Another incredibly successful Bicknell’s Thrush Weekend is in the books. I could probably simply include just those two photos as proof of a successful trip, but we had a lot of other great birds too! And with three great photographers on the tour, I think I will mostly let the photos do the talking this year.
I’m always adjusting this itinerary to give us the most chances to have the most productive visit to the realm of the Bicknell’s Thrush, and with two nights in town, we had up to 4 chances to visit the high-elevation habitat at the right times of day.
I almost used the first night to make a run for it. Then I made the decision to not go up the mountain on our first morning together, instead electing (for a variety of reasons including the other birds participants were hoping to see) to spend the morning birding Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, in and around Silvio E. Conte National Wildlife Refuge.
Highlights included 2 family groups of Canada Jays, at least 2 Cape May Warblers, incredible looks at Mourning Warblers, heard-only Red Crossbills, singing Palm Warblers, and much more.
Blackburnian WarblerCape May WarblerCanada JayBlack-capped Chickadee
We also birded slowly, looking at all matters of life, including insects and plants.
American EmeraldAmerican ToadHobomok SkipperLittle Wood-SatyrSilver-bordered FritillaryCanadian Tiger Swallowtails(Dennis) Harris’s CheckerspotPink- and White-morphed Pink Lady’s SlipperAmerican LadyChalk-fronted Corporal
And found a new (to me) delicious lunch stop.
After an afternoon break and a great early dinner, it was finally time to head up hill and get to work. And work it was! The mountain was full of Swainson’s Thrushes and wind, and as the sun was setting, only a few Bicknell’s Thrushes were heard at all. I was beginning to lose hope, putting the pressure on for the following morning, when I heard two birds calling back and forth across the road. At 9:01pm, with just enough light for any sort of photograph, this happened (and see Bill’s photos above)!
Celebration ensued, backs were patted, high-fives were exchanged. Success! (And yes, relief, too!)
We “slept in” a few extra minutes on Sunday morning, knowing the primary mission was accomplished. But we returned to the same place, without pressure, and birded casually.
With another picnic breakfast in the field, our musical soundtrack was provided by several singing Bicknell’s Thrushes, and multiple calling birds. At least 6-8 birds were detected in all, but we all decided to just relax, enjoy them, and not even try to see them. It was a great way to really experience the Bicknell’s Thrush.
But we did look at everything else! We had a pair of, uh, “confiding” Canada Jays, 2 Bay-breasted Warblers and several Blackpoll Warblers.
Storm clouds a’brewing!
And then we slowly birded downhill, finding 2 more Cape May Warblers, 4 Mourning Warblers, hearing two Boreal Chickadees, but also lamenting on the apparent disappearance of Philadelphia Vireo here (although we did hear one distant candidate).
Black-throated Green WarblerYellow-rumped Warbler
Lunch, a little tourism stop to see some local landmarks and a Common Loon on a lake in the north woods. As we approached Colebrook, the rain that we had successfully and thankfully avoided all weekend caught up with us and the skies absolutely opened up, bringing the tour to a slightly early end for everyone to take their time in driving home or to airports safely.
An American Bittern sitting in the open in a tree, just a handful of yards away could have easily been the highlight of any birding weekend. But, this stellar start was just the tip of the iceberg of the weekend’s birding excitement.
It has been quite a few years since we had a weekend like this. Lots of birds, “mega” rarities, warm weather, and tons of excitement. It was truly a special weekend. We were honored to have been there for it.
The tour began on Friday, with only one participant joining me on the Hardy Boat. The island greeted us with a Lesser Black-backed Gull, which we scoped from the wharf, and several warblers at the usual spot uphill. But after getting the inside scoop from birders already on the island, we made a bee-line for the Ice Pond where an American Bittern was sitting all morning. Remarkably, however, it was sitting in a bush (see above)!
How’s that for starting a tour off right? We also immediately encountered Dickcissel and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and there were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers here and there.
After lunch, with our group now complete, the surprisingly good birding continued. Despite such a warm afternoon and few birds on the radar overnight on mostly a southwest wind aloft, we enjoyed an excellent introduction to Monhegan birding in the fall: 2 Clay-colored Sparrows with 2 immature White-crowned Sparrows, a Dickcissel, and several White-throated Sparrows in one field of view; a dozing Common Nighthawk trying to stay camouflaged on a wood pile, and another visit to the still-confiding American Bittern at the Ice Pond for those who arrived later. It was a solid afternoon overall, with bird activity continuing right up until dinnertime.
Cape May Warblers in a wide variety of plumages is always one of the highlights of any fall weekend on Monhegan
.Unfortunately, our best bird of the day was almost the one that got away. Almost! While viewing an Indigo Bunting in the Community Garden, a second bunting snuck into view, skulking. It briefly popped out, and I yelled “get photos” and then it popped back into the weeds and was not to be seen again.
“Did I see green?” I exclaimed, but it was so fleeting, and the light was so harsh, and the bird was so, so pale, I couldn’t be sure. I looked at photos on the back of cameras in the sun, and we had a good discussion on why this could have been a Painted Bunting. Unfortunately, I have little experience with first fall female (presumably) Painted Buntings and had no idea they could be this unbelievably drab. So I talked myself out of it.
Overnight, I received photos from Bill Thompson, who, an hour or two after we saw the bunting, also briefly saw and photographed it. “Is this a Painted Bunting?” he asked.
Yup, that really does have green on it, and on more than one side – in other words, not a reflection. Darn it. It counts for us – we all saw it – but in hindsight, we should have gotten the word out about a “possible/probable” Painted Bunting and had more eyes looking. Luckily, Bill was in the right place at the right time once again! But I felt like I had blown this one. I was too quick to dismiss it and so I decided I would have to make up for it over the rest of the weekend. Maybe the dry cold front that passed through on Friday evening and shifted the winds would help.
A very strong flight Friday night into Saturday morning on a diminishing northwesterly wind was idea for bringing birds to Monhegan Island come sunrise. And at first light, it was clear it was on!
The Morning Flight featured tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers with the occasional Palm and Blackpoll Warbler. Between the morning flight and our pre-breakfast stroll, we had a lot of birds: a couple of waves of Dark-eyed Juncos, bunches of Red-breasted Nuthatches, more Golden-crowned Kinglets and Purple Finches, insane views of Peregrine Falcons, 2 Dickcissels, 4 Baltimore Orioles, and lots of great views of lots of common species.
After breakfast, it remained fantastic. Just birds everywhere, and not surprisingly, some notable species began to be turned up. Our first “chase” was a Yellow-throated Warbler, our group arriving just in time before it took off.
Luckily, Dan Gardoqui and I stumbled upon it again while foraging for lunch, and I was able to round up several of the group members for improved views and photographs.
The American Bittern was now in the marsh, there were now three Dickcissels, 8 Baltimore Orioles, and a second, but definitively identified Indigo Bunting. No green one, unfortunately.
Not surprisingly on such a nice day, the afternoon was slower, as birds had departed the island early, or had now sought refuge in the shadows, especially with the continuing activity of Peregrines, Merlins, and Sharp-shinned Hawks. So, we checked some nooks and crannies, turning up a Nelson’s Sparrow at Lobster Cove and enjoying gliding Peregrine Falcons passing right in front of us from Burnt Head. We also took the time to enjoy butterflies, plants, and all other walks of life.
