One of three Fox Sparrows that appeared last week at the store and continued into this week, with one present through week’s end.
It was one of those weeks with lots to do, and therefore I didn’t get out as much as usual, as if often the case in the buys holiday shopping season. Nonetheless, when I was out (or inside watching feeders), there was plenty of good birding to be had. “Late/lingering” species continue to dominate the news.
3 Fox Sparrows continued at the feeders here at the store through 12/8, with a single bird continuing through week’s end.
1 drake and 1 hen Barrow’s Goldeneye, Winslow Park, Freeport, 12/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). Early compared to recent years here.
1 Wilson’s Snipe and 1 American Wigeon, Moody Marsh, Ogunquit/Wells, 12/8.
1 immature Red-shouldered Hawk, 1 Northern Flicker, and 1 Swamp Sparrow, Community Park, Wells, 12/8.
1 Fox Sparrow, our feeders in Durham, 12/10-12.
1 FISH CROW (my first inland Dec/winter record), Auburn Riverwalk, 12/13.
1 drake Green-winged Teal, North River Road Boat Launch, Auburn, 12/13.
1 GRAY CATBIRD, 2 Hermit Thrushes, and 2 Fox Sparrows, North River Road, Auburn, 12/13.
Snow Buntings and Horned Larks were encountered in a bunch of locales this week, and Turkey Vultures are clearly no longer rare in early to mid December in southern Maine!
There were very few birds along the Stud Mill Road east of Old Town on the 4th, but happily, one of them was this Northern Shrike.
A wintery week produced a very wintery slate of highlights, thanks in part to our trip north on our annual last-weekend-before-store-chaos overnight in Bangor. A push of facultative migrants with the arrival of snowcover was very evident this week as well. Here are my observations of note over the past 7 days:
1+ Lapland Longspur, 86 Horned Larks, and 24+ Snow Buntings, River Road, Benton, 12/2 (with Jeannette). Another distant flock of 75+ Snow Buntings appeared to contain several more Lapland Longspurs.
1 female Greater Scaup, Sebasticook Lake, Newport, 12/2 (with Jeannette).
1 Barrow’s Goldeneye (FOS), Stillwater River at University of Maine-Orono, 12/2 (with Jeannette).
Amazingly devoid of birds, 5 hours of birding Sunkhaze-Stud Mill (walking trails plus driving) yielded only 9 species. The only finch were the two grosbeaks, and not surprisingly, the cone crop of spruce, fir, and Eastern White Pine was non-existent.
2 female Red-winged Blackbirds, our feeders in Durham, 12/4.
3 Fox Sparrows, feeders at the store on 12/3 and continued through the end of the week. Jayden had 2 on Monday the 2nd here, with the third arriving the next day.
My photos of my highlights this week are not exactly worthy of a “cover shot,” so instead, here’s a Northern Mockingbird that posed nicely for me in Biddeford Pool on the 29th.
Winter seems to be settling in! The colder (seasonable, finally!) temperatures should produce another wave of rarities and “lingering/late” birds to find though, and that was the case for my observations of note over the past seven days.
45 American Pipits and ~10 Horned Larks, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 11/23 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, Village Crossings – Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt Trail, 11/24.
1 Northern Shrike (FOS), feeders here at the store, 11/24.
If you stitch together all of my photos, you might be able to make one poor photo of a whole Wilson’s Warbler. Nonetheless, it was a nice surprise that added a splash of color to the week’s birding endeavors. Trust me, the snapshot of the Palm Warbler is much worse!
An above-average number of species such as Northern Flickers, Hermit Thrushes, and Swamp Sparrows still continue around the area.
After seeing the Spotted Towhee briefly a few times late in the morning on the 19th, Jeannette and I returned at the end of the day to see if we could see it better. That worked out perfectly, but the light was getting low for photos, as you can see here. See notes and musings below.
I enjoyed another great week of birding, searching for rarities, and catching up with perhaps an old friend! It’s been a great rarity season to date, and with a return to a more dynamic weather pattern, perhaps it’s only the start.
