Category Archives: Week Reports

This Week’s Highlights, 1/22-28, 2022

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While we didn’t see the Steller’s Sea-Eagle in two full days of searching this week, we did enjoy some great birds and photo ops during our search. I spotted this Barred Owl alongside a road on Southport Island as it emerged from a roosting cavity in the late afternoon on the 25th and Jeannette got some photos out the car window.

It was another great week of winter birding for me! Unfortunately, we had friends visiting for three days and the Steller’s Sea-Eagle was not seen on any of them. In fact, it has not been seen since Monday morning, 1/24 in the Boothbay area. I joined them for two days of searching, and we did have several birds of note as we scoured the area thoroughly. Meanwhile, with the deep freeze continuing, river ice is building up and so it was a great week to see Barrow’s Goldeneyes – one of my favorite winter birds in Maine.

  • 6 (!) BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/22 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). This is my highest count in at least 4-5 years here.
  • 1 continuing adult female BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn, 1/23.
  • 2 first-winter Iceland Gulls, Auburn Riverwalk, 1/23.
  • 1 adult Peregrine Falcon, Upper Street, Turner, 1/23 – I rarely see them away from downtown L-A in Androscoggin County, especially in winter. I would have assumed this was one of those Lewiston birds but I had just left the pair looking content in downtown. Not that I drive faster than a Peregrine, mind you.
  • 1 Turkey Vulture, Drake’s Island, Wells, 1/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Horned Lark, Parson’s Beach, Kennebunk, 1/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 18+ Razorbills, Spruce Point Inn, Boothbay, 1/25 (with Tom Reed, Emily Wilmoth, and Jeannette).
  • 1 pair BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Doughty Cove, Harpswell, 1/27 (with Tom Reed, Emily Wilmoth, and Jeannette).
  • 1 SNOWY OWL, Land’s End, Bailey Island, Harpswell, 1/27 (with Tom Reed). This was a really incredible and memorable sighting. In the desperate searching for the Steller’s Sea-Eagle, I was following a very distant eagle (it was a Bald) out over the bay to our east when I called out “I think I have an owl!” Materializing out of the distance and heat shimmer, it took a while for us to identify it as a Snowy Owl. We followed it for several minutes as it finally came closer and passed by, landing on the backside of Jaquish Island. This was only my second-ever Snowy Owl observed in apparent “visible migration,” or at the very least, making a long diurnal water crossing. 
  • 1 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE and 1-2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, Bailey Island, 1/27 (with Tom Reed and Emily Wilmoth).
  • 21 Sanderlings, Reid State Park, 1/27 (with Tom Reed and Emily Wilmoth).

NOTES: Due to the posting of a blizzard warning for tomorrow, we are canceling the Saturday Morning Birdwalk and we expect to be closed for the day. Stay tuned to our store’s Facebook page for any updates.

Another good photo op while not seeing a sea-eagle was this cooperative Black Guillemot having lunch off the Maine State Aquarium on 1/25. Can anyone identify the fish?

This Week’s Highlights, 1/15-21, 2022

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Barrow’s Goldeneyes are one of my favorite visitors to Maine in winter. The hens provide a nice challenge to pick out, too. This was one of two distinctive Barrow’s visible from the
Bernard Lown Peace Bridge in Auburn/Lewiston on the 13th.

Especially in November – and often again with the first cold snap in December – I talk about “rarity fever,” when there is that additional motivation and encouragement to go birding thanks to the expectation of the unexpected. And usually we in Maine talk about the “winter doldrums” in an non-irruption year. And this year, there are virtually zero irruptives in the southern half of Maine – other than Snowy Owls. But with the Steller’s Sea-Eagle (as you may have heard!), a Bullock’s Oriole at a feeder in Damariscotta Mills, a Townsend’s Warbler in Cape Elizabeth (I missed it twice this week with a limited amount of effort), and a Barnacle Goose in Rockland, there is no doubt I – and many other birders – are experiencing a little mid-winter Rarity Fever!  And that has helped motivate me to get out birding as often as I can. The to-do list can wait until February, right?