It was a delightful afternoon, but we returned to town to find we had missed out on a Western Kingbird. Luckily, a few of us caught up with it at dusk when it was refound near the Mooring Chain.
(phone-binned photo under low light)
So, it was a great day, and given the winds and weather, we expected it to be such. Then, with little to no movement overnight (at least visible on the radar), on a light south to southwest wind, we hoped for some birds to stick around from Saturday and perhaps be augmented by a rarity or two. At the very least, I wanted to show the Yellow-throated Warbler and Western Kingbird to the rest of the group, especially with a big turnover in participants for the second half of the weekend.
What we didn’t expect was to run out of superlatives before breakfast. We certainly did not expect it after viewing the Morning Flight, which consisted of exactly one American Pipit (and the big wandering flock of Cedar Waxwings, of course).
Once again, a bird was identified from photo review (what did we do before Instant Replay?!) and Bill Thompson and Jess Bishop had apparently discovered a Mega rare Bell’s Vireo on Saturday with only 4 accepted previous records for Maine. With such a slow morning flight, I decided to mix things up from my usual routine, head clockwise through my usual dawn loop, and give it a try to find the Bell’s. We stopped near where it was seen on Saturday, and chatted about the rarity, the identification, etc. “Holy shit, there it is!” I tried not to exclaim too loudly as the bird popped out right in front of us.
We observed it for about 10-15 minutes as it popped in and out of a brushy edge, focusing on feeding in young cherry trees with fall webworm clusters. Birders began to arrive from all directions, as the vireo kept coming in and out of view before flying right over our heads and disappearing deep into a dense thicket.
I’ll steal Bill Thompson‘s (with permission of course) Bell’s Vireo from this morning since he was standing next to us.
It was getting too crowded for our tastes, so we moved on and let others have the edge to monitor. We enjoyed Cedar Waxwings, Northern Flickers, and then took a moment to pause at our usual starting spot, at the spruces behind the Yew.
It was slow, and quiet, and so I was making sure we looked at everything, like the one solo warbler flying towards us from across the sky over the Trailing Yew. It then landed a short distance away, and I brought my binoculars up to it, assuming we had a close Yellow-rumped Warbler to talk about.
<expletives deleted>
A Black-throated Gray Warbler, with only 5 previous records from Maine, was there. Right there. We had some great looks and photo ops, called over a friend, and then watched it the herd of birders arrive and head out to follow it. What a lucky find! We were ecstatic. And we still hadn’t had breakfast! (See photos from tomorrow),
Wondering if the day could get any better – and pretty content if it did not – we reconvened after breakfast and headed in the opposite direction from the searching masses, as I am wont to do.
It worked again: we found one Lark Sparrow, and then another. How many Clay-colored Sparrows – 4? 8? More? An Orange-crowned Warbler at the Ice Pond, a fly-over Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Pine Warbler, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on every tree. So much for it being a slow day.
Another warm afternoon sent us into the woods for shade, immersing ourselves in a cacophony of Red-breasted Nuthatches, sprinkled with Golden-crowned Kinglets, and the occasional Red-eyed Vireo or other migrant. We took in the Fringed Gentian, the scenery, and finished strong with the 2 Lark Sparrows and 4 Clay-colored Sparrows together.
Today was a good day.
Monday, the fourth and final day of the tour began with excited anticipation with another strong flight overnight on a diminishing NW to W wind. But today, it was just too nice, and a lot of last night’s birds passed overhead resulting in just a light Morning Flight come sunrise. But there was a turnover of birds, and our morning walk added several things to our list including the Eastern Kingbird we finally caught up with, and another Orange-crowned Warbler. The highlight, however, of our pre-breakfast jaunt was a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew to a spruce, plucked a cone off of an outer branch, and then proceeded to play with it! It would move it from its bill to its talons, and then it dropped it, chasing it down the tree. It then flew back up and grabbed another! What a remarkable insight into how a kid Sharpie gets better at hunting on its own.
After breakfast, the good Merlin show of the day continued, and we took time for a short gull identification workshop. Our first Ring-billed Gull out here was good to practice on, and we conveniently had three Lesser Black-backed Gulls: an adult and 2 first-cycle birds. But mostly, we worked through the difference between each age class of the common Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.
We finally picked up a Northern Waterthrush- our 20th species of warbler on the weekend! But otherwise, it was pretty slow.
It was slow in the afternoon, too, but the Black-throated Gray Warbler had been refound just before we reconvened after lunch, and eventually we were all treated to much, much better views and photo ops than the morning before.
We then twitched a rare Common Buckeye butterfly and Lady’s Tresses orchids.
Our last new species of the trip was one of the last birds we observed together: a Yellow-billed Cuckoo eating American Dagger Moth and/or Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillars. Watching it whack the caterpillar on a twig to beat off its irritating hairs, we had another moment of insight into a bird’s world.
With the tour now complete, Jeannete and I enjoyed a delicious sunset and delightful food with friends and spotted an American Woodcock on our walk back.
And finished with another meal of Monhegan indulgence.
As usual, Jeannette and I then spent our Tuesday off together on the island. After a light morning flight, but another turnover of birds, we decided to spend most of the morning in the woods, ostensibly looking for a previously reported Black-backed Woodpecker. But mostly, we wanted to take a hike along the island’s less-visited north end. We added Winter Wren and an Ovenbird to our weekend list, enjoyed the silly amount of Red-breasted Nuthatches, and encountered several pockets of White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. Later, after lunch, we ran into a Black-billed Cuckoo, and a Spotted Sandpiper at the dock turned out to be our 100th and final bird of a truly exceptional weekend on Monhegan. We already cannot wait to return in May!