1 continuing Red-throated Loon, 287 Ruddy Ducks, 363 total Lesser+Greater+too distant Scaup, ~75 Snow Buntings, 2 Northern Pintails, 1 American Wigeon, etc, etc, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
~100 Snow Buntings and 1+ Horned Lark, Plains Road, Turner, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
1 American Pipit, Pearl Road, Turner, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
1 continuing SPOTTED TOWHEE, 1 continuing “Western” Palm Warbler, and 1 Pine Warbler, Seapoint Beach, Kittery, 11/19 (with Jeannette). Is this the same Spotted Towhee as I found last year at nearby Fort Foster? If so, did it return from a summer on breeding grounds? If yes, did it fly back to the actual breeding range of Spotted Towhees (likely near where it was born) or did it continue its navigational mistake and spend the summer distant from any potential mates? Or, has this bird been present locally since last winter? Considering its secretive nature and the amount of dense thickets with no birders between Fort Foster and Seapoint Beach, this is plausible as well. In fact, it being a different bird seems like the least likely scenario! Like all vagrants, it tends to produce more questions than answers, which is what makes vagrancy so fascinating! Photo above.
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet and 1 Winter Wren, Fort Foster, Kittery, 11/19 (with Jeannette).
1 BALTIMORE ORIOLE, private property in Richmond, 11/21. A nice surprise bonus during a yard consultation appointment. Homeowner reports it has been present for three days.
An above-average number of species such as Northern Flickers, Hermit Thrushes, Swamp Sparrows, and Red-winged Blackbirds continue around the area.
I usually miss at least one “Mega” rarity whenever I go away, so I was pretty pleased that this Common Gull – found on 10/31 by Evan Obercian at the Samoset in Rockland – stuck around until we returned. I was able to see it on 11/3. It took a while, but when it eventually spread its wing, the species/subspecific ID became certain. Separated by the abundant Ring-billed Gulls by the smaller size, slightly darker back, and thin bill, we can rule out the West Coast Short-billed Gull by the length of the bill and the wing pattern. Separation from Kamchatka Gull is more challenging, but it wasn’t particularly dark, the head was lightly flecked with brown, and there’s a relatively distinct bill band. According to Ayyash (2024), the shorter gray tongues on the outer primaries, the large P9 window that connects with the large P10 window, and little to no white at the end of the tongue on P8 all suggest Larus canus canus (and not Kamchatka Gull).
It’s November, and that means “Rarity Season” and unlike recent Novembers, Rarity Season is off to a roaring start. Here are my observations of note over the past 6 days. Below, see the trip report for our 7-day birding cruise that included time in Maine waters.
Although I chase even less frequently these days, I did make time to go see one of the two COMMON GULLS at the Samoset in Rockland on 11/3. Photos and discussion above. Additionally, I caught up with the YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT that was found there that day, although I blew the photos. A “Western” Palm Warbler, several American Pipits, and 4 Horned Larks were also present.
1 Pine Warbler, Bailey Island, Harpswell, 11/5 (with Jeannette).
1 RED-EYED VIREO and 6 American Tree Sparrows (FOF), Trout Brook Preserve, South Portland, 11/7.
Biddeford Pool environs, 11/8:
1 BALTIMORE ORIOLE
1 PRAIRIE WARBLER
1 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow
1 Rusty Blackbird
2 Lapland Longspurs
2 Greater Yellowlegs, 22 Black-bellied Plovers, and 26 Dunlin.
2 Northern Pintails
4 Hermit Thrushes and 1 Swamp Sparrow, etc.
Our Durham property is much quieter overall these days, but a few Red-winged Blackbirds have been around, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet was present 11/5-6, our first Pine Siskin of the season at home visited on 11/5 and increasing daily since, and Dark-eyed Junco numbers have continued to grow. At least one each of Swamp and Savannah Sparrow continue.
