To “count it” or “not to count it,” that is the question. Regardless, what’s more iconic about birding on Monhegan Island than a Ring-necked Pheasant?
My observations of note over the last seven days included my first two Morning Flights of the season at Sandy Point and 3 days on Monhegan included the following:
A light flight over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth on 9/8:
6:12 to 8:00am.
50F, mostly clear, calm.
57 Northern Parulas
31 American Redstarts
17 unidentified
8 Cedar Waxwings
6 Magnolia Warblers
5 Black-throated Green Warblers
4 Red-breasted Nuthatches
3 Yellow Warblers
3 American Goldfinches
2 Swainson’s Thrushes
2 Bobolinks
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Purple Finch
1 Cooper’s Hawk
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Northern Flicker
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Osprey
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Total = 147
1 DICKCISSEL, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/9.
2-3 Red Knots, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/10.
A very good flight over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth on 9/11 featured over 1,000 migrants and 16 species of warblers.
6:13-10:20
46F, mostly clear. NW 1.8-2.8 increasing to 6.1-8.8mph.
312 Northern Parulas
272 American Redstarts
144 unidentified
81 Cedar Waxwings
34 Red-eyed Vireos
25 Red-breasted Nuthatches
25 Black-throated Green Warblers
24 Magnolia Warblers
23 Yellow Warblers
16 Blue Jays
11 American Goldfinches
10 Black-throated Blue Warblers
9 Canada Geese
8 Swainson’s Thrushes
7 Northern Flickers
7 American Kestrels
7 Black-and-white Warblers
5 Yellow-rumped Warblers
4 Eastern Wood-Pewees
4 Purple Finches
4 Ospreys
3 Bay-breasted Warblers
3 Wilson’s Warblers
3 Blackpoll Warblers
3 Mourning Doves
2 Blackburnian Warblers
2 Common Loons
2 Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warblers
2 Blue-headed Vireos
2 Philadelphia Vireos
1 Palm Warbler
1 Pileated Woodpecker
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 “Traill’s” Flycatcher
1 House Finch
1 Hairy Woodpecker (6 “false starts”)
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Pine Warbler
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 unidentified Empid
1 unidentified flycatcher
1 Turkey Vulture
1 unidentified vireo
1 Merlin
1 Cape May Warbler
1 White-throated Sparrow
Total = 1,069
Monarch 1
Green Darner 2
Monhegan Island 9/12-14 (with Down East Adventures tour group):
Very slow by Monhegan standards, only Merlins and especially Red-breasted Nuthatches and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were above average (significantly so for the hummingbird) for the date. Island notable species for us were limited to 2 DICKCISSELS all three days; 1 ORCHARD ORIOLE, 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and 1 Marsh Wren on 9/13; and 1 Mourning Warbler on 9/14. Great insect-watching though.
Upcoming Tours:
Birds on Tap℠ – The Boat Trip! Migrant Birds and Island Exploration
September 21, 2025; 9:00am to 2:00pm
These unique, relaxed birding and beer-ing adventures that you have come to love combine great local birding at seasonal hotspots with visits to sample the delicious creations of some of our favorite local breweries. These tours are a perfect introduction to birding and/or craft beer, and a great opportunity to travel with significant others, friends, and family that have interest in one topic, while your interest is primarily in the other (for now!). But this time we’re leaving the van in the garage and hitting the water! That’s right, we’re taking a cruise, and we’re returning to the private House Island in Porland Harbor twice in 2025.
Building on that success of last year’s tours, we’re visiting the private House Island in Portland Harbor twice in 2025! Once again, we’ve been granted special permission to come ashore and scour the island here in the peak of fall migration. We’ll follow well-maintained trails through the island’s mosaic of open habitats, scrub, and young woods. These are great habitats to search for a variety of migrants, and perhaps even a rarity!
This spiffy adult Red-shouldered Hawk in Freeport on the 10th was a nice finale to a pleasant morning of birding with a friend.