Species seen without the tour group during the tour:
*Denotes ferry only
9/26
9/27
9/28
9/29
Canada Goose
0
0
14
0
Blue-winged Teal
1
0
0
0
Mallard
15
20
20
20
American Black Duck
1
1
1
0
Common Eider
x
x
x
x
White-winged Scoter
1*
0
0
0
Ring-necked Pheasant
x
x
x
x
Mourning Dove
12
15
12
6
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
0
0
0
1
Common Nighthawk
1
0
0
0
Semipalmated Plover
0
1
1
0
Solitary Sandpiper
1
0
0
0
Greater Yellowlegs
0
1
0
1
Black Guillemot
x
2
3
0
Laughing Gull
4*
0
0
0
Ring-billed Gull
0
0
0
1
Herring Gull
x
x
x
x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
0
0
1
3
Great Black-backed Gull
x
x
x
x
Great Cormorant
1
1
2
1
Double-crested Cormorant
x
x
x
x
AMERICAN BITTERN
1
1
0
0
Osprey
1
3
1
0
Northern Harrier
0
1
0
2
Sharp-shinned Hawk
3
1
2
6
Belted Kingfisher
1
0
1
1
Red-bellied Woodpecker
0
0
1
0
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
8
20
15
20
Downy Woodpecker
0
1
1
1
Northern Flicker
6
10
6
8
American Kestrel
0
0
1
0
Merlin
4
8
6
5
Peregrine Falcon
6
20
3
7
WESTERN KINGBIRD
0
1
0
0
Eastern Kingbird
0
0
0
1
Eastern Wood-Pewee
6
8
1
1
Least Flycatcher
3
2
0
0
Eastern Phoebe
1
3
2
1
BELL’S VIREO
0
0
1
0
Blue-headed Vireo
2
4
3
0
Red-eyed Vireo
12
12
12
12
Blue Jay
8
8
3
3
American Crow
4
2
6
6
Common Raven
0
2
2
1
Black-capped Chickadee
x
x
x
x
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1
3
2
2
Golden-crowned Kinglet
0
20
10
6
Cedar Waxwing
80
80
80
80
Red-breasted Nuthatch
10
60
50
40
Brown Creeper
0
2
0
1
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
1
0
0
1
Carolina Wren
8
6
8
6
Gray Catbird
x
x
x
10
European Starling
14
14
14
13
Swainson’s Thrush
0
2
0
0
American Robin
0
4
1
0
American Pipit
1
6
2
2
Purple Finch
0
10
8
6
Pine Siskin
1
2
1
2
American Goldfinch
8
10
6
6
LARK SPARROW
0
0
2
1
Chipping Sparrow
2
2
10
2
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
3
3
6
1
Dark-eyed Junco
0
30
2
12
White-crowned Sparrow
2
1
2
0
White-throated Sparrow
12
60
10
20
Nelson’s Sparrow
0
1
0
0
Savannah Sparrow
1
4
4
1
Song Sparrow
x
x
x
x
Lincoln’s Sparrow
1
6
5
1
Swamp Sparrow
2
3
2
1
Bobolink
5
5
5
2
Baltimore Oriole
2
8
7
6
Rusty Blackbird
0
2
0
0
Common Grackle
3
3
3
3
Northern Waterthrush
0
0
0
1
Black-and-white Warbler
1
3
0
0
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
0
1
2
1
Nashville Warbler
1
1
0
0
Common Yellowthroat
4
8
8
6
American Redstart
3
4
1
1
Cape May Warbler
2
8
2
8
Northern Parula
3
6
1
0
Magnolia Warbler
0
1
0
0
Yellow Warbler
2
4
2
1
Chestnut-sided Warbler
0
1
0
0
Blackpoll Warbler
8
40
4
4
Black-throated Blue Warbler
0
3
0
0
Palm Warbler
20
60
4
4
Pine Warbler
0
0
1
0
Yellow-rumped Warbler
40
600
40
20
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
0
1
0
0
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER
0
0
1
1
Black-throated Green Warbler
0
6
1
1
Wilson’s Warbler
1
2
0
0
Northern Cardinal
x
8
8
8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
0
1
1
1
Indigo Bunting
1
1
3
2
PAINTED BUNTING
1
0
0
0
DICKCISSEL
2
3
1
1
Day total
67
80
69
68
Species added on Monday evening and Tuesday, with Jeannette:
Common Loon, Spotted Sandpiper, American Woodcock, Black-billed Cuckoo, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Ovenbird (warbler #21!),
Tour total = 100 Total Weekend Total = 107
This winter wren was one of the last birds Jeannette and I added to the cumulative weekend list as we spent some time on our day off hiking the island’s north end.
One of up to 6 Canada Jays encountered outside of Rangeley while leading tours for the Rangeley Birding Festival included this confiding adult, part of a family group of at least 4 on 6/6. In fact, I enjoyed Canada Jays in three states in less than a week’s time this week/weekend!
This time of year, most of my birding, both personally and especially professionally, is dedicated to finding, seeing, and enjoying the wide array of breeding species this state has to off. From Saltmarsh Sparrows and Roseate Terns here along the southern coast to Bicknell’s Thrushes and “boreal specialities” in the western Maine mountains (and northern New Hampshire), it has been another extremely busy guiding season for me. Meanwhile, while home, I have been conducting two local breeding bird surveys. While my “highlights” these days are seeing the “expected” species we all seek, I did encounter some unexpected observations and noteworthy counts over the past two weeks, but mostly, I thought I would share some of my photo highlights.
1 Dunlin, 4 Semipalmated Plovers, and 1 Least Sandpiper, Sanford Lagoons, 6/2 (with Jeannette).
Rangeley Birding Festival, 6/6-6/8: Two mornings of birding Redington Road (scouting 6/6, with tour group 6/7) yielded high counts of 2 territorial CAPE MAY WARBLERS (6/6+6/7), 6 CANADA JAYS (6/7), 1 pair of BOREAL CHICKADEES (6/6), 3 Red Crossbills (6/6), 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers (6/6), 1 American Bittern (6/7), 1 Black-billed Cuckoo (6/7), etc.
I was excited to find two Cape May Warbler territories outside of Rangeley on the 6th, and then find both males in the same place the next day with my Rangeley Birding Festival tour group.
While leading a walk for the Rangeley Birding Festival at Hunter Cove Sanctuary, I found this low-level Blue-headed Vireo nest that was fascinating to observe.
2.5 day private tour in Vermont and Northern New Hampshire (I know, this is a non-Maine-birding-field-note!) yielded: Bicknell’s Thrush, Black-backed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee, Canada Jay, Fox Sparrow, and 22 species of warbler including Cape May, Bay-breasted, and Mourning.
As usual, I took few photos while guiding, but this Bay-breasted Warbler outside Errol, NH on the 10th (with clients) was too cooperative not to fire off a few shots!
Back home for a couple of days, it was off to my local bird surveys. This fledgling Barred Owl was in Freeport on the 12th, confirming breeding once again at one of my local patches.
Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Trip Report.
The 2025 Monhegan Migration Spring Weekend was a shocking success. We went from having a weather forecast that made me worry if there would be any migrants to see at all, to an exceptional weekend that was by far the best Memorial Day weekend of birding out here in quite a few years. A total of 106 species were tallied in 5 days, including 91 together as a tour group, with a total of 22 species of warblers. Here’s the full trip report.
Blackpoll Warblers were pleasantly ubiquitous over the weekend, with endless opportunities to view them without neck strain for a change.
I just can’t walk away from a male Blackburnian Warbler in the sun, especially at eye-level. Just can’t do it. While Blackpolls were the most numerous migrant of the tour, as expected for the end of May, Blackburnian Warblers consistently stole the show.
Our 14th annual Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend was highlighted by three days of insanely gorgeous weather, 18 species of warblers, and loads of crossbills. But what set this year’s tour apart was how consistently amazing the looks were at so many birds, especially both crossbills and some of our favorite warblers.
The tone was set on our Friday crossing from New Harbor, with lovely weather and 2 fly-by Atlantic Puffins. And once again, we hit the ground running after our 10:15 arrival, taking nearly an hour just to walk up Dock Road. One of our favorite corners was just hoppin’, with our first stellar looks at both Red and White-winged Crossbills and Blackpoll Warblers, as well as our only Canada Warbler of the tour.
I ate a lot of hummus toasts for lunch at the Trailing Yew in an attempt to make up for copious breakfasts and decadent feeders.
The afternoon, and the next three days were filled with crippling view after crippling view. Blackpoll Warblers were everywhere, both males and females seen in close proximity repeatedly for good studies. American Redstarts were abundant, as were locally-breeding Common Yellowthroats and Yellow Warblers. But it’s been a long time since we have seen crossbills, especially White-winged, so well and so often everywhere around town and beyond. It’s hard not to name this species the bird of the tour this year.
Male White-winged Crossbills.
In that first afternoon, some of our other highlights were a fleeting glimpse of a Black-billed Cuckoo, and later we found a female Purple Martin. Birds were just unusually low and cooperative, despite the gorgeous weather, so that really set this first day apart.
My days started even earlier than I would have liked as pheasants took to calling from the railing right outside my bedroom window. At 4am. 4am.