TRIP REPORT
Last week, Jeannette and I boarded a Princess Cruises ship in New York City to unofficially survey for rarities and things like Great Skua. The entire trip report is here, but our highlights from Maine specifically included:
1 RED-EYED VIREO, 2 Orange-crowned Warblers, 2 Field Sparrows, etc, Eastern Promenade, Portland, 10/29. Yes, we took a cruise only to go home!
Passerine FALLOUT, 10/30. Awoke to birds on deck before dawn. 16.5 nautical miles southeast of Mt. Desert Rock. 12 species of passerines, led by 8++ Yellow-rumped Warblers but also including 1 Rusty Blackbird, 1 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, 1 Snow Bunting, and perhaps most surprisingly, 7 European Starlings. Another birder on board photographed a Pine Warbler.
Very little time was spent in daylight in Maine waters, unfortunately, but we did have a couple of Northern Fulmars in Maine waters very early on the 30th.
It might not “count,” but the Ring-necked Pheasants on Monhegan are iconic!
Approaching the island on Friday, 9/27, the fog was rapidly lifting on the mainland, and the skies were clearing. High seas from the previous days were steadily diminishing. An offshore fogbank reduced our chances to see many birds during the boatride, but by the time we reach the island, the sun was shining through.
Things seemed fairly slow, but there were birds here and there. One single bush hosted all three Melospizas: Lincoln’s, Swamp, and Song Sparrows, and one of the tarrying Baltimore Orioles soon joined them. It was a relaxed start to the weekend, affording us time to check in and enjoy lunch before returning to the birding.
We don’t just look at rare birds, we study the common ones…at least on a slow day! Like this cooperative Song Sparrow
The afternoon was quite slow, as expected from the preceding nights with little or no migration on unfavorable winds, but we had birds to look at: Yellow-rumped Warblers sallying for midges at the top of spruces, scattered assorted sparrows, lots of great Merlin performances, and no shortage of Ring-necked Pheasants.
As usual for the end of September, Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most abundant migrant. This one was nicely demonstarting what makes it a “Myrtle Warbler.”
As the sun set, a huge flight was taking off and continued throughout the night. Very light northwesterly winds overnight were a little lighter than I would have preferred, but there was just a massive amount of birds on the move, and a great Morning Flight on Saturday morning to start our day was indicative of that.
The radar return was huge overnight, with lots of birds on the move. We did wonder, however, if that blob over the Mid-Coast was an isolated shower…or perhaps it was “Independence Day!“
Yellow-rumped Warblers filled the air, with handfuls of Blackpoll Warblers and a small number of Northern Parulas. After the morning flight settled down, the rest of our am was also very good. While the very light winds allowed much of the birds partaking in the Morning Flight to leave the island, there were plenty of birds remaining on the island to be seen. In addition to Yellow-rumps, there was a good arrival of White-throated and other sparrows, and pockets of activity were sifted through, producing a wide array of fun birds.
A Dickcissel in the community farm and a total of 6-7 Baltimore Orioles nearby were soon trumped when a first fall female Mourning Warbler actually walked into the open for all to see (for a change) …on a plywood garden table nonetheless! We found a Clay-colored Sparrow feeding amongst Chipping Sparrows, discovered a rather rare on the island Pine Warbler, and enjoyed a nice variety of the expected seasonal migrants.
Clay-colored SparrowClay-colored Sparrow with a molting juvenile Chipping Sparrow in the foreground.
Lovely weather all day encouraged us to enjoy an afternoon on Burnt Head, were we picked up a tardy Chestnut-sided Warbler and a rather rare in the fall on the island juvenile Ring-billed Gull. We also noticed a lot more Red-eyed Vireos during the course of the day, with many at and below eye level.
While a rare Yellow-crowned Night-Heron called over the harbor at nightfall, I was wandering on my own so it doesn’t count for the group, unfortunately. I was still pleasantly surprised by it, and it punctuated the calls of songbirds departing the island.
Luckily, a moderate flight occurred throughout the night (the overall intensity was a little obscured by fog on the radar images) on light west winds that had become calm by morning. Those calm and cooling conditions allowed fog to roll back in, and the Morning Flight was just a trickle to start on Sunday morning, our last morning together.