Well, that was one windy and bitterly cold week, wasn’t it? Strong winds most days precluded productive birding, or at the very least, precluded motivation to do much birding! Feeder-watching was the name of the game on many mornings for me, but despite the cold, “half-hardies” dominated the highlights for me, and for most birders around the state. Lighter winds on Saturday and Friday, relatively speaking, allowed for some much more enjoyable and productive birding.
Single Fox Sparrows continued through week’s end at our feeders both at home in Durham and here at the store.
2 Turkey Vultures continued in the I-295 corridor between Brunswick and Cumberland into the New Year, and scattered others continue in the area.
There was a nice influx of American Robins into the area this week, with some large flocks arriving. Single-flock high count of 138 over the Yarmouth Town Landing on 1/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). Keep an eye out for vagrants among them!
1 GRAY CATBIRD, continued from last week at our feeders in Durham through week’s end.
This cooperative hen Northern Pintail was one of the number of “late” dabblers that I encountered this week.
Far from the winter doldrums, a productive week of birding -especially at feeders – produced the following observations of note:
Single Fox Sparrows continued through week’s end at our feeders both at home in Durham and here at the store.
2 Turkey Vultures continued in the I-295 corridor between Brunswick and Cumberland into the New Year.
We tallied 16 species of waterfowl, highlighted by an impressive-for-the-date 5 species of dabbler (inc 1 continuing GADWALL, 1 Northern Pintail, and 3 Green-winged Teals), all in Brunswick during our Saturday Morning Birdwalk on 12/28. Details and locations here.
1 Swamp Sparrow, Lower Mast Landing Road and 2 Northern Flickers, Tidal Brook Preserve, Freeport, 12/29 during about 3 hours of coverage for the Freeport-Brunswick CBC.
1 pair American Wigeon, MacDougal Park, Rockland, 1/1 (with Jeannette).
1 GRAY CATBIRD, our feeders in Durham, 1/2. A fascinating time for it to show up. Presumably, it was pioneering locally and perhaps consumed the rest of a food source (like a cluster of Winterberry) and had to wander to find sustenance. It continues through the 3rd, eating jelly, suet, and nuts. The significant tail molt might be part of the reason it’s still around.
Annual Prediction Blog Now Posted.
And finally this week, it’s that time again: my annual Predictions blog where I look back at the Mega Rarities of 2024 and make my usual Top 25 predictions for the next species to be added to Maine’s list, and my own.
Although there was a previous state record, few if any of us were expecting to have the chance to see a Willow Ptarmigan ever again in Maine. Fewer of us expected to see one taking refuge on a lawn chair, as this one did in the Small Point area of Phippsburg in late August.
It’s once again time for my annual Predictions Blog, where I view into my crystal binoculars and attempt to forecast some of the “new” birds to grace the State of Maine – and then my own personal state list – in the coming year.
I was busy this year. Lots of birding tours here in New England, vacations to the Dominican Republic and the Gaspe of Quebec, a scouting trip through the Gulf of Maine, an even further diminished interest in “chasing” when I am actually home, and a lot more time spent casually birdwatching on our property – more and more my time is spent observing whatever is in front of me, instead of searching for rarities. I didn’t even spend much time at Sandy Point this fall, although weather had a lot to do with that.
There are several reasons for this change of motivation, but that’s a blog for another day. I did put in some concerted effort during a wild fall “rarity season,” but for the most part, my yard list in Durham was the only real priority. A Yellow-throated Vireo on the intriguing date of 7/21 was our 153rd species here since we purchased the property a little more than 4 years ago. Not a bad start! A Gray Catbird that showed up today, January 2nd, as I wrote this, is our first winter record (of course), and a good sign for productive yard birding in the new year!
Two species were added to Maine’s list this year, a Ferruginous Hawk at the Auburn Airport on July 14th and an Anhinga in Somerville for 6 days in July. I saw neither. Both times we were in Quebec. I think it’s a sign.
