 1 Gray-cheeked/Bicknell’s Thrush (presumed Gray-cheeked)
  • 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

9/26 (with Tour group):

  • 1 YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
  • 1 immature male BLUE GROSBEAK
  • At least 4 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS
  • At least 7 DICKCISSELS
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull

9/27 (with tour group):

  • 1 WESTERN KINGBIRD (found by Kristen Lindquist. Refound by us at the Trailing Yew, then later by our group again at the cemetery. Last sighting?)
  • At least 5 DICKCISSELS
  • At least 4 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS
  • 9/28 (with Jeannette and Kristen Lindquist):
  • 1 immature male BLUE GROSBEAK
  • 2 LARK SPARROWS
  • At least 4 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS
  • At least 4 DICKCISSELS
  • 1 Orange-crowned Warbler
  • 1 unidentified jaeger at a floating Minke Whale carcass offshore.
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull

Other Highlights:

  • 2 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, Dry Ledges off of Allen Island from Port Clyde Ferry, 9/28 (with Jeannette).

And don’t forget, our next pelagic with Cap’n Fish’s out of Boothbay Harbor is coming up, on October 11th. Information and registration can be found here.

OK, back to work on my Monhegan blog.

Derek’s Birding This Week: 9/18-23, 2021

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The weekend will likely start off wet, but with several days of an extensive southerly flow originating all of the way from the Gulf Coast and Deep South, vagrants – like Blue Grosbeak, Hooded Warbler, Summer Tanager, and much more will be on our minds.

As I prepare to depart for our Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend tour tomorrow, I am left to wonder where the heck the past week went!?

Similarly to last week, my birding time was woefully limited thanks to excuses including a trade show and a morning meeting. Therefore, my birding this week was mostly limited to our Saturday Morning Birdwalk and one great flight at Sandy Point.

Speaking of Sandy Point, I did not make it out for what was presumably a light flight on Monday morning, and of course a Clay-colored Sparrow – a long-overdue Patch Bird – was found. It wasn’t until Wednesday morning that I had a chance to look for it.  While I didn’t find it, I did get a consolation prize.  With a flock of about 400 Semipalmated Sandpipers in the cove on the north side of the point – the largest peep flock that I have seen here, I grabbed the scope. Among them was a single Sanderling, but also a single molting juvenile Dunlin – my 191st all-time species at Sandy Point!

There was a big movement of White-throated Sparrows this week however, augmenting productive feeder-watching. Granted, my extended period of afternoon feeder-watching on Monday was mostly limited to the entertainment of a constant dog-fight between a Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawk for backyard supremacy

Now, let’s hope the forecast for the weekend is a little drier than currently called for!  That being said, the pattern that we are in looks really good for southern vagrants (see photo above), and especially after 5 days of poor winds for migration, once this mess clears, the migration could be huge!

Derek’s Birding This Week: 9/11-17, 2021

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Philadelphia Vireos have been particularly conspicuous this week at Sandy Point, especially because of their propensity for stopping by the trees right next to “my office” as they contemplate crossing.

I didn’t get out birding much this week, other than at Sandy Point (see tallies here), and when I did, it was mostly just enjoying the local, regular passerine migrants.

In fact, my only observation of note was a good evening at the Walsh Preserve in Freeport on 9/14 with Jeannette, where a great late-season array of shorebirds included:
1 juv. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, 1 juv Dunlin (FOF), 76 Lesser Yellowlegs, etc,

Meanwhile, limiting most of my outings to local dog-walking patches and our two yards (home and the store), afforded the opportunity to enjoy lots of up-close migrants this week, including a Nashville Warbler that has been frequenting our dripper at home. Unfortunately, the LARK SPARROW that Will and Jeanne had here at the store on Monday, 9/13, has not returned.