However, once the sun burned through, birds were in the air and appearing out of nowhere, and the birding really picked up. In flight, it was mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers, but there were more Palm Warblers involved today. We began finding “new” species for the trip list, like a Cape May Warbler, some recently-arrived American Robins, and we enjoyed watching a swirling flock of 16 migrant Black-capped Chickadees.
Late Blackburnian Warbler
After breakfast, the birding was overall quite a bit slower than Saturday, but the quantity was replaced by quality! An Orange-crowned Warbler at the Ice Pond, a continuing female Dickcissel in the cul-de-sac, two different Clay-colored Sparrows. Pockets of activity offered up nice views of a male Cape May Warbler, a few Blackpoll Warblers, and then we found not one, but 3 Nelson’s Sparrows in the Lobster Cove meadow – one even perched conspicuously enough to be viewed by all!
Nelson;s Sparrow sitting in what passes for “the open” with this species!Dickcissel
As the group trickled home, the last participants standing joined me in a little longer hike from Lobster Cove to Burnt Head, which yielded two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, more Great Cormorants, and yet another Orange-crowned Warbler to bring the official tour to a productive conclusion.
I remained on the island overnight, and with light southerly winds and a return of the fog, there was very little in Morning Flight and to start the day. But the day had a “rarity” feel to it (southwest winds overnight will do that!), and my Rarity Fever was soon stoked by a wayward Yellow-billed Cuckoo that sat still for me, gaining the first rays of sunshine of the morning, in a small tree in the Monhegan House lawn. Two Rusty Blackbirds were foraging on the lawn, and once the sun came up, a few more Yellow-rumped Warblers began to appear.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
But as Jessica Bishop and I began a post-breakfast search, the What’s App began to ping. Ken and Sue Feustel had just found an Ash-throated Flycatcher on Wharton Ave, and we did a quick 180 and began the march back across town. The ample Trailing Yew breakfast was weighing on me, however, so my speed could have been improved. Nonetheless, the bird had disappeared before we arrived, so we fanned out to search.
After a short spell, I relocated the bird behind the Trailing Yew, and Jess rushed over and we began photographing it as the rest of the island’s remaining birders convened, including Donna the last member of my to depart. And she was quite happy with the decision to linger to say the least! (The tour was officially over, so this gem doesn’t count for the official triplist…darn!)
We studied the flycatcher, and I made sure to get a shot of the tail that would be adequate for identification confirmation (to rule out an even rarer Myiarchus flycatcher). Here, you can see the outer tail feather on one side, showing the dark brown of the outer web intruding into the end of the inner web – diagnostic for Ash-throated.
This was my 227th Monhegan Bird, and the island’s 3rd-ever, of this southwestern vagrant. What a bird!
While the rest of the day was a little anticlimactic from a birding perspective, Jeannette arrived and we set out to search for the now-missing Ash-throat and whatever else we might stumble upon. Two Clay-colored Sparrows were now together, one of the Orange-crowned Warblers was still at the Ice Pond, and at least one Nelson’s Sparrow was still at Lobster Cove. At dusk, two Wilson’s Snipe launched out of the town marsh, and at sunset, a migrant Great Blue Heron flew over. No sign of the Ash-throat for the rest of the day, unfortunately.
Orange-crowned WarblerPeregrine Falcon
On Tuesday, Jeannette and I awoke to a strong flight on the overnight radar image, but as expected on a north to north-east wind by dawn, only fairly a light Morning Flight occurred. Made up of at least 95% Yellow-rumped Warblers, it was a little busier than I expected, but it ended by about 7:00am. Granted, at least two hunting Peregrine Falcons may have had something to do with that.
We watched a Wilson’s Snipe evading a Merlin in flight, and some more new species for the weekend were overhead, including a Horned Lark, an Osprey, and a Semipalmated Plover. There were at least a half-dozen American Pipits in morning flight, and a new-to-us Brown Thrasher put in an appearance.