While Ferruginous Hawk was only marginally on my radar, Anhinga had been relegated to the Honorable Mentions list as northern reports have really dried up for a spell. I was wrong.
So, neither of the first state records were on my list, but I will do a little reshuffling to add two recent splits to the list: Scopoli’s Shearwater and European Herring Gull.
Scopoli’s Shearwater – recently split by most authorities from Cory’s Shearwater – likely has already occurred here. I saw at least one set of photos from this past summer that looked good to me, but the identification is a challenge, and we’re only learning how to identify them semi-reliably in the field (study up!). But I have little doubt that if we looked at every past photo of Cory’s Shearwater that has been taken in Maine, coupled with renewed scrutiny of the pattern on the underwing of the outer primaries of recent and future birds, that this will soon be confirmed in Maine.
Likewise, “American Herring Gull” (that’s our bird) and “European Herring Gull” are now separate species. European Herring Gull is another cryptic species that has also likely already occurred here, but it is another challenging, cutting-edge identification made more challenging by the extensive variation exhibited by our bird. Add to this Vega Gull from Asia, hybrids, and well…my Gull ID Workshop is open for registration (although I will not yet dive down the rabbit hole of American vs European Herring Gull…we’ll spend more time with Herring Gull vs “damn seagull.”
So here’s my list of the Next 25 Species to be found in Maine:
Scopoli’s Shearwater
Neotropical Cormorant
European Herring Gull
Black-chinned Hummingbird
California Gull
Limpkin
Gray Heron
Bermuda Petrel
Graylag Goose
Little Stint
Audubon’s Shearwater
Common Shelduck
Anna’s Hummingbird
Heerman’s Gull
Common Ground-Dove
Allen’s Hummingbird
Spotted Redshank
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Ross’s Gull
Black-capped Petrel
Lesser Nighthawk
Dusky Flycatcher
Painted Redstart
Hooded Oriole
White Wagtail
As for me in 2024, I did add four species to my personal State List: Willow Ptarmigan (not on list), Tropical Kingbird (Honorable Mention), American White Pelican (#2), and Common Gull (#24).
The most surprising was the second state record of Willow Ptarmigan that Jeannette and I were lucky enough to catch up with in a private backyard in Phippsburg on August 28th. After being seen on Cliff Island in early May, it miraculously appeared in Phippsburg in a yard of a home that the friend of a birder was house sitting for! Then it showed up in a nearby yard where limited access was granted. Jeannette and I were in the right place at the right time when news broke, and were among the first to try out the arrangements and see then bird. Unfortunately, a couple of days later, the ptarmigan likely fell victim to an owl.
A Tropical Kingbird at the Skelton Dam Boat Launch in Dayton was found by a dog-walker and birdwatcher at the end of June, but news finally made it to the birding community in the middle of July, and I raced down to see it on the 18th. It has been on and off the Top 25 list for many years, but I’ve left it off for the last few. No complaints though, as the second modern, and third overall, state record was chaseable this time.
Later in the year, the birding community lost a great one with the passing of Davis Finch. Years ago, I would see Davis and Denny Abbott at a rarity, and they would be among the first people I would call when I found one (yup, we used to only call people to alert them to rarities!). Davis and I had a tradition where my final words as we were departing was always “See you at the ____” and pick a rarity. In fact, that might have even been the inspiration for this annual blog. This tradition became even more meaningful when I once left with “See you at the Ash-throated Flycatcher!” And a short time later, I found an Ash-throated Flycatcher (at the Saco Riverwalk, the second state record in November of 2006). Davis and Denny were the first to know, and I’ll never forget Davis saying “why the heck were you birding this dump?” as he offered congratulations on the find – a state bird for all (it has been cleaned up a lot since then and it has become a significant birding hotpsot). While there were plenty of other birds mentioned in between, for the last few years, it was always “see you at the Tropical Kingbird!” I heard someone say he was driven to Dayton to see the kingbird. I hope this is true…he really wanted that bird!
