Tag Archives: Clay-colored Sparrow

This Week’s (Plus) Highlights 9/22 – 9/30/2025.

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One of the stars of the show during an epic weekend on Monhegan included this Black-throated Gray Warbler that I found with my tour on 9/28. There are only 5-7 previous records of this spiffy western warbler in Maine. It was relocated by others on and off that day, and through much of the day on the 29th. The best show for everyone was when Doug Hitchcox re-relocated it a few feet from where my group and I first discovered it!
That’s when Bill Thompson got this crushing photo.

My observations of note over the last 9 days included 5 remarkable days on Monhegan Island included the following:

  • Highlights from our Durham property this period included 2 continuing Indigo Buntings and 2 Solitary Sandpipers on 9/22; 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 9/23-24; and 5 Lincoln’s Sparrows on 9/24.
  • An exceptional day in and around Biddeford Pool on the 23rd with Jeannette included a number of highlights and excellent counts of uncommon birds. Some of the most notable observations include an astounding 26 FORSTER’S TERNS together at Hill’s Beach (with scattered individuals elsewhere that may or may not have been part of this tally,  the shockingly large “irruption” of this tern – especially given the lack of a tropical system to cause it – continues); a juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON at Great Pond, a late juvenile BAIRD’S SANDPIPER on Biddeford Pool Beach, single CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS in Hill’s Beach and East Point, 12 American Oystercatchers off of Ocean Avenue, a goodly 41 Red Knots in The Pool; 7 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Hill’s Beach, and an arrival of fresh juvenile (technically 1st winter as most showed a couple of replaced feathers by now as expected) Dunlin in various locations (high of 30+ on Biddeford Pool Beach).
Forster’s Terns
Baird’s Sandpiper
Clay-colored Sparrow
  • 2 Marsh Wrens, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 9/24.
  • 2 Ruddy Ducks (First of fall), 1 Dunlin, 1 Pectoral Sandpipers, etc, Sabattus Pond, 9/25.
  • It was like the good ol’ days on Monhegan for my tour group this weekend. I was on the island with the tour 9/26-9/29, and then enjoyed a day off with Jeannette on 9/30. I’ll have a complete tour report posted next week (including rarity photos), but for now, the mind-blowing list of rarities and excitement for my group and I included the following:

1 BELL’S VIREO, 9/28 (refound by my group after being discovered by Jess Bishop and Bill Thompson on 9/28).

1 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, 9/28-29 (Found by my group, on 9/28 and refound by m.obs on 9/29).

1 immature female PAINTED BUNTING, 9/26 (independently identified – eventually – by my group and Bill Thompson).

1 YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, 9/27

1 WESTERN KINGBIRD, 9/27.

21 total species of warblers.

Up to 2 Lark Sparrows daily beginning 9/28.

Up to 6+ Clay-colored Sparrows daily.

Up to 3 Dickcissels daily

Up to 2 Orange-crowned Warblers daily beginning 9/27.

1 American Bittern, 9/26-9/27.

Up to 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls daily.

1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 9/26.

1 Red-bellied Woodpecker, 9/28.

1 Nelson’s Sparrow, 9/27.

1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo on 9/29 (with my group) and 1 Black-billed Cuckoo on 9/30 (with Evan Obercian and Jeannette).

Upcoming Tours with Limited Space Available:

October 5, 2025   – 9:00am

​​Join us on a special cruise dedicated to off-shore birding: a collaboration with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises offering half-day “mini-pelagics!” We’ll seek out the rare and common seabirds that occur in our nearshore waters, but we will always have the hope for something unexpected. Derek will team up with the boat’s expert naturalists to spot, identify, and point out pelagic seabirds. Chumming efforts will provide opportunities to attract the birds in for better photo ops and viewing. While we’ll stop to look at any whales and whatever other interesting sea life we encounter along the way, it is the feathered wildlife we’re searching for, and will be focused on.​​

This annual fall excursion gives a chance at some very sought after pelagic species, such as Great and South Polar Skua. More likely species include Northern Fulmar; Black-legged Kittiwake; Pomarine and Parasitic Jaeger; shearwaters – Great, Sooty, Cory’s, and possibly even Manx; Leach’s Storm-Petrel; Razorbill and Atlantic Puffin; Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, and much more. With the later departure date this year, we hope for more jaegers and a better chance at Great Skua, along with the chance at more early-arriving alcids.