With the fairly sudden arrival to a bitter “real winter” cold, once again “pioneering” waterfowl made up most of my highlights this week, as I spent most of my birding time searching for the next big deal. My observations of note over the past seven days include the following:

  • 1 Northern Flicker, Village Crossings/Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt Trail, 1/16 (with John Lorenc).
  • 7 Brant, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 10/18 (with Jeannette).
  • At least 2 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES.  A third hen is suggestive of an odd Barrow’s or a Common x Barrow’s hybrid (see photo captions), Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn/Lewiston, 1/20.
  • Fun to hear two Carolina Wrens counter-singing across the Androscoggin River – one in Lewiston and one in Auburn – from Little Andy Park, Auburn, 1/20.
  • 1 drake Northern Pintail and 3 1st-winter Iceland Gulls, Auburn Riverwalk, 1/20.
  • 1 female Northern Pintail, Westbrook Riverwalk, 1/21.
In addition to a bright-orange-billed classic Barrow’s, and the perfectly good smudgy-billed individual above (and here, on the left), there was a third bird that I am pondering. It’s either a third female Barrow’s (a great tally, especially for Androscoggin County) or perhaps a hybrid between Barrow’s x Common – the males of which do occur in Maine and are fairly straightforward to identify.

This Week’s Highlights, 1/8-14, 2022

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My observations of note over the past seven days are as follows. With the first real cold spell of the winter, it’s not surprising that many of the noteworthy observations this week were of “lingering” or “pioneering” individuals that were moving around or seeking more tolerable locales. Of course, my two (almost) full days of birding this week were focused on the Boothbay area.

  • 1 American Pipit, 1 Turkey Vulture, 100+ distant scaup, etc, Maquoit Bay Conservation Trail, Brunswick, 1/8 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk Group).
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, inner harbor, Boothbay Harbor, 1/10 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, Knickercane Island, Boothbay, 1/10 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 drake Greater Scaup, Swinging Bridge, Brunswick, 1/10 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 drake NORTHERN PINTAIL, 29 Horned Larks, and 8 Snow Buntings, Rte 136, Durham, 1/13.
  • 1 GADWALL, unexpected fly-by at the Maine State Aquarium, Boothbay, 1/14.
  • After not seeing it on Monday, I went back to the Boothbay area today, 1/14 to see the Steller’s Sea-Eagle again, because, well, there’s a Steller’s-friggin-Sea-Eagle in Maine. Luckily, I was rewarded with a 20-25 minute observation of it perched and in flight from Spruce Point. The more I see this bird, the more I want to see this bird!
  • Unfortunately, I did not get any photos of it – it was too far, and I was just enjoying it in the scope. But I got a new camera, and I did take it out to play for the first time! This Common Loon made for an excellent subject for a test-drive.
No Zoom.
Camera-only Zoom. Not additional cropping. My first impression is that it’s much slower than my previous camera, and the resultant image is not as crisp. But, the zoom is stronger, and the maximum optical + digital zoom produces a better image, at least for “documentation.”

This Week’s Highlights, 1/1-7, 2022

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This dapper drake American Wigeon at Brunswick’s historic Swinging Bridge on the 4th very well could have been the same bird that I found upriver in Durham three days prior, as the river was finally beginning to freeze over.

Happy New Year (List) everyone!  My sightings of note over the past seven days were as follows. Unfortunately, they did not include the Steller’s Sea-Eagle on Saturday or Sunday (but last week, on Friday…wow, just wow. Still can’t really believe that happened!) but did include a few goodies while searching for where it may have ended up (before its re-discovery in Boothbay on Thursday).