Moving on, I finally caught up with an American White Pelican on 8/26, conveniently close to home/work. Following a Saturday Morning Birdwalk, Kevin Harding and Brandon Baldwin stopped by Wharton Point in Brunswick on their respective ways home and found the pelican. They called the store (yup, phone calls still work), and I dropped what I was doing to head over. The bird was really far by the time I arrived, so Brandon and I walked down the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land trail for a closer look. A little while later, as other arrived, the pelican flew right over our heads for an incredible view!
And finally, after Common Gulls were found in Eastport in February and on Matinicus Rock in September, Evan Obercian found one much more conveniently located at the Samoset Resort in Rockland on Halloween. I was finally able to sneak away four long days later, getting to enjoy the bird on November 3rd.
Of course, I missed more than I saw, both with travel and a lessening interest in chasing. I missed a total of four Franklin’s Gulls (#1): Seapoint Beach in Kittery on 6/30, Hill’s Beach in Biddeford on 7/22, Sewall Beach on MDI on 9/14, and one in Wells on 9/15. I’ll catch up with these notorious one-day/hour wonders some day in Maine!
The aforementioned Anhinga and Ferruginous Hawks were not on my Top 25 list, nor was the Mountain Bluebird that was on Monhegan in early May – before twice-daily ferry service had begun. I did take a day trip with a friend for the heckuva it six days after it was last seen. There was also a Brown Booby (#6) that wasn’t chaseable on Seal Island in August, but had we not been in Quebec twice, it would have been a truly incredible birding year for me in Maine. Oh well, a weekend with friends and 100,000 Northern Gannets more than made up for it.
So with those hits and misses, my updated list of the Top 25 Next State Birds for Me is now:
Franklin’s Gull (will this finally be the year?)
Neotropic Cormorant
Brown Pelican
California Gull
Brown Booby
Crested Caracara
Slaty-backed Gull
Boreal Owl
Calliope Hummingbird
Graylag Goose
Cerulean Warbler
Gull-billed Tern
Pacific Golden-Plover
Limpkin
Wood Stork
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Yellow Rail
Scopoli’s Shearwater (undoubtably after further review of photos!)
Virginia’s Warbler
Western Wood-Pewee
Red-necked Stint
European Herring Gull
Gray Heron
Heerman’s Gull
Well there ya have it, let’s see what 2025 brings, at least when it comes to rare birds in Maine.
I think it’s about time for another Pacific Golden-Plover to show up here in Maine. This juvenile was photographed in Hawai’i.
Is mid-December even winter anymore? Do these Red-winged Blackbirds that we found during the Southern York County CBC on 12/16 count as “late,” “lingering,” or “pioneering?”
With the exception of the Southern York County CBC on Monday the 16th, my birding this week was limited to short early morning outings. Nonetheless, I had some good seasonal observations of note.
1 Fox Sparrow continued at the feeders here at the store through the 15th.
Southern York County CBC, 12/16: “Moody” Sector with Jeannette. 2437 individuals of 62 species, led by 189 Herring Gulls, 182 Mallards, and 177 Rock Pigeons. Other high counts included 126 House Finches and 46 American Tree Sparrows. Particularly low counts for our section included only 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler and only 8 Great Black-backed Gulls. Highlights included: 5 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 4 Red-winged Blackbirds, 1 Savannah Sparrow, and 1 Green-winged Teal. But overall, it was just a really birdy day for us in our usually fun and productive section.
1 drake and 2 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 12/18.
1 Fox Sparrow, our feeders in Durham, 12/19.
1 female NORTHERN PINTAIL, Cedar Pond Road, Durham, 12/19.