Unfortunately, the NEXRAD radar archive was down for the duration of our stay, so I can’t do my usual analysis here, but on Saturday morning, a light morning flight of mostly Blackpoll Warblers and American Redstarts suggested at least some birds had arrived on the light westerly wind overnight. There were also more Magnolia Warblers around, but overall, our two morning walks were slower than yesterday’s birding, but we would repeatedly find pockets of good activity with more great views of most of what we encountered.
This Cape May Warbler showed himself nicely, feeding on little midges/flies buzzing around the buds of this Red Spruce.
A Black-billed Cuckoo was as cooperative as they get, freezing on a bare branch for several minutes. Prolonged scope views of Red and White-winged Crossbills offered the chance to watch their amazing feeding behavior. The afternoon was a little slower, as expected, but still low and close Blackpoll Warblers and crossbills all around. Friends found a Blue Grosbeak that afternoon, which confirmed what I thought “had to be one” that flew across the marsh early in the morning but disappeared into brush before we could confirm its identity.
Of course we took some time to enjoy Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at Donna’s feeders, along with the omnipresent Ring-necked Pheasants.
Despite southerly winds overnight, Sunday morning was quite a bit slower, likely due to rainfall cutting off the flow of migrants from the south. We started the day with a bang though, as we moseyed down to the harbor to enjoy an up-close-and-personal Razorbill that ended up spending much of the day foraging in the harbor.
There was some passerine turnover overnight, however, and new birds this morning included an Alder Flycatcher, a calling Olive-sided Flycatcher, and finally a Tennessee Warbler – perhaps our first uncooperative warbler of the trip! The bird of the morning, however, was Blackburnian Warbler, as we started the day with amazing views just as we started and finished the morning with repeated great looks at males and females. Again, we were just in awe of the repeated great views we were getting of so many species, even if, yes, it was slow by Monhegan standards.
A nice selection of flycatchers over the weekend afforded the opportunity to learn how to break them down via primary projection, such as in this long-winged Eastern Wood-Pewee.
In the afternoon, we took the obligatory walk up to the lighthouse, both for some hawkwatching and snapshots. However, we ended up being enthralled (OK, I was enthralled) by a massive gull feeding frenzy that broke out over the lighthouse hill and beyond. It became clear that the gulls were not just enjoying the weather to soar on thermals but were feeding on some unseen flying insect. While a common event on the mainland, none of the birders present out here has ever seen anything like this over the island. The numerous Herring Gulls attracted a growing number of Laughing Gulls – the most I have ever seen out here (it’s usually just a few pairs around the harbor or fly-bys).
Northern Parula nest under construction.
Monday, the last day of the tour, unfortunately, did not see us go out with a bang. With light easterlies overnight and developing clouds and fog, not only did a new wave of migrants not arrive, but it seemed like just about every single passage migrant had departed! Even Blackpolls were few and far between, and the number of American Redstarts seemed only on par with the number that remain out here to breed.
Pink Lady’s Slipper in the woods.
But once again, White-winged Crossbills stole the show, with the pre-breakfast walk highlighted by incredible views of a feeding family group. And although slow all day, we covered some ground and slowly built up our triplist with everything from a Purple Finch to a calling fly-over Black-bellied Plover. We studied a Great Cormorant (and later, a second), and finally caught up with the long-staying Green Heron in the ice pond. Three tarrying Black Scoters were a surprise in Deadman’s Cove, but not nearly as surprising as the drake Green-winged Teal loafing with Common Eiders on Neigh Duck!
After lunch, an unusual-for-here assortment of swallows over the marsh included two Bank, one Cliff, joining the 2 Tree Swallows and more Barn Swallows that have been out here all weekend. Seawatching at Lobster Cove produced a hen Long-tailed Duck right off the rocks that somehow disappeared in front of our eyes.
Black Guillemots were all around the island, including some close ones off of Lobster Cove that were close enough to see those vivid red feet.
“Lefty” the Red-winged Blackbird has returned for at least his third summer on territory in the marsh.
With the tour coming to an end at about 3:00pm as just about everyone readied to board the Hardy Boat, rain began to fall, bringing our tour to an official close. However, it wasn’t until dinnertime that a few downpours arrived, and so we squeezed out one more comfortable day of birding.
It was just Jeannette and me now, but “FOMO” was unwarranted. While a White-throated Sparrow outside of the Monhegan House after dinner was unexpected for the date, we didn’t add anything new to the trip list that evening, or the next morning. Rain, heavy at times overnight and a strong south wind with fog in the morning precluded any movement of birds, and our pre-breakfast walk was dreadfully slow. Passage migrants were few, just about 9 Blackpoll Warblers, 1 Canada Warbler, and 1 Northern Waterthrush, and it felt downright June-like with birdsong being almost exclusively breeding birds. We did have another look at uncommon Monhegan birds like the Blue-winged Teal, Green Heron, and Bank Swallow, but it wasn’t the hardest day to walk away from.
Juvenile White-winged Crossbill
…. Which was good, as we were forced to depart earlier than planned due to the cancellation of the afternoon Hardy Boat. With a low pressure system moving along the stalled front that likely reduced our flow of migrants over the second half of the weekend was also building the seas. Our 10:15 trip, however, featured following seas that made for a reasonable ride, but the fog remained thick until New Harbor. We did have 4 Red-necked Phalaropes materialize out of the fog, however, with one remaining on the water just long enough for Jeannette to reach for and get her camera ready.
So, while Monday – and our usual day off together on Tuesday – was lackluster overall, it was really hard to beat the weather, birding, and learning opportunities that this year’s tour offered. Hopefully, everyone will now know how to identify Blackpoll Warblers at least! Oh, and my goodness the crossbills…
We tallied a respectable 93 species, including 18 species of warblers, over the four-day tour. Although below our long-term average, this was slightly above recent spring weekends. The following counts are simply guesstimations of the number of each species we encountered each day. Not the number of observations (eg every time we passed the same singing Yellow Warbler) or even a guess as to how many were on the island on a given day, but some crude attempt to quantify how many individuals of each species we think we saw each day. The ebbs and flows and daily changes are more interesting than the undoubtedly inaccurate numbers. For species such as the two crossbills that move around, back and forth, all over each day, it was impossible to really know how many there were. “A lot” should suffice.
Here is the trip list four the four-day tour. * = seen from ferry only. **=not seen with tour group.