  • 1 drake American Wigeon, Rte 136, Durham, 1/1.
  • 18 Greater Scaup, Simpson’s Point, Brunswick, 1/3 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 adult GREAT BLACK-BACKED X HERRING GULL HYBRID, Bath Landfill, 1/4 (with Jeannette)
  • 1 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, Thorne Head Preserve, Bath, 1/4.
  • 1 drake American Wigeon, Swinging Bridge, Brunswick, 1/4.
  • 44 Greater Scaup, 38 distant unidentified scaup, 625+ American Black Ducks, 130+ Surf and White-winged Scoters, etc, Maquoit Bay Conservation Land, Brunswick, 1/6.
  • Here is our “West Freeport” territory tally from Sunday’s Freeport-Brunswick CBC:

– 5 American Black Ducks

– 30 Mallards

– 1 Hooded Merganser (2nd sector record)

– 1 Red-tailed Hawk

– 1 Ruffed Grouse

– 30 Wild Turkeys

– 12 Herring Gulls

– 26 Mourning Doves

– 4 Red-bellied Woodpeckers

– 28 Downy Woodpeckers

– 15 Hairy Woodpeckers

– 6 Pileated Woodpeckers (sector high count)

– 1 Northern Flicker (2nd sector record)

– 40 Blue Jays

– 104 American Crows

– 1 Common Raven

– 413 Black-capped Chickadees (2nd highest count)

– 90 Tufted Titmice (sector high count; old record of 44)

– 16 Red-breasted Nuthatches

– 45 White-breasted Nuthatches

– 1 Brown Creeper

– 11 Golden-crowned Kinglets

– 1 Carolina Wren

– 26 Eastern Bluebirds

– 1 American Robin

– 73 European Starlings (sector high count)

– 10 American Tree Sparrows

– 2 Song Sparrows

– 1 White-throated Sparrow

– 18 Dark-eyed Juncos

– 20 Northern Cardinals

– 20 House Finches

– 204 American Goldfinches (2nd highest count)

33 species (2nd highest for territory thanks to extensive open water this year).

8.5 hours: 22.4 miles by car; 18.5 miles by foot.

At the very least, it confirmed some of our preconceived notions: sparrows and frugivores are in short supply; winter finches and other irruptives are not around at all – but a huge pulse of goldfinches arrived late last week; and local resident breeding birds seemed to have done quite well this year.

  • And finally today, here is my annual blog prognosticating the Next 25 species to appear in Maine, and on my own list. Spoiler alert: I did not predict a Steller’s Sea-Eagle.
2022 Maine Birds Predictions Blog

This Week’s Highlights, 12/29-31, 2021

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At this point, this bird really needs no introduction. Here are Jeannette’s photos of the famous Steller’s Sea-Eagle that we caught up on the morning of on New Year’s Eve at Five Islands in Georgetown.

What an incredible bird!
  • 1 drake Northern Pintail, Harraseeket Yacht Club, Freeport, 12/29.
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, dusk at Five Islands, Georgetown, 12/30.
  • 5 Double-crested Cormorants, 4++ Razorbill, etc, Five Islands, Georgetown, 12/31.  Oh yeah, that bird in the photos above, too.
While spending Christmas with family in New Jersey, Jeannette and I successfully chased this Wood Stork at my old stomping grounds of Sandy Hook. It was my 350th species in New Jersey.
Not bad for a place that I haven’t lived in over 20 years!

This Week’s Highlights, 12/18-24, 2021

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After receiving photos of what appeared to be an all-dark Euphagus blackbird reported as being “glossy” at times- and without the bill visible – a few of us went out to get better looks in the freezing rain on the 22nd. It wasn’t until the bird showed up at a feeder and we were able to photograph it at close range that we confirmed it was just a truant, exceptionally dark-for-the-season Rusty Blackbird (note the very subtle rufous fringes
on the head and breast and the thin, slightly downcurved bill).

Southern York County CBC, “Moody Sector” of Wells and Ogunquit, 12/20 (with Jeannette).