Red-eyed Vireo
After breakfast, it was exceeding slow, but we did have a Dickcissel in the garden, and a Scarlet Tanager joined the remaining Baltimore Orioles in the grapes. But most of our morning was spent chasing a reported Yellow-headed Blackbird (seen by two and never again) and Will Russell briefly relocated the Ash-throated Flycatcher – which looked much healthier today and was much more active. In other words, it was soon once again melting away into the scrub. It kept us occupied until it was time to depart, however.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
A very pleasant boat ride back to the mainland for Jeannette and I was far too nice to produce any seabirds of note, but it was a lovely way to finish up a delightful and fruitful fall weekend.
Here’s the official tour checklist:
27-Sept
28-Sept
29-Sept
American Black Duck
0
0
1
Mallard
8
12
16
Green-winged Teal
0
0
1
Common Eider
x
x
x
Black Scoter
0
0
8
Ring-necked Pheasant
15
15
25
Mourning Dove
10
15
12
Black Guillemot
x
x
x
Laughing Gull
8*
0
2
Ring-billed Gull
0
1
0
Herring Gull
x
x
x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
0
0
2
Great Black-backed Gull
x
x
x
Common Loon
1*
0
0
Northern Gannet
2*
0
1
Double-crested Cormorant
x
x
x
Great Cormorant
0
1
5
Bald Eagle
2*
0
1
Sharp-shinned Hawk
2
4
4
Belted Kingfisher
1
0
1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
0
20
20
Downy Woodpecker
2
4
3
Northern Flicker
3
15
15
Merlin
6
8
6
Peregrine Falcon
2
3
4
Eastern Phoebe
0
3
3
Blue-headed Vireo
0
3
4
Red-eyed Vireo
1
30
25
Blue Jay
9
13
9
American Crow
4
4
4
Common Raven
0
1
1
Black-capped Chickadee
x
x
30
Golden-crowned Kinglet
4
15
40
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2
10
20
Cedar Waxwing
30
40
40
Red-breasted Nuthatch
2
8
6
Brown Creeper
0
4
4
House Wren
0
1
0
Carolina Wren
5
10
10
Gray Catbird
10
x
x
Northern Mockingbird
2
2
3
European Starling
x
26
26
Hermit Thrush
0
1
0
American Robin
0
0
2
American Pipit
0
3
3
Purple Finch
0
4
5
American Goldfinch
10
10
8
Chipping Sparrow
0
10
12
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
0
1
2
Dark-eyed Junco
0
4
2
White-throated Sparrow
15
50
60
NELSON’S SPARROW
0
0
3
Savannah Sparrow
1
6
10
Song Sparrow
x
x
x
Lincoln’s Sparrow
1
5
4
Swamp Sparrow
2
15
20
Rusty Blackbird
0
4
2
Common Grackle
2
20
20
Baltimore Oriole
2
7
6
Northern Waterthrush
0
1
0
Black-and-white Warbler
0
0
3
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
0
0
2
Nashville Warbler
0
3
0
American Redstart
0
1
0
MOURNING WARBLER
0
1
0
Common Yellowthroat
0
8
10
Cape May Warbler
0
1
3
Northern Parula
1
15
15
Blackburnian Warbler
0
0
2
Yellow Warbler
0
2
1
Chestnut-sided Warbler
0
1
1
Blackpoll Warbler
6
25
15
Black-throated Blue Warbler
0
0
1
Palm Warbler
1
30
20
PINE WARBLER
0
2
1
Yellow-rumped Warbler
20
150
100
Black-throated Green Warbler
0
10
3
Wilson’s Warbler
0
1
0
Northern Cardinal
8
10
6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1
0
1
Indigo Bunting
0
1
1
DICKCISSEL
1
1-2
1
Day Total
44
68
73
Warbler day total
4
15
14
3-Day Tour total=
81
Plus with Jeannette after the group and on my own =
13
Total warblers =
19+1
Molting juvenile Cedar Waxwing learning how to eat Winterberry.