Each of our four October trips have been very different, with each year providing some unexpected highlights. Once again, we will be chumming at at least one hotspot, and we’ll have an additional spotter who will keep dedicated eBird lists for those who so desire and want it shared with them. 

October 6, 2025; 9:00 – 12:00

THREE SPACES JUST OPENED WITH A CANCELLATION.

Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for eagles, migrant waterfowl, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common resident and migratory water and shoreline birds of the region, including photographic opportunities whenever we can.

​Conditions and tide permitting, we’ll poke around the mouth of Maquoit Bay and especially up into Middle Bay, two of the richest areas for waterfowl concentrations.  If we can find a mass of American Black Ducks, we’ll scour them for a variety of other dabblers, such as Green-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers.  Some of our wintering and migratory bayducks, such as Surf and White-winged Scoters will just be arriving, and Common Loons begin to build in for the winter.

October 19, 2025; 9:00am – 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. 

During last year’s wildly successful outing in which we became the first birding group ever on the island, we found oodles of Yellow-rumped Warblers, an uncommon Field Sparrow, and other migrants. But we were truly captivated by Captain Pete, who guided us through the historic fort, sharing a wealth of historical knowledge and fascinating stories. The beer was pretty darn good too, as we sampled the history of Maine’s craft beer scene. 

Building on that success, we’re visiting the private House Island in Portland Harbor twice in 2025. 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!  

Returning in late October, once again rarities will be on our mind. While rare birds are rare, we are still going to expect the unexpected. But more likely are regular migrants of the season such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, a variety of sparrows, and a growing diversity of waterbirds. At the very least, we’ll have resident waterbirds and several species of gulls to sort through. We are having daydreams of a rare flycatcher!

As we motor back across the harbor, we’ll continue to familiarize ourselves with some of the common waterbirds, such as Common Eiders, Common Loons, and the vanguard of our winter diving ducks while enjoying a local craft beverage produced in the city of Portland. While the exact plan is subject to change, we’ll be sure to come up with a plan to adequately celebrate our discoveries – or the one that got away! 

2024 Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend Trip Report

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It might not “count,” but the Ring-necked Pheasants on Monhegan are iconic!

Approaching the island on Friday, 9/27, the fog was rapidly lifting on the mainland, and the skies were clearing. High seas from the previous days were steadily diminishing. An offshore fogbank reduced our chances to see many birds during the boatride, but by the time we reach the island, the sun was shining through.

Things seemed fairly slow, but there were birds here and there. One single bush hosted all three Melospizas: Lincoln’s, Swamp, and Song Sparrows, and one of the tarrying Baltimore Orioles soon joined them.  It was a relaxed start to the weekend, affording us time to check in and enjoy lunch before returning to the birding.

We don’t just look at rare birds, we study the common ones…at least on a slow day!
Like this cooperative Song Sparrow

The afternoon was quite slow, as expected from the preceding nights with little or no migration on unfavorable winds, but we had birds to look at: Yellow-rumped Warblers sallying for midges at the top of spruces, scattered assorted sparrows, lots of great Merlin performances, and no shortage of Ring-necked Pheasants.

As usual for the end of September, Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most abundant migrant. This one was nicely demonstarting what makes it a “Myrtle Warbler.”

As the sun set, a huge flight was taking off and continued throughout the night. Very light northwesterly winds overnight were a little lighter than I would have preferred, but there was just a massive amount of birds on the move, and a great Morning Flight on Saturday morning to start our day was indicative of that.

The radar return was huge overnight, with lots of birds on the move. We did wonder, however, if that blob over the Mid-Coast was an isolated shower…or perhaps it was “Independence Day!“

Yellow-rumped Warblers filled the air, with handfuls of Blackpoll Warblers and a small number of Northern Parulas.  After the morning flight settled down, the rest of our am was also very good. While the very light winds allowed much of the birds partaking in the Morning Flight to leave the island, there were plenty of birds remaining on the island to be seen. In addition to Yellow-rumps, there was a good arrival of White-throated and other sparrows, and pockets of activity were sifted through, producing a wide array of fun birds.