As usual, our incredibly productive territory produced a number of “good birds” and a decent 57 total species:

  • 144 Canada Geese
  • 232 Mallards
  • 2 Mallards x American Black Duck hybrid
  • 81 American Black Ducks
  • 3 NORTHERN PINTAIL (Beach Plum Farm)
  • 4 GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Furbush Avenue)
  • 64 Common Eider
  • 46 Surf Scoter
  • 31 White-winged Scoter
  • 287 Black Scoter
  • 39 Long-tailed Duck
  • 22 Bufflehead
  • 9 Common Goldeneye
  • 22 Red-breasted Merganser
  • 3 Red-throated Loon
  • 5 Common Loon
  • 9 Horned Grebe
  • 26 Red-necked Grebe
  • 1 Northern Gannet
  • 1 Great Blue Heron
  • 1 Bald Eagle
  • 78 American Crow
  • 1 Northern Harrier
  • 1 Cooper’s Hawk
  • 2 Red-tailed Hawks
  • 1 WILSON’S SNIPE (Wells sewerage. 5th count record.)
  • 22 Ring-billed Gull
  • 161 Herring Gull
  • 1 Great Black-backed Gull
  • 2 Razorbill
  • 67 Rock Pigeon
  • 2 Mourning Dove
  • 1 SNOWY OWL (Bourne Ave)
  • 1 Belted Kingfisher
  • 12 Downy Woodpecker
  • 6 Blue Jay
  • 19 Horned Lark
  • 65 Black-capped Chickadee
  • 16 Tufted Titmice
  • 11 White-breasted Nuthatch
  • 1 Brown Creeper
  • 4 Carolina Wren
  • 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet
  • 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (Seaview Street).
  • 12 Eastern Bluebird
  • 1 HERMIT THRUSH (Wells sewerage)
  • 3 Northern Mockingbird
  • 97 European Starling
  • 1 AMERICAN PIPIT (Bourne Avenue)
  • 16 American Tree Sparrow
  • 1 CHIPPING SPARROW (Wells sewerage)
  • 17 Song Sparrow
  • 48 Dark-eyed Junco
  • 5 White-throated Sparrow
  • 25 Northern Cardinal
  • 48 House Finch
  • 22 American Goldfinch
  • 137 House Sparrow

8 hours: 13.3 miles by car; 9.5 miles by foot.

  • No Steller’s Sea-Eagle in Massachusetts, 12/21 (with Weston Barker, Michael Boardman, and Matthew Gilbert)…but we had to try!
  • 1 RUSTY BLACKBIRD, Cathance River Preserve, Topsham, 12/22 (with Weston Barker and John Berry. Photos above and below).
  • 1 continuing drake NORTHERN PINTAIL, Androscoggin River along Rte 136, Durham, 12/23.

This Week’s Highlights, 12/11-17

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Despite taking photos of all four species of warblers along the Saco Riverwalk on 12/4, the only photo even marginally useful was this mediocre one of the continuing “Western” Palm Warbler. What I do like about it, however, is that it caught the “tail flick” in action.

It was a tough week in the Maine birding world with the loss of an icon, but she would have been upset with me if I didn’t get out to do any birding this week. My observations of note over the past seven days were as follows:

  • 1 Snowy Owl, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 12/11.
  • 1 Lapland Longspur with 12 Snow Buntings, Day’s Landing, Biddeford Pool, 12/12 (with client from Georgia).
  • 1 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (FOS), Wood Island, Biddeford Pool, 12/12 (with client from Georgia).
  • 16 Northern Pintails, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 12/12 (with client from Georgia).
  • 2 Snowy Owls, Biddeford Pool neighborhood, Biddeford, 12/12 (with client from Georgia).
  • 1 Pine Warbler, Bailey Island, Harpswell, 12/13 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 continuing NASHVILLE WARBLER, 1 continuing ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, 1 continuing “WESTERN” PALM WARBLER, and 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler, Saco Riverwalk, 12/14.
  • Scattered single Turkey Vultures throughout the week.