And the additional species seen by me without the group, on Monday, and on Tuesday:
This molting juvenile (into 1st winter) Stilt Sandpiper was one of a goodly 8 that were in the salt pannes along the Eastern Road Trail through Scarborough Marsh on the 19th.
With numerous nights of clear and calm conditions, or northerly winds, migration continued in earnest almost every night this week. Meanwhile, a couple of days of onshore winds have helped push record numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls to the Maine coast. My observations of note over the last week were as follows:
It was a big week of sparrow migration as well. For example, we had an estimated 100 each of Song and Savannah Sparrows, 25 Swamp Sparrows, etc, at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport on our Saturday Morning Birdwalk on the 21st.
8 juvenile/1st winter STILT SANDPIPERS and 1 juvenile AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/19.
An incredible 42 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (all but 4 were adults);1 adult presumptive LESSER BLACK-BACKED X HERRING GULL HYBRID (perfectly intermediate in all characteristics); 1 ad with 1 juvenile CASPIAN TERN; and 1 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/20.
1 Snowy Egret, Auburn Riverwalk, 9/22.
Highlights from morning birding on our Durham property this week included near-daily Philadelphia Vireo, continuing Indigo Buntings, multiple Lincoln’s Sparrows daily beginning on 9/19, the arrival of Palm Warblers on the 21st, a late YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO on 9/22, a bog arrival of Swamp Sparrows on 9/24, and late-ish Scarlet Tanager and Magnolia Warbler on 9/25.
Five of the 38 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Popham Beach on the 20th.
UPCOMING TOURS:
Our annual half-day pelagic with our partners Cap’n Fish’s Cruises out of Boothbay Harbor is only 2 ½ weeks away! Join us on this annual favorite on October 14th – a nice, late date that should put us more in the season of things like Great Skua. More info and link to registration is here.
They might be abundant, but I do love Cedar Waxwings, especially a tree full of them on Monhegan!
Eight great days of birding, including three days on Monhegan, yielded the following highlights:
9/13-9/15: Monhegan Island with Down East Adventures “Migration Workshop” tour group. Brief trip report here. Some of the most noteworthy observations included:
17 species warblers total.
Cape May Warblers dominated the morning on 9/14, including 3 of every 5 birds in Morning Flight and dozens in trees afterwards. Plenty on 9/13 and 9/15, but most of the arriving birds on the 14th seemed to depart for the mainland.
The usual “uncommon” migrants like Rusty Blackbird (2 on 9/14), Philadelphia Vireo (high count of 2-3 on 9/14).
1 first cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull, 9/13.
1 LARK SPARROW, 9/14.
1 fly-by Whimbrel, one probable Clay-colored Sparrow (seen too briefly), and 1 immature COOPER’S HAWK (very rare on offshore islands), 9/15.
1-2 American Pipits (first of fall locally) and 1 hen Northern Pintail, etc, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/18.
Meanwhile, I’ve once again spent most of my mornings when home birding our Durham property, which was productive. An impressive 60-80 American Goldfinches continue, while an impressive array of migrants continue. On several mornings this week, I had plans to go elsewhere but then never left the yard. A few of the highlights included continuing single Indigo Bunting and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, 1 Ovenbird, 1 Blackburnian Warbler on 9/16, 6 Common Nighthawks (getting late) at dusk on 9/16, and a nice mix of migrants on the 18th that included 1-2 Philadelphia Vireos and the arrival of more sparrows.
The highlight though was the female-type LAWRENCE’S WARBLER (2nd generation Golden-winged x Blue-winged Warbler hybrid) that popped up on the 18th. After a short but perfect view, I ran for a camera and could not relocate it despite much searching.
Brandon Baldwin and Kevin Harding found this American White Pelican off Wharton Point in Brunswick on the 24th. My “lunchbreak chase” ended up taking a few extra hours, but it was more than worth it when a small group of us were treated to the bird flying right over our heads at the end of the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land trail. Luckily, it wasn’t any closer when it decided to lighten the load, as caught in action here.