A Dickcissel in the community farm and a total of 6-7 Baltimore Orioles nearby were soon trumped when a first fall female Mourning Warbler actually walked into the open for all to see (for a change) …on a plywood garden table nonetheless!  We found a Clay-colored Sparrow feeding amongst Chipping Sparrows, discovered a rather rare on the island Pine Warbler, and enjoyed a nice variety of the expected seasonal migrants.

Clay-colored Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow with a molting juvenile Chipping Sparrow in the foreground.

Lovely weather all day encouraged us to enjoy an afternoon on Burnt Head, were we picked up a tardy Chestnut-sided Warbler and a rather rare in the fall on the island juvenile Ring-billed Gull. We also noticed a lot more Red-eyed Vireos during the course of the day, with many at and below eye level.

Baltimore Oriole
Northern Mockingbird
Indigo Bunting

While a rare Yellow-crowned Night-Heron called over the harbor at nightfall, I was wandering on my own so it doesn’t count for the group, unfortunately. I was still pleasantly surprised by it, and it punctuated the calls of songbirds departing the island.

Luckily, a moderate flight occurred throughout the night (the overall intensity was a little obscured by fog on the radar images) on light west winds that had become calm by morning. Those calm and cooling conditions allowed fog to roll back in, and the Morning Flight was just a trickle to start on Sunday morning, our last morning together.

However, once the sun burned through, birds were in the air and appearing out of nowhere, and the birding really picked up. In flight, it was mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers, but there were more Palm Warblers involved today. We began finding “new” species for the trip list, like a Cape May Warbler, some recently-arrived American Robins, and we enjoyed watching a swirling flock of 16 migrant Black-capped Chickadees.

Late Blackburnian Warbler

After breakfast, the birding was overall quite a bit slower than Saturday, but the quantity was replaced by quality!  An Orange-crowned Warbler at the Ice Pond, a continuing female Dickcissel in the cul-de-sac, two different Clay-colored Sparrows.  Pockets of activity offered up nice views of a male Cape May Warbler, a few Blackpoll Warblers, and then we found not one, but 3 Nelson’s Sparrows in the Lobster Cove meadow – one even perched conspicuously enough to be viewed by all!

Nelson;s Sparrow sitting in what passes for “the open” with this species!
Dickcissel

As the group trickled home, the last participants standing joined me in a little longer hike from Lobster Cove to Burnt Head, which yielded two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, more Great Cormorants, and yet another Orange-crowned Warbler to bring the official tour to a productive conclusion.

I remained on the island overnight, and with light southerly winds and a return of the fog, there was very little in Morning Flight and to start the day. But the day had a “rarity” feel to it (southwest winds overnight will do that!), and my Rarity Fever was soon stoked by a wayward Yellow-billed Cuckoo that sat still for me, gaining the first rays of sunshine of the morning, in a small tree in the Monhegan House lawn. Two Rusty Blackbirds were foraging on the lawn, and once the sun came up, a few more Yellow-rumped Warblers began to appear.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

But as Jessica Bishop and I began a post-breakfast search, the What’s App began to ping. Ken and Sue Feustel had just found an Ash-throated Flycatcher on Wharton Ave, and we did a quick 180 and began the march back across town. The ample Trailing Yew breakfast was weighing on me, however, so my speed could have been improved. Nonetheless, the bird had disappeared before we arrived, so we fanned out to search.

After a short spell, I relocated the bird behind the Trailing Yew, and Jess rushed over and we began photographing it as the rest of the island’s remaining birders convened, including Donna the last member of my to depart. And she was quite happy with the decision to linger to say the least! (The tour was officially over, so this gem doesn’t count for the official triplist…darn!)

We studied the flycatcher, and I made sure to get a shot of the tail that would be adequate for identification confirmation (to rule out an even rarer Myiarchus flycatcher). Here, you can see the outer tail feather on one side, showing the dark brown of the outer web intruding into the end of the inner web –  diagnostic for Ash-throated.