Species
5/24
5/25
5/26
5/27
Wood Duck
1
1
1
0
Blue-winged Teal
0
0
1
0
Mallard
15
20
20
15
American Black Duck
1
1
0
1
Green-winged Teal
0
0
0
1
Common Eider
x
x
x
x
Surf Scoter
2*
0
0
1
Black Scoter
0
0
0
3
Long-tailed Duck
1
0
0
1
Ring-necked Pheasant
8
10
10
10
Mourning Dove
8
10
8
8
Black-billed Cuckoo
1
1
0
0
Common Nighthawk
1
0
0
0
Chimney Swift
0
0
2
0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1
2
1
2
Virginia Rail
0
1
1
0
Black-bellied Plover
0
0
0
1
RAZORBILL
0
0
1
0
Black Guillemot
x
x
x
x
ATLANTIC PUFFIN
2*
0
0
0
Laughing Gull
6*
20
1
8
Herring Gull
x
x
x
x
Great Black-backed Gull
x
x
x
x
Common Tern
X*
0
0
0
Common Loon
5*
0
1
2
Northern Gannet
3*
0
1
0
Double-crested Cormorant
x
x
x
x
Great Cormorant
0
0
0
2
Great Blue Heron
0
0
1
0
Osprey
0
2
1
0
Sharp-shinned Hawk
0
1
2
0
Bald Eagle
2
2
2
2
Red-bellied Woodpecker
0
1
0
0
Merlin
0
1
1
1
Eastern Kingbird
3
4
5
5
Olive-sided Flycatcher
0
0
1
0
Eastern Wood-Pewee
4
4
4
3
Alder Flycatcher
0
0
1
0
“Traill’s” Flycatcher
0
0
1
0
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
0
1
0
0
Least Flycatcher
0
4
5
1
Blue-headed Vireo
0
1
0
0
Red-eyed Vireo
8
15
10
3
Blue Jay
4
48
4
4
American Crow
x
x
x
x
Common Raven
1
1
1
1
Black-capped Chickadee
x
8
6
6
Bank Swallow
0
0
0
2
Tree Swallow
2
2
1
1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
0
1
0
0
PURPLE MARTIN
1
0
0
0
Barn Swallow
4
1
1
6
CLIFF SWALLOW
0
0
0
1
Golden-crowned Kinglet
1
2
10
2
Cedar Waxwing
40
60
80
30
Carolina Wren
2
7
3
3
House Wren
1
1
2
1
Gray Catbird
x
x
x
x
Brown Thrasher
0
1
1
0
European Starling
x
x
x
x
Swainson’s Thrush
1
1
0
0
American Robin
10
12
8
10
Purple Finch
0
0
0
1
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL
6
12
20
25
RED CROSSBILL
4
15
12
4
American Goldfinch
10
10
10
10
Chipping Sparrow
2
0
0
0
Song Sparrow
x
X
x
x
Bobolink
1
1
1
1
Baltimore Oriole
2
2
1
2
Red-winged Blackbird
x
x
x
x
Common Grackle
x
x
x
x
Northern Waterthrush
0
0
0
1
Black-and-white Warbler
0
1
0
1
Tennessee Warbler
0
2**
2
0
Nashville Warbler
1
0
0
0
Common Yellowthroat
10
15
12
x
American Redstart
30
35
25
10
Cape May Warbler
2
1
1
0
Northern Parula
4
8
8
4
Magnolia Warbler
6
10
4
4
Bay-breasted Warbler
2
0
1
2
Blackburnian Warbler
3
3
5
1
Yellow Warbler
20
20
20
15
Chestnut-sided Warbler
6
8
6
3
Blackpoll Warbler
60
50
35
6
Yellow-rumped Warbler
0
1
0
0
Black-throated Green Warbler
3
8
10
1
Canada Warbler
1
0
0
0
Wilson’s Warbler
2
1
1
0
Northern Cardinal
x
10
8
6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
2
2
0
1
BLUE GROSBEAK
0
1
0
0
Day Total
64
66
65
62
Warbler Day Total
14
14
13
12
Trip Total
93
Warbler Trip Total
18
The above birds follow the “guide plus one” rule, meaning both me and at least one client need to see the bird for it to go onto the list. I saw a Northern Mockingbird on three occasions, for example, but somehow never saw it during the tour! Likewise, an American Woodcock over the Island Inn after sunset on the 26th and the White-throated Sparrow that Jeannette and I heard after the tour ended on Monday, along with our Red-necked Phalaropes on our way home on Tuesday did not count for the official tour list.
We didn’t care how common Yellow Warblers are…they’re still always beautiful! As are the sunsets from the Trailing Yew.
Barrow’s Goldeneyes returned to the Androscoggin River this week, with a pair below the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge between Auburn and Lewiston on the 12th. Early morning shadows were challenging for photos, so I was happy with this great comparison shot of an intermingled pair each of Barrow’s and Common Goldeneyes.
While I didn’t get as far afield as last week, I enjoyed a very productive week of birding, especially for early January! Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.
Our feeders in Durham have been incredible, led by a growing flock of Dark-eyed Juncos that peaked at 41 on 1/8 and 40+ continuing American Goldfinches. There was a big movement of sparrows after the weekend snow storm, with flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows common and widespread in the area, along with an increase in American Tree Sparrows.
2 drake and 1 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/6 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
Still fascinated by the warbler flock in Ogunquit Beach after my visit there last week, Jeannette and I went back down on 1/8. Unfortunately, we only had a short look at the brighter CAPE MAY WARBLER and 1 “WESTERN” PALM WARBLER. One Yellow-rumped Warbler spent almost the entire time we were there in and around the sewage tank, eating the little flies along its edge. The Cape May and Palm just briefly waved through the nearby trees. I would have thought that anything still alive would have been in the tank the whole time on that cold morning, as was the single Yellow-rump. Interesting.
While searching, we had 100+ Sanderlings on the beach, two continuing Northern Harriers and 8 Snow Buntings in the marsh, and in the Ocean Avenue neighborhood leading to the footbridge, we had 1-2 fly-over Red Crossbills and 1 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD while checking feeders in hopes of relocating the warblers.
Cape Elizabeth with Dan Nickerson on 1/11: 1 2nd Cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a few Razorbills at Dyer Point; 1 DOVEKIE at Two Lights State Park; 1 Swamp Sparrow on Private Property, and 1600-2000 Black Scoters between Dyer Point and Kettle Cove.
1 pair BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn/Lewiston, 1/12.
1 immature Great Cormorant, North River Road Boat Launch, Auburn, 1/12.
+/- 130 Mixed scaup, Lake Auburn, 1/12. Actively feeding, but Lesser continue to greatly outnumber Greater in the flock, as expected on freshwater in winter.
At least one Turkey Vulture continues in the I-295 corridor between Cumberland and Freeport this week.
UPCOMING TOURS.
Winter Waterbirds Workshop with Down East Adventures. Sunday, January 14th. Info here.
No Birdwalk, Saturday, 20th.
No Birdwalk, Saturday, 27th.
Gull Identification Workshop. Saturday, February 3rd and Sunday, February 4th. Info here.
This Hepatic Tanager was a shocking discovery in Stockton Springs. I caught up with it on 12/31 to bring my 2023 birding year to a close. Such a lousy phone-scoped photo of such an amazing bird, though!
Happy New Year List Everyone (for those who keep one)! Rarities abound as we finish 2023 and begin 2024, and I caught up with a few of them this week, and, even more satisfying, found a few “good birds” of my own.
1-2 Red Crossbills continue in and around our Durham property this week. I need to work on finding breeding activity.
At least two Turkey Vultures continue in the I-295 corridor between Yarmouth and Freeport through week’s end.
I finished 2023 off with a bang, visiting the HEPATIC TANAGER on Station St in Stockton Springs on 12/31 (with Evan Obercian). Photo above.
1 male Red-winged Blackbird, Rte 127, Arrowsic, 1/1 (with Jeannette).
2 REDHEADS, 3 AMERICAN COOTS, 4 RUDDY DUCKS, 1 Long-tailed Duck, about 50 Lesser and 25 Greater Scaup, etc, Chickawaukee Lake, Rockport, 1/1 (with Paul Doiron, Kristen Lindquist, and Jeannette).