It was an exceptional week of late summer birding. Once again motivated by shorebirds, I ran into quite a few other species of note while working the usual hotspots. My non-shorebird observations of note over the past 7 days included:
Common Nighthawks were on the move this week, while some other widespread migrants and frequent visitors to our Durham property included American Redstart and Yellow, Black-and-white, Magnolia, Tennessee and Cape May Warblers.
1 adult Little Blue Heron and 2+ Surf Scoters, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/21 (with Anniversary Day Birdwalk group).
2 FORSTER’S TERNS, 2 CASPIAN TERNS, and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
1 female LONG-TAILED DUCK and 2 Surf Scoters, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 2 Cape May Warblers, etc, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 8/24 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/24. A State Bird for me, it was found about an hour earlier by Kevin Harding and Brandon Baldwin. After it was displaced by a passing airboat, I arrived at about 12:30 and relocated it on the rocky ledge at the southern end of the bay. Brandon and I cut the distance in more than half by walking out to the end of the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land trail. Although closer, the light was brutal, but a small group of us waiting until the tide had inundated the ledge. Then the pelican took off. First it started heading south, but circled back, passed directly overhead (see photo above) and then gained altitude high over Wharton Point before disappearing off to the north.
26 Surf Scoters, Maquoit Bay Conservation Land Trail, 8/24 (with Brandon Baldwin).
Meanwhile, fueled by a successful 19-species “shorebird mini-Big Day on 8/23 with Noah Gibb, my shorebird high counts for a total of 20 species this week were as follows:
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 2, Little Whaleboat Ledges, Casco Bay, 8/25 (with Birds of Casco Bay Boat Trip tour group).
Black-bellied Plover: 150+, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
Killdeer: 26, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/21 (with Anniversary Day Birdwalk grpup).
Semipalmated Plover: 400, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
Piping Plover: 1, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
“Eastern” Willet: 3, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
Greater Yellowlegs: 8, Royal River flats, 8/25 (with Birds of Casco Bay Boat Trip tour group).
An adult LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was a fun find for Jeannette and I this week at the Walsh Preserve in Freeport. It could have been closer, but this photo shows some of the pertinent identification features in the bird to the right including the larger size and very round shape, hunched back, and uniformly reddish tone throughout much of the undersides.
Far from being my best shot of the week, our Saturday Morning Birdwalk group enjoyed 2 Stilt Sandpipers at Freeport’s Walsh Preserve. Here’s one of them (pardon the lousy hand-held phone-scoped photo) flanked by Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs for a perfect comparison. Instructional shorebird identification was the name of the game for my tours this week!
Two shorebird-focused tours, plus a few mornings out on beach/mud on my own produced some solid shorebird high counts. My species list and a few high counts would have been added were in not for the rapidly-approaching thunderstorm as my Shorebird Workshop group arrived at Hill’s Beach on the 15th! Landbird migration is really picking up as well, with lots of the expected early warblers on the move, including a Cape May Warbler at the Walsh Preserve in Freeport (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) on the 17th.
Non-shorebird observations of note this week:
28+ continuing Surf Scoters, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/12.
2 Common Nighthawks (First of fall), over our property in Durham, 8/13.
2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
6 Surf Scoters, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 8/16.
Shorebird high counts this week:
Black-bellied Plover: 91, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/12 (with Jeannette).
Killdeer: 35, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/12 (with Jeannette).
Semipalmated Plover: ~300, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Least Sandpiper: 20+, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
White-rumped Sandpiper: 12, Pine Point, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Semipalmated Sandpiper: ~1750, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group). Honorable mention of ~1200 at Pine Point on 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Short-billed Dowitcher: 8, Popham Beach State Park, 8/16.
Spotted Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations this week.
“Eastern” Willet: 14, Pine Point, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Greater Yellowlegs: 41, Wharton Point, 8/13 (with Jeannette).
Tours and Events:
The 20th Anniversary Celebration Month is underway here at the store. All the details can be found here, including a silent auction for conservation, and several chances to win a new pair of binoculars!
Maine Birding Field Notes 