This was my 227th Monhegan Bird, and the island’s 3rd-ever, of this southwestern vagrant. What a bird!

While the rest of the day was a little anticlimactic from a birding perspective, Jeannette arrived and we set out to search for the now-missing Ash-throat and whatever else we might stumble upon. Two Clay-colored Sparrows were now together, one of the Orange-crowned Warblers was still at the Ice Pond, and at least one Nelson’s Sparrow was still at Lobster Cove.  At dusk, two Wilson’s Snipe launched out of the town marsh, and at sunset, a migrant Great Blue Heron flew over.  No sign of the Ash-throat for the rest of the day, unfortunately.

Orange-crowned Warbler
Peregrine Falcon

On Tuesday, Jeannette and I awoke to a strong flight on the overnight radar image, but as expected on a north to north-east wind by dawn, only fairly a light Morning Flight occurred. Made up of at least 95% Yellow-rumped Warblers, it was a little busier than I expected, but it ended by about 7:00am. Granted, at least two hunting Peregrine Falcons may have had something to do with that.

We watched a Wilson’s Snipe evading a Merlin in flight, and some more new species for the weekend were overhead, including a Horned Lark, an Osprey, and a Semipalmated Plover. There were at least a half-dozen American Pipits in morning flight, and a new-to-us Brown Thrasher put in an appearance.

Red-eyed Vireo

After breakfast, it was exceeding slow, but we did have a Dickcissel in the garden, and a Scarlet Tanager joined the remaining Baltimore Orioles in the grapes. But most of our morning was spent chasing a reported Yellow-headed Blackbird (seen by two and never again) and Will Russell briefly relocated the Ash-throated Flycatcher – which looked much healthier today and was much more active. In other words, it was soon once again melting away into the scrub. It kept us occupied until it was time to depart, however.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

A very pleasant boat ride back to the mainland for Jeannette and I was far too nice to produce any seabirds of note, but it was a lovely way to finish up a delightful and fruitful fall weekend.

Here’s the official tour checklist:

27-Sept28-Sept29-Sept
American Black Duck001
Mallard81216
Green-winged Teal001
Common Eiderxxx
Black Scoter008
Ring-necked Pheasant151525
Mourning Dove101512
Black Guillemotxxx
Laughing Gull8*02
Ring-billed Gull010
Herring Gullxxx
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL002
Great Black-backed Gullxxx
Common Loon1*00
Northern Gannet2*01
Double-crested Cormorantxxx
Great Cormorant015
Bald Eagle2*01
Sharp-shinned Hawk244
Belted Kingfisher101
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker02020
Downy Woodpecker243
Northern Flicker31515
Merlin686
Peregrine Falcon234
Eastern Phoebe033
Blue-headed Vireo034
Red-eyed Vireo13025
Blue Jay9139
American Crow444
Common Raven011
Black-capped Chickadeexx30
Golden-crowned Kinglet41540
Ruby-crowned Kinglet21020
Cedar Waxwing304040
Red-breasted Nuthatch286
Brown Creeper044
House Wren010
Carolina Wren51010
Gray Catbird10xx
Northern Mockingbird223
European Starlingx2626
Hermit Thrush010
American Robin002
American Pipit033
Purple Finch045
American Goldfinch10108
Chipping Sparrow01012
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW012
Dark-eyed Junco042
White-throated Sparrow155060
NELSON’S SPARROW003
Savannah Sparrow1610
Song Sparrowxxx
Lincoln’s Sparrow154
Swamp Sparrow21520
Rusty Blackbird042
Common Grackle22020
Baltimore Oriole276
Northern Waterthrush010
Black-and-white Warbler003
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER002
Nashville Warbler030
American Redstart010
MOURNING WARBLER010
Common Yellowthroat0810
Cape May Warbler013
Northern Parula11515
Blackburnian Warbler002
Yellow Warbler021
Chestnut-sided Warbler011
Blackpoll Warbler62515
Black-throated Blue Warbler001
Palm Warbler13020
PINE WARBLER021
Yellow-rumped Warbler20150100
Black-throated Green Warbler0103
Wilson’s Warbler010
Northern Cardinal8106
Rose-breasted Grosbeak101
Indigo Bunting011
DICKCISSEL11-21
Day Total446873
Warbler day total41514
3-Day Tour total=81
Plus with Jeannette after the group and on my own =13
Total warblers =19+1
Molting juvenile Cedar Waxwing learning how to eat Winterberry.