1 Northern Flicker, Thompson Meadow Road, Rockland, 1/1 (with Paul Doiron, Kristen Lindquist, and Jeannette).
Jess Costa and I went down to Ogunquit Beach on 1/4. to look at the unprecedented mixed-species warbler flock that has been in and around the dunes and wastewater treatment plant here. I glimpsed what “had to be” the TOWNSEND’S WARBLER, but between the two of us, we saw the two CAPE MAY WARBLERS, 1 TENNESSEE WARBLER, 2 “WESTERN” PALM WARBLERS, 1 PINE WARBLER, and 3-4 Yellow-rumped Warblers well. However, my interest was observing the flock as a whole, especially what they were eating, what the range of the flock was, and whether the birds were exhibiting “normal” niche differentiation. Unfortunately, we only had two encounters with the whole wave in 3 hours, and periods of up to 45 minutes went by without seeing a warbler anywhere in the dune line. Where else are they going? The lack of sun that day made the edge less inviting, but they still seemed to have disappeared from the pine forest. Were they heading into a neighborhood or across the marsh? I have more questions than answers after the visit, so I might have to find time to go back! We also had one Red Crossbill, 1 MERLIN, two Northern Harriers, etc.
1 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, 64 Lesser Scaup, 19 Greater Scaup, 1 Red Crossbill, etc, Lake Auburn, 1/5 (with Dan Nickerson)
2024 PREDICTIONS LIST BLOG NOW POSTED!
After an 11th-hour addition and requisite updates, my famous-ish Predictions Blog is now ready for viewing. In this annual post, I attempt to forecast the next 25 species to appear in Maine, as well as predict what the next 25 species I personally will see in the state. I also summarize the new species added to Maine’s list in 2023, as well as my own personal highlights and new species.
A highlight of a slow weekend on Monhegan were the conspicuous Cape May Warblers, including these two that were regulars in a single tree that often featured every plumage aspect of this delightful warbler.
Following three days on Monhegan, I mostly birded the yard before heading back to the island for another tour.
Monhegan Island, 9/23-25 (with Down East Adventures Monhegan Migration Workshop group):
About as slow as I have ever experienced the island, even considering a nice little influx of birds on our last morning. Cape May Warblers were the most common warbler for the first two days, however, but overall numbers and diversity were extremely low. Highlights were few, but a brief trip report is posted here:
There were more birds in our yard than on Monhegan this week! A particularly active morning on 9/27 included tardy Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, 8 species of warblers including Tennessee and Cape May, a nice influx of sparrows including 4+ Lincoln’s, and my first 4 southern Maine Pine Siskins of the season.
A NOTE ABOUT YOUR “SLOW” BIRD FEEDERS:
Many folks have been reporting extremely slow feeders throughout much of the state recently. This happens on a regular basis, so the end is not near! In fact, a very similiar dearth of birds happened in the falls of 2017 and 2019. I’m currently working on a blog that is more specific to this year, but this blog written in 2017 nicely tells a good part of the story.
This presumed first-fall female Cape May Warbler was a good study in comparison with the other, brighter plumages of this species on display in that single tree on Monhegan.
Freeport Wild Bird Supply is very excited to partner with Down East Magazine’s Down East Adventures for our third year. In 2023, we are expanding our offerings to include two exclusive overnight trips, along with our popular ½- and whole-day targeted workshops. Focused on skill-builder rather than list-building, there will be plenty of “life birds,” but also more knowledge and education about birds, habitats, birding, and much more about the natural world.
The full list of upcoming tours can be found here. At the conclusion of each tour, I’ll post the trip report here.
Winter Waterbirds Workshop, January 15.
This Purple Sandpiper was about as cooperative as it gets for us at Sohier Park in York. Later, it was joined by its friends (photo below). This is really a lovely shorebird when viewed as well and as close as we experienced.
Extremely strong winds and very high seas presented a challenge as we sought out wintering waterbirds along the southern York County Coast. We worked hard to find sheltered water where we could observe birds well, but when we did find that secluded cove, peninsula lee, or rivermouth, we were treated to incredible looks at many of the birds we had hoped for.
We looked down on Red-breasted Mergansers at Perkin’s Cove, and you’ll never be closer to a Common Loon than we were at the Ogunquit Rivermouth. We checked a few more locations than I usually need to on this tour, but our most productive spot was the southern shoreline of Sohier Park at The Nubble. There, we were treated to close views of Black and White-winged Scoters, Harlequin Ducks, and a most-cooperative flock of Purple Sandpipers. We then ended the day at hidden Abbott’s Pond, where we enjoyed a break for the wind, close comparisons to study details between Mallards, American Black Ducks, and hybrids thereof.
Meanwhile, a group of 8 or so Black-legged Kittiwakes were feeding off of Short Sands Beach, and a stunning adult Iceland Gull passed by at The Nubble. Unfortunately, the seas were just a little too rough to find any alcids today, but we knew they were out there!
Spring Migrant Songbirds Workshop, May 14.
This stunning Blackburnian Warbler nicely demonstrated the value of blooming oak trees for seeing warblers in the middle of May.
Four hours later we had not left Evergreen Cemetery in Portland…a very good sign. There was just no need to move along, the birds kept coming to us. In the end we tallied a respectable 16 species of warblers, even though growing a list was not our goal. What made this workshop successful, however, was how well we saw just about all of the warblers and other songbird migrants throughout the morning.
Warblers were a highlight of course, including repeated quality time with favorites such as American Redstart and Black-and-white Warblers, the two most plentiful migrants this morning. We also enjoyed great looks at several Chestnut-sided Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, and Northern Parulas, with fantastic studies of Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Wilson’s Warbler. We also saw two newly-arrived Tennessee Warblers which aren’t always easy to get looks at. There was a good amount of song this morning, so we had chances to listen and learn many of these species as well.
Shortly after hearing a Red-eyed Vireo and my describing it as “high up and often hard to see,” we found one in the lower branches of a nearby oak, and watched it sing, forage, and do all things vireo for almost 10 minutes! Likewise, after hearing distant Ovenbirds, we had two walking around right in front of us! Beginning with a view of a Veery on the ground in the open, we saw it again as the walk ended, only a few feet in front of us for another great view and chance to observe and study.
During the morning, we chatted about migration, habitat, and the process of building the necessary toolkit to build birding skills. Finishing the walk with a quick overview of some references (we had too many birds to leave much time for anything more), we recapped a very productive and instructive morning of spring birding.
Rangeley Birding Workshop, June 6-8.
Our first overnight tour together, the Rangeley Birding Workshop was based at Bald Mountain Camps in Oquossoc, nestled on the shore of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Common Loons greeted us, but so did the rain. June of 2023 was one of the rainiest Junes on record in Maine, and we were very thankful for the wood stoves in each cabin!
Our first morning, 6/7, began at Hunter Cove Wildlife Sanctuary, with lots of singing Blackburnian Warblers. A large flock of Red Crossbills flew over, two Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were heard clearly and then glimpsed, and a variety of common warblers were detected. A confiding pair of Canada Jays was the highlight – as they often are – but even the common warblers were tough to see today, so we focused on practicing our birding by ear skills.
Enjoying our delicious boxed lunches at the Rangeley Waterfront Park, with more Common Loons offshore, we delved into an impromptu gull workshop, using each age class of Ring-billed Gull as an introduction to molt, feather topography, and identification. A 3rd-cycle Herring Gull kindly dropped in for comparison as well. In inclement weather, we take advantage of whatever learning opportunities the birds are willing to provide!