Comparing my notes to last year, the first stages of the “super flight” of irruptives over the winter was already prevalent in these parts with many more Red-breasted Nuthatches and Purple Finches than normal, and the first Pine Siskins of the season. This year, Purple Finches have been in short supply so far, Pine Siskins have been virtually non-existent, and migrant Red-breasted Nuthatches have been limited (although it seems we had a good breeding season locally).  Also at this  time last year, a massive early flight of Dark-eyed Juncos and well-above normal numbers of White-throated Sparrows were around, likely signaling a low year of seed productivity.  This year, those species are around in more seasonable numbers so far this season

Derek’s Birding This Week: 9/4-10, 2021

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I enjoyed three spiffy juvenile Baird’s Sandpipers this week, including this one that landed in front of my scope at Popham Beach State Park on the 10th.

In addition to the Sandy Point Morning Flight tallies posted to our store’s Facebook page – and elsewhere, my observations of note over the past seven – exceptionally productive and birdy –  days also included the following:

  • 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette).
  • Pelagic from Eastport through Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick, 9/7 (with Allison Anholt, Chris Bartlett, Cameron Cox, Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Andy Patterson, Erin Walter, and Jeannette): 1 Pomarine Jaeger, 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 30-35 Common Murres, 210 Razorbills, 1 Great Shearwater, 3000 Bonaparte’s Gulls, etc.
Bonaparte’s Gull
  • Whale Watch from Eastport through Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick, 8/7 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Erin Walter, and Jeannette): 1 Pomarine Jaeger, 1 ARCTIC TERN, 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, similar number of alcids but perhaps even more Common Murres, etc.
  • 1 Great Egret, Machias Causeway, 9/8.
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Roque Bluffs State Park, 9/8 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 adult SANDHILL CRANES and 1 DICKCISSEL, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 9/10.
A pair of Sandhill Cranes have become annual visitors in the fall to the fields along Mayall Road in Gray/New Gloucester, and I saw them for the first time on the 10th. No colt this year, unfortunately.
  • 2 female Lesser Scaup (FOF), Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 9/10.
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/10.

And although shorebird season is winding down, a trip downeast bumped up a few of my shorebird high counts this week:

  • Black-bellied Plover: 55, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 53, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/10.
  • Piping Plover: 2 late juveniles, Popham Beach State Park,  9/10.
  • Sanderling: 45, Popham Beach State Park, 9/10.
  • BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 3 total!  1 juv, Sanford Cove, Machiasport, 9/5 (with Jeannette); 1 juv, Mowry Beach, Lubec, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette); 1 juv, Popham Beach State Park, 9/10.
  • Least Sandpiper: 26, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 1, several locations.
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 2, Popham Beach State Park, 9/10.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 900-1000+, Sanborn Cove, Machiasport, 9/8 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Erin Walter, and Jeannette).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 10, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 2, Walsh Preserve, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) and 2, Highland Road, Brunswick, 9/10.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 60+, Walsh Preserve, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 6, Walsh Preserve, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group)

Derek’s Birding This Week: 8/28-9/3, 2021

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In addition to the Sandy Point Morning Flight tallies posted to our store’s Facebook page – and elsewhere, my observations of note over the past seven days also included the following:

  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/29.
  • 1 Mourning Warbler, Essex Marsh, Bangor, 8/30 (with Jeannette).
  • 8 SPRUCE GROUSE, 1 Evening Grosbeak, etc, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Loop Road, 8/30 (with Jeannette). Photo above.
  • 1 Mourning Warbler, Barnard Mountain Trail, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, 8/31 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 proposed TRICOLORED HERON X SNOWY EGRET X SNOWY EGRET HYBRID, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/3.

Although I didn’t hit many shorebird sites this week (since we were in the north woods on our days off), I had a few excellent counts of several species:

  • American Oystercatcher: 4 continuing (2 ad with 2 juv), Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/29.
  • Black-bellied Plover: 87, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • Killdeer: 53, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 9/2.
  • Semipalmated Plover: 204, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • Sanderling: 2, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • Least Sandpiper: 34, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/3.
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 2, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER: 1 juv, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 425, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 14, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, single solitaries at several sites.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 132, Yarmouth Town Landing, 9/2 – highest count I have had anywhere locally in several years.
  • “Eastern” Willet: 8, Pine Point, 8/29.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 11, Eastern Road Trail, 9/3.