And the additional species seen by me without the group, on Monday, and on Tuesday:

  • 1 YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, 9/28.
  • 1 American Kestrel, 9/30
  • 1 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, 9/30
  • 1 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, 9/30
  • 1 Magnolia Warbler, 9/30
  • 1 Semipalmated Plover, 9/30 and 10/1.
  • 2 Wilson’s Snipe, 9/30 and 1, 10/1
  • 1 Great Blue Heron, 9/30 and 10/1
  • 1 Northern Harrier, 10/1
  • 1 Horned Lark, 10/1
  • 1 Brown Thrasher, 10/1
  • 1 Osprey, 10/1
  • 1 Scarlet Tanager, 10/1
Blackpoll Warbler

Recent Highlights, 6/13 – 6/22/2024.

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Thanks to Mike Williams for allowing me to share his photos of this amorous pair of Red-necked Grebes along Ocean Avenue in Biddeford Pool. We’ve had 1-2 Red-necked Grebes “oversummering” here for the last few years, and last year I observed some rudimentary nest building from a pair (also with a stunned tour group). But we did not expect to see them, get, uh “that into it,” with courtship, nest-building, and even copulation. Unfortunately, as you could see, the “nest” was below the high tide line, so there’s not much chance of success here.  A freshwater wetland breeder that nests no closer than central Quebec, this is odd behavior in a very odd place!  It was amazing to watch though, and anytime we get to see Red-necked Grebes in full breeding plumage is a highlight on its own.

Like last week, much of my time was spent with our local breeding birds. From my personal “mini-breeding bird surveys” to a 7-day tour for Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, the birds that call Maine home in summer were once again the “targets” and the highlights, from Saltmarsh Sparrows and Roseate Terns to Grasshopper Sparrows and our wealth of warblers.

However, June is a good time for oddities. During the course of enjoying our usual species, I encountered the following observations of note over the past 10 days:

  • 3 (!) RED-NECKED GREBES, 16 total Black Scoters, 3 Surf Scoters, etc, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 6/16 (with Martin Hagne and Denise).
  • After being excited to find the 3 breeding plumage RED-NECKED GREBES the day before, we were shocked to find 4 the next day, all calling, and one pair courting and copulating!  Photos and more details above. (with Gulf Coast Bird Observatory tour group).
  • 2 American Oystercatchers, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1+ Black Scoter, Ocean Avenue, 6/17 (with Gulf Coast Bird Observatory tour group).
  • 1 Surf Scoter, Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth, 6/17 (with Gulf Coast Bird Observatory tour group).
  • 2-3 singing CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, Kennebunk Plains, 6/18 (with Gulf Coast Bird Observatory tour group).
  • 4 Glossy Ibis, Sanford Lagoons, Sanford, 6/18 (with Gulf Coast Bird Observatory tour group).
  • 3 COMMON MURRES, etc, Eastern Egg Rock via Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, Boothbay Harbor, 6/21 (with Gulf Coast Bird Observatory tour group).
  • 1 Great Shearwater, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 48 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, 2 Fin Whales, etc, Cap’n Fish’s whale watch out of Boothbay Harbor, 6/21 (with Gulf Coast Bird Observatory tour group).

Recent Highlights, 6/2 – 6/12.

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Little Blue Herons have declined in Maine, so it was nice to find my second of the year in an untraditional location. This 1st summer bird was in the marsh behind Seapoint Beach in Kittery on the 2nd.

Typical later migrants, such as Blackpoll and Magnolia Warblers, and a variety of flycatchers, were still moving in and through, especially during the first week of June. Then, my gears rapidly shifted to breeding birds on tours, events, surveys