After lunch, we poked around the Mingo Spring Birding Loop, with good looks at the likes of Least Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, and Dark-eyed Juncos among others. But as rain returned, we called it a day and settled in to dry out in front of our stoves instead of an afternoon of lake-watching from the BMC property. And dinner was absolutely delicious!
Day 2 began with a brief walk around the BMC property (American Redstart, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, etc) followed by a foray over to the famous birding destination of Boy Scout Road, looking to build on the identification toolkit we worked on the previous day. We parked half the cars at one end and then walked the length of the road, birding along the way. But it was rather quiet here too – the ongoing story of June 2023. We did have some more Red Crossbills, a fantastic view -finally – of a Blackburnian Warbler, several Alder Flycatchers, and once again more Canada Jays. But this time, it was a family group of a pair with 2 juveniles in tow!
And then it began to rain. Again. A lot. But I give this group credit – they soldiered on! Of course the rain began in earnest when we were as far from either set of cars as possible, so there wasn’t really a choice, but still, spirits remained high and the birding continued. A pair of Hooded Mergansers, a singing Palm Warbler, and a Spotted Sandpiper were among the last birds of the outing, before the water had penetrated our clothing and it was time to call it a day and hope for better conditions next year!
Shorebirds Workshop, August 10.
The best way to learn shorebirds is to see them in their preferred habitats, feeding, moving, and mixing with other species, such as these Short-billed Dowitchers (a sandpiper) and Semipalmated Plovers here at Hill’s Beach in Biddeford.
An absolutely perfect day of summer weather (finally!) greeted us for this annual favorite outing. And the only thing better than the weather this day was the birding! Recent insane rainfalls have led to very high water in many of our favored high-tide, upper-marsh locales, so we focused on tidal habitats including beaches and mudflats, altering our usual routine from the start.
Beginning in Biddeford Pool, we introduced shorebirds with several Spotted Sandpipers along Ocean Avenue before jumping into the mixed species flock on Biddeford Pool Beach on the outgoing tide. There we estimated over 1,250 Semipalmated Sandpipers and 200 Semipalmated Plovers as we learned the basics of shorebird (sandpiper vs. plover) identification and began to work our way up to teasing out a couple of White-rumped Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones from the masses. 2 Killdeer in flight overhead were our only two of the day.
Kicking off our shoes to spend the rest of the morning on the sandflats of Hill’s Beach, we compared a Piping Plover to the many (400+) Semipalmated Plovers and 30 Black-bellied Plovers. A single juvenile Least Sandpiper was out of place on the beach, but offered a perfect opportunity to closely study the differences in shape, size, and overall structure to the 150 or so Semipalmated Sandpipers that were scattered about. 59 Short-billed Dowitchers gave us the chance to really observe shape and feeding styles, practicing identifying these birds both near and far.
Over at The Pool, a distant “Western” Willet joined 7 “Eastern” Willets, as we advanced into subspecific identification just briefly before stopping for lunch as the tide began to roll in.
The afternoon was spent at Scarborough Marsh, where our first two stops offered little (other than a calling Greater Yellowlegs to at least practice our shorebirding by ear) due to the very high water in the salt pannes from the recent rains. Pine Point more than made up for it on the rapidly incoming tide, however, with one heck of a shorebird show: 1500-2000 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 400-500 Semipalmated Plovers, a few more Short-billed Dowitchers and White-rumped Sandpipers, better looks at “Eastern” Willets, and the icing on the cake: a cooperative Whimbrel – our 13th species of shorebird for the day.
Practicing with our identification tool kit, we tested ourselves on finding the uncommon species among the masses, and took a moment or three to simply sit back and enjoy the show. Now that we know how approachable shorebird identification really is, we can more fully appreciate these most marvelous migrants!
Monhegan Birding Workshop, September 23-25.
Northern Gannets and two Green-winged Teal flying with 6 Surf Scoters from the ferry and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull greeting us upon our arrival seemed like a great sign for what would be a bird- and fun-filled weekend on the Migration Mecca of Monhegan.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the slowest (for both species and diversity) fall weekends I have ever experienced on the island. That being said, a big list wasn’t our goal. It was to learn birds – their ID, their migration ecology, and everything else that makes the island so special for birds and birders. And this is not tour guide spin: a slower day is better for that as we had ample opportunity to view almost everything we encountered, study them, discuss them, and luckily, what the island failed to provide in quantity, it certainly delivered in quality of observations.
On each day, we would find pockets of warblers here and there, but we kept coming back to one particular willow and a nearby thicket that constantly hosted 4-5 Cape May Warblers (photo above), 4 Yellow Warblers, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and a smattering of others. The Cape Mays put on a clinic: all four plumages from pale, 1st-fall female, to bright and spiffy adult male were on display.
Over the first day and a half, we took what the island offered, besides exceedingly pleasant weather! There was the hen Green-winged Teal feeding within three feet of us, fly-over Rusty Blackbirds in the morning, and Great Cormorants on the cliffs on an afternoon short hike to name a few highlights. The skies were punctuated by the occasional migrant Peregrine Falcon and the constantly-hunting Merlins.
Granted, we were really just looking at birds to fill the time between the incredible meals at the Monhegan House!
On our final morning, a good migration overnight produced a new arrival of birds for the “morning flight;” the concepts and nuances thereof were topics of regular discussion.
The group’s high spirits earned them a great morning, with a taste of what Monhegan birding has to offer. There were American Pipits and Yellow-rumped Warblers in Morning Flight, a flock of 10 truant Bobolinks circling around, an immature male Belted Kingfisher displaying to a very-uninterested female, more Cape May Warblers, and a surprising fly-by Wilson’s Snipe.
At one point we had four juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks dogfighting, exemplifying the difference in sizes of male vs female raptors. And the workshopping continued with Great and Double-crested Cormorants side-by-side, migrant raptors including several Northern Harriers, and more species before breakfast than we had most of the previous weekend! Speaking of breakfasts, goodness, they were good as well.
We finished up with a gull workshop on the shoreline, opening eyes to just how easy most gulls are most of the time. The advanced course was the fly-by 1st winter Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst Herring Gulls on the ferry ride back! And yes, we looked at butterflies, too!
“Warblers on the ground” was the theme of this year’s Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend tour. While Blackpoll Warblers dominated the apple piles, this Cape May Warbler was my favorite photo subject.
It’s been a crazy two weeks! Other than two wonderful weekends on Monhegan – personal and professional – and an incredibly Sandy Point Morning Flight last week, my birding has been seriously limited. With the weather pattern and so many rarities around, this was frustrating, but as of today, we have (mostly) completed our move from Pownal to Durham.
Monhegan Island, 9/22-9/26. Highlights included 1 LARK SPARROW, 6 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, 3 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, 2 DICKCISSELS, 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, 16 species of warblers, and an insane falcon show. Complete Tour Report and daily checklist here.
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/29: 6,183 migrants of 69 species highlighted by 1 BLUE GROSBEAK, 20 species of warblers, and my 195th all-time patch bird in 2 high-flying Little Blue Herons! It was a great enough day to deserve its own blog, which can be found here.
1 Brown Thrasher, here at the store, 9/29. Our second ever in the garden here.
Pownal Morning Flight, 9/30: 289 individuals of 29 species. Complete list here. Our last morning flight at our old property, with a final yard list of 136.
