Tag Archives: Caspian Tern

Recent Highlights, 8/19 – 8/25/2024

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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).
  • 2 continuing adult RED-NECKED GREBES, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 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).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 30, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • RED KNOT: 1 ad and 1 juv, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • STILT SANDPIPER: 1 continuing adult, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/19 (with Jeannette) and 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Sanderling: 17, Hill’s Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • DUNLIN: 1 fresh juvenile (FOY), Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Least Sandpiper: 100+, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 6, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1250, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 16, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER: 1 adult, Walsh Preserve, 8/19 (with Jeannette). Photo below.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 3, Ocean Avenue, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations and dates this week.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 54, Walsh Preserve, 8/19 (with Jeannette).
  • “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.

This Week’s Highlights, 9/2-9/8, 2023

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It was a good week for Caspian Terns, and it’s always a treat to see one sitting still. This adult was on the Lubec Flats on the 4th.

A busy week of birding included our annual late summer/early fall trip to Washington County and a bunch of guiding, producing the following observations of note:

  • 25-30 Common Nighthawks, over Chebeague Island in the mid-morning, 9/3 (with The Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust birdwalk group).
  • 1 juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERON, 1 CASPIAN TERN, 1 Great Egret, 5 Surf Scoters, etc, Lubec Flats, Lubec, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • A relatively slow morning in Head Harbor Passage from Eastport on 9/5 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends) was most noteworthy for the continuing large numbers of COMMON MURRES. I tallied 109, but that seems very conservative. We only had 4 Razorbills and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Quiet time with just us and a Fin Whale more than made up for it though.
  • The afternoon whale watch on Eastport Windjammers to the same waters that day (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, and Jeannette) yielded an adult LITTLE GULL, 3 CASPIAN TERNS, 1 late ARCTIC TERN, 2 Great Shearwaters, etc. Incredibly experience with 2 Fin Whales, 1 Humpback Whale, and 1 Minke Whale though.

We always enjoy our quality time with Black-legged Kittiwakes in the Head Harbor Passage area at this time of year.

  • 2 American Pipits (FOF), Sanborn Cove, Machiasport, 9/6 (with Jeannette). Interestingly, we had pipits at a number of places throughout the day, with a high count of 22 at Addison Marsh, Addison.
  • 1 Great Egret, Addison Marsh, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Great Egret, Essex Marsh, Bangor, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • 3 SANDHILL CRANES, Plymouth Pond, Plymouth, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • High count for warbler species in our Durham backyard this week was 11 on 9/7 (with Angela Woodside).
  • 3 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/8 (with clients from Texas).
  • Great whale-watching trumped the bird-watching again this week with 3 lunge-feeding Fin Whales off of Boothbay Harbor aboard Cap’n Fish’s Cruises on 9/8 (with clients from Texas). 3 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, 1 Great Shearwater, 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, 10 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels and making it back to shore before the violent thunderstorms add to the success of the trip!

Meanwhile, my shorebird high counts this week were as follows. While reduced in diversity by a lack of visitation to southern Maine shorebird hotspots, Downeast yielded some excellent numbers and I found some uncommon species in unexpected places for a goodly total of 18 species (“shorebird season” is far from over!):

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 1, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/8 (with clients from Texas).
  • Black-bellied Plover: 75, Lubec Flats, Lubec, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • Killdeer: 56, Mayall Road, Gray, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 600, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 1, flying 10 miles off of Boothbay Harbor, 9/8 (with clients from Texas). Odd sighting of a single juvenile bird circling the boat repeatedly in hazy conditions where the mainland was not visible.
  • Sanderling: 24, Popham Beach State Park, 9/8 (with clients from Texas)
  • BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 1, Yarmouth Town Landing, 9/2 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Least Sandpiper: 25+ Sanborn Cove, Machiasport, 9/5 (with Jeannette).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 125!, Lubec Flats, 9/4.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 2500-3000!, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 juv, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 4, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • American Woodcock: 1, over Rte 1, Pembroke, at dusk on 9/5 (with Jeannette).
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 1, multiple locations.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, over our yard in Durham, 9/2.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 9, Yarmouth Town Landing, 9/2 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 2, Red Point Nature Preserve, Lubec, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: 7, Passamaquoddy Bay, Eastport-New Brunswick, 9/5 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends).

This Week’s Highlights: September 5-9, 2022

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Incredibly, there are still White Ibis in the Webhannet Marsh of Wells. Present since 8/10, I had at least 7 birds on the 9th, including a group of 6 that was relatively close to Drake’s Island Road.

After returning from a weekend in Massachusetts, I was unfortunately unable to get in much birding over the past six days, other than our yard and morning dogwalks. However, our yard in particular has been very productive, including over a dozen species of warblers and three continuing juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.  Furthermore, since the storm pulled away, dead calm nights have precluded any drifting of migrants and therefore there wasn’t a single morning where I attempted a morning flight count at Sandy Point. Therefore, my observations of note over the past 5 days was limited to Friday, when I actually went birding. The highlights included:

  • 1 adult with 1 juvenile CASPIAN TERN and four Common Nighthawks, Seapoint Beach, Kittery, 9/9.
  • 1 immature Great Cormorant, The Nubble, Cape Neddick, 9/9.
  • 7 continuing WHITE IBIS, Webhannet Marsh, Wells, 9/9. 1 distant to the south of Harbor Road and 6 close to Drake’s Island Road in the early pm high tide.

Tomorrow (Saturday, 9/10) is our second Zeiss Day here at the store. We’ll have a full range of Zeiss products to test drive during our morning birdwalk, and day-long hawkwatch.  For more information, see this link on our website.

The weather conditions precluded time at Sandy Point this week, but I was also suffering from peep withdrawal. Luckily, I had 255 Semipalmated and 12 Least Sandpipers to sort through at Kittery’s Seapoint Beach on Friday morning. Couldn’t tease out a rarity though, but I tried.