This Week’s Highlights, 12/4-10, 2021

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Maine’s third-ever GRAY KINGBIRD has been delighting birders since late last week,

My observations of note over the past seven days were as follows, almost all of which were from a tremendous Tuesday morning, as previously reported:

1 male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, 1 “WESTERN” PALM WARBLER, and 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, Saco Riverwalk, Saco, 12/7 (with Jeannette).

1 continuing GRAY KINGBIRD and 24 Dunlin, Fortunes Rocks Beach, Biddeford, 12/7 (with Jeannette). Photo above.

2 SNOWY OWLS, Mile Stretch, Biddeford, 12/7 (with Jeannette). Photos below.

1 continuing male CAPE MAY WARBLER, Biddeford Pool neighborhood, Biddeford, 12/7 (with Jeannette).

1 Turkey Vulture, over downtown Biddeford, 12/7 (with Jeannette).

4 Red-winged Blackbirds were at the store on 12/9 (observed by Jeanne Farrell).

1 Snow Bunting, Pott’s Point, Harpswell, 12/10.

7 Horned Larks, Stover’s Point, Harpswell, 12/10.

With the exceptions of Tuesday and Friday mornings, my birding was limited, local, and exceptionally slow!  The complete lack of irruptives (other than an average number so far of Snowy Owls) south of the boreal transition belt, along with continued relatively-mild conditions that limit concentrations (including at feeders and of waterfowl) make for slim pickings on those short morning outings and dogwalks!

Good owl photos are of birds looking relaxed and ignoring you.
If it’s staring right at you with big open eyes, you are too close!

This Week’s Highlights, 11/27-12/3, 2021.

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Four of the five dapper drake Barrow’s Goldeneyes that Jeannette and I saw in the Penobscot River from the University of Maine-Orono campus on 11/30. This was the largest group that I have seen
in several years in the state, sadly.

My observations of note over the past seven days were as follows:

  • 6 Dunlin, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 3 1st-cycle Iceland Gulls, Shawmut Dam from River Road, Fairfield, 11/29 (with Jeannette).
  • 5 Green-winged Teal, 8 Lesser Scaup, etc, Sebasticook Lake, 11/29 (with Jeannette).
  • 5 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Penobscot River at University of Maine campus, 11/29 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 Red Crossbills, Sunkhaze NWR, 11/30 (with Jeannette)
  • 4 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and 2 Red Crossbills, Stud Mill Road, 11/30 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 hen American Wigeon, random lone flyover over Saxl Park, Bangor, 11/30 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 drake Northern Pintail, Androscoggin River from Rte. 136, Durham, 12/3.

This Week’s Highlights, 11/20-26, 2021

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The Short-eared Owls were a little far for photographs under fading light,
but the sunset made for a nice backdrop to the evening’s observations.

My observations of note over the past seven days were as follows as birdlife become decidedly wintery very quickly!

  • 2 “Ispwich” Savannah Sparrows, Crescent Beach State Park, Cape Elizabeth, 11/21
  • 1 Brown-headed Cowbird, Private property in Cape Elizabeth, 11/21.
  • 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS, Brunswick Landing from Bowdoin Sand Plain, Brunswick, 11/21 (with Jeannette).
  • 3 Red Crossbills, Runaround Pond, Durham, 11/25.
  • 1 Rusty Blackbird, Route 9, Pownal, 11/25.
  • Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 11/26 – 14 species of waterfowl:

344 Ruddy Ducks

279 Mallards

159 Common Mergansers

156 Canada Geese

127 Lesser Scaup

63 American Black Ducks

17 Green-winged Teal

63 Greater Scaup

11 Buffleheads

9 American Wigeon

4+ Mallard x American Black Duck hybrid

4 Hooded Mergansers

4 Northern Pintails

1 Common Goldeneye

1 continuing hen White-winged Scoter

  • 1 hen Wood Duck, Thornhurst Farm, 11/26.