2 continuing NORTHERN SHOVELERS (1 immature male, 1 hen), about 15-20 scaup (both present, mostly Lesser, but just too far to be sure of proportion), 5 Dunlin, etc, Maquoit Bay Conservation Land, Brunswick, 12/20.
Plenty of Northern Flickers and Turkey Vultures continue around the area this week.
It might be Rarity Season, but never forget to take your time to enjoy and appreciate our common resident birds! This Red-breasted Nuthatch was on our feeders in Durham on the 15th. There are a lot more in the area this fall than last winter, perhaps due to the lack of Eastern White Pine cones, especially to our north.
Rarity Season continues to be hot. Some dedicated rarity-searching plus some casual birding, yielded the following observations of note over the past 7 days. Swinging for the fences, however, I felt like Aaron Judge in the MLB post-season: lots of strikeouts and no home runs, but at least I went down swinging.
1 Evening Grosbeak, Cedar Pond Road, Durham, 11/15.
Not surprisingly given the mild weather to date, there are a lot of half-hardies around, such as Hermit Thrushes and Swamp Sparrows which I encountered in a number of places this week. Scattered Red-winged Blackbirds and small flocks of Common Grackles continue as well as is now usual in mid-November.
Jeannette and I spotted these four Red-necked Phalaropes from the Casco Bay Ferry Mailboat run with visiting family on the 26th.
It was a very busy week for me, but when I did get out, birding was productive – especially in the backyard which hosted at least 15 species of warblers this week. Meanwhile, shorebirding continues to be hot. My observations of note over the past 8 days included the following
1 Black Scoter, 2 White-winged Scoters, and 2 Blue-winged Teal with Common Eiders, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 8/27. As scoters begin to increase in September, I’ll forgo reporting the “oversummering” groups from now on.
1 TRICOLORED HERON, Mill River Park, Thomaston, 8/29 (with Jeannette).
1 Northern Pintail (first of fall) and 1 juv, Little Blue Heron, etc, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/30.
3 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Seawall Beach, Phippsburg, 9/2 (with Ed Hess).
My shorebird high counts for 18 species this week were solid considering I didn’t make it to Biddeford Pool (or Pine Point) during this period. Focusing on mostly lesser-visited hotspots, I found several goodies and had a few decent high counts.
Black-bellied Plover: 67, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/2 (with Ed Hess).
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.
It was sure nice of this Orange-crowned Warbler to sit still long enough for photos, but it sure would have been nice if it was on the other side of that stem! Cape Elizabeth, 11/12.
After a great late October for rarities, November has been incredibly slow for vagrants in Maine so far…unlike surrounding states and provinces. While my increased birding time these past two weeks did not produce any significant rarities, either, it was good to be getting out! And in doing so, I enjoyed some very good birding recently. Here are my observations of note over the past two weeks.
1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 2 “Yellow” Palm Warblers, 3 Black-bellied Plovers, 42 Laughing Gulls, etc, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 11/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). While we are normally reticent to return to the same location two (let alone 4) weeks in a row, it has continued to be very fruitful, and the week-to-week ebbs and flows have been particularly insightful. More complete summaries are on the News page of our website.
2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 1 “Western” Palm Warbler, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 1 Fox Sparrow (first of fall, finally), 1 Field Sparrow, etc, etc, Bailey Island, Harpswell, 11/6 (with Jeannette).
Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 11/10 (with Dan Nickerson): 575 Ruddy Ducks, 290 Common Mergansers, 224 Mallards, 156 Lesser Scaup, 113 Greater Scaup, 82 American Black Ducks, 61 Buffleheads, 32 Hooded Mergansers, 24 distant scaup sp, 21 American Pipits, 15 Canada Geese, 9 Green-winged Teal, 6 Common Goldeneyes, 5 American Wigeon, 4 KILLDEER, 4 Common Loons, 2 Black Scoters, 1 Snow Bunting, 1 Swamp Sparrow, etc.