Monhegan Island, 9/30-10/2 with Jeannette. We were here for a friends’ event, so birding was not always the priority. Nonetheless, we had some good birds included the continuing juvenile RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, at least one continuing CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and DICKCISSEL, 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker, our first coastal Pine Siskin of the fall, a late Veery, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in every apple tree, warblers on the ground, and a big Yellow-rumped Warbler morning flight on the 1st.
And finally, there is a limited amount of space remaining on Tuesday’s Mini-pelagic out of Boothbay Harbor! Click here for more information.
This Cape May Warbler was one of many birds that escaped the strong winds by finding large flies eating rotting apples that littered the ground all over the island.
I arrived on the island on Thursday (9/22). Be happy that the tour didn’t start this day. It rained. A Lot. However, I was greeted by 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on Smuttynose Island upon my arrival: 5 adults and 1 juvenile. It turned out to be one of the highest counts ever on the island. That would also turn out to be my birding highlight of the day, as a short jaunt in the afternoon only yielded one species that I would not end up seeing with the group: a juvenile Ring-billed Gull, which is actually a very uncommon bird out here.
The sunset, however, was worth the trip, and the clearing skies foretold some good birding to come.
Overnight, a moderate migration on clearing skies brought many new birds to the island. The group met at 9:00, and we picked up the rest of the day’s participants as their ferry arrived. It was very windy today, but all day long, whenever we found a pocket of shelter, we found birds. It was mostly Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll Warblers, as expected for the date, but there was a decent smattering of diversity.
Between the winds and the raptors, birds were keeping low though! But speaking of raptors – wow, the falcon show! It was incredible. There is absolutely no way of knowing how many Peregrine Falcons and Merlins we saw today, with birds whipping by overhead. Some were hunting, and likely circling the island to do so, but it’s also possible that there was a steady flow of birds moving south, only pausing to wink at the island. It was impossible to quantify, but it was a whole lot of fun to watch!
Merlin.Immature Peregrine FalconNorthern Flickers had to stay low and out of sight to survive the day.
We enjoyed quality time with Cedar Waxwings, Monarch butterflies, and enjoyed some gorgeous Question Mark butterflies as well. White-crowned Sparrows were rather conspicuous, and we had a good lesson in duck identification with Mallards, an American Black Duck, and a hybrid thereof all side-by-side.
Black-throated Green Warbler on post-cider-making apple mash.
Wind was whipping all night long and continued to gust well over 20mph as of sunrise. With a high-pressure system building in, and powerful Hurricane Fiona passing well to our east, the wind would just not let up. Several ferries were cancelled, and if you happened to be in the room that a screen door was slamming up against all night (ahem), then maybe you were not as rested as you would have liked.
The Gray NEXRAD radar was down, but the Caribou station showed a moderate flight of birds overnight with marginally lighter winds over the mainland. A light morning flight – mostly strong-flying Blackpoll Warblers – didn’t portend a lot of birds had arrived, but pockets of White-throated Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers in places where they weren’t yesterday suggested otherwise. In fact, there were a bunch of birds around, and it was a very productive morning!
We visited with two cooperative Dickcissels that have been around for days, caught up with the lingering Lark Sparrow, and were among the lucky ones who caught up with an early Orange-crowned Warbler. All before lunch.
Dickcissels.Lark Sparrow
And while the wind continued to gust, and uncountable falcons continued to wreak havoc, anytime we found a corner of shelter, we found birds – and often lots of them! White-throated Sparrows littered the woods, and because of the wind, many birds were insanely easy to see.
One of the highlights were warblers on the ground – hatches of large flies were feasting on rotting apples below laden trees, and with no flying insects able to survive a foot into the air today, we spent a lot of time looking DOWN at warblers.
Blackpoll WarblersCape May Warbler.We also made it over to the cliffs to see what may have been in the island’s lee.Female Green-winged TealScarlet TanagerWe saved this Gartner Snake from a cat’s mouth on our way to not seeing a Red-headed Woodpecker that was playing hard to get for us.
Finally, as dusk fell, the winds subsided. Unfortunately, by early nightfall, the winds were already a little more westerly than we would have liked. Come Sunday morning, a surprisingly light morning flight, dominated by Yellow-rumped Warblers almost exclusively, reflected the lack of the northerly component overnight. Birds seemed to be in lower quantities overall – a lot of Blackpoll Warblers had apparently departed – and with calm conditions (so, so welcome), there were fewer concentrations of birds.
Throughout the day, it was relatively slow by Monhegan standards, but we just kept adding new species to the triplist, and basking in repeated stellar views. The two Dickcissels were in their usual place throughout the day, a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull continued, and later in the morning we found a Marsh Wren – very uncommon out here.
Marsh Wren
In the afternoon, we had a splendid sparrow session. We had our longest looks yet at the Lark Sparrow, but after a report of one Clay-colored Sparrow at the same spot, we arrived to find three! A Lincoln’s Sparrow even came out into the open to join the Song, Chipping, White-throated, White-crowned, and Savannah Sparrows, making for an impressive total of 7 species of sparrows from one spot! Of course, the comparative experience makes all the difference in learning these species – as most look so very different from each other. Well, most of them did, anyway! A solid 76 species were tallied by day’s end.
Clay-colored Sparrow with juvenile Chipping SparrowLark SparrowBlackpoll Warbler.
The last day of the tour was Monday the 26th, and our time was winding down. So were the number of non-Yellow-rumped Warblers. Some light showers overnight may have put a few birds down, but winds were southwesterly thereafter, and the Caribou radar (the Gray station was still down) showed little movement. The morning flight was therefore virtually non-existent.
We found an Indigo Bunting, and later, an Alder Flycatcher confused and disoriented, stuck in the ice cutting display building of the Monhegan Museum. Three Clay-colored Sparrows were still present; we had good looks at two of them at the school and had another session comparing them to the variety of ages of Chipping Sparrows they were cajoling around with. The Lark Sparrow also performed nicely for us again.
Alder Flycatcher in the museum’s ice-cutting shed. It eventually figured out the lighting and got itself out. Clay-colored SparrowTwo of the three Clay-colored Sparrows, here, with a Chipping Sparrow in the middle.
It felt very slow, especially in the afternoon, when we took time to enjoy Fringed Gentian and repeatedly “dip” on a Red-headed Woodpecker that most everyone except us had eventually seen. Yet interestingly, we kept finding new species for our day’s list, and by the time the tour ended in time to catch the 4:30 ferry to Port Clyde, we had accumulated our highest species total of the weekend – a goodly 81.
The apparent abundance of some species – such as White-breasted Nuthatch, which we conservatively estimated included the presence of 4-6 pairs despite apparent omnipresence and Blackpoll Warblers on the ground – continued to impress as well.
Blackpoll Warbler.
With today’s new additions along with Laughing Gulls on our ferry ride back, our total trip listed amounted to 95 species! So despite the strong winds that howled for the first two days of the tour, and unfavorable southerly winds for the last day and a half, our 95 species was exactly average for the 11 years we have run the trip on this same weekend. 16 species of warblers was a mere one species below average. Taking our challenging weather into consideration, I would absolutely call this a win! Plus, we were on Monhegan, so all is well, as an average day/weekend on Monhegan sure beats the same anywhere else – for so many reasons.
* denotes ferry ride only
23-Sep 24-Sep 25-Sep 26-Sep
Maine Birding Field Notes 