1 American Tree Sparrow (First of fall), Yarmouth Town Landing, 11/11 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
Sabattus Pond, 11/16: 663 Ruddy Ducks, 442 Common Mergansers, 369 scaup sp, 217 Mallards, 102 Buffleheads, 92 Hooded Mergansers, 79 Greater Scaup, 14 Lesser Scaup, 14 Canada Geese, 12 American Black Ducks, 5 Common Goldeneyes, 2 American Wigeon, 1 Green-winged Teal, and 1 AMERICAN COOT.
1 drake Wood Duck, North River Road, Auburn, 11/16.
2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 25 Snow Buntings, and 1 Black-bellied Plover, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
22 Black-bellied Plovers, 91 Dunlin, etc, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
2 “WESTERN” PALM WARBLERS, 1-2 Chipping Sparrows, 150+ Red-winged Blackbirds with a few Common Grackles, Pennellville Road, Brunswick, 11/17 (with Dan Nickerson).
Meanwhile, here in our Durham yard, the birdlife has become decidedly wintery. However, a few lingering/migrants of note recently included 2 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS on 11/4, two American Woodcocks through at least 11/4, and a Winter Wren 11/13-14.
Our feeders have been quite busy again, with varying numbers of all the expected species, but the number of American Goldfinches continuing to impress, with 30-50+ visiting daily. A few Pine Siskins have been mixing in with them as well, and we’re getting the sporadic Purple Finch or two. Our Njyer and hulled sunflower feeders are being emptied daily at this point. Under the feeders, White-throated Sparrows have been quite low, with only a max of 4 recently, while Dark-eyed Juncos have slowly but steadily increased over the past week. We’re down to just a couple of Song Sparrows, however.
Here at the store, we had a Common Grackle and a late Chipping Sparrow on the 15th. but we’re not seeing nearly the diversity or activity here as we are used to at the season – no doubt an indictment of the surrounding habitat.
While small numbers of juvenile WESTERN SANDPIPERS can be found in Maine in late summer and early fall, we rarely see adults. Therefore, this was an exciting find at Hill’s Beach in Biddeford on the incoming tide on the 22nd.
Another dandy week of summertime birding produced the following highlights for me. Shorebird numbers and diversity are growing rapidly now.
1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 7/16 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group; few around locally this summer). One calling in our Pownal yard on 7/22.
2 continuing HENSLOW’S SPARROWS, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 7/20. Both birds singing, but the west bird continued long past the east bird went silent. I spent my time this morning attempting to observe the east bird, but never saw it once it stopped singing about 5 minutes after I arrived.
1 Fish Crow, Point Sebago (Private; with Point Sebago Birdwalk group) and 1 at Sebago Lake State Park, 7/21 (still wondering if these are from the Windham colony or not).
Least Sandpiper: 31, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 7/22.
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 140, Pine Point, 7/22.
WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 rare adult, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 7/22 (photo above).
Short-billed Dowitcher: 165, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 7/22.
Spotted Sandpiper: 2, Eastern Egg Rock, 7/16 (with Hardy Boat Evening Puffin Cruise group) and Sebago Lake State Park, 7/21.
Solitary Sandpiper (FOF): 1, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 7/16 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) and 1, Eastern Road Trail, 7/22.
Lesser Yellowlegs: 53, Eastern Road Trail, 7/22.
“Eastern” Willet: 96, The Pool, 7/22.
Greater Yellowlegs: 10, Eastern Road Trail, 7/22.
Beat the heat tomorrow, Saturday, July 23rd with a boat trip to Seal Island. No “Troppy” this year, but you know we’ll be looking hard for the Tufted Puffin! A limited amount of space on this extended charter is available.
This Piping Plover is one of two siblings that have somehow survived on the jam-packed Pine Point Beach. Often exercising their wings on the 22nd, they are probably just a few days away from being able to fly away from crowds.
Maine Birding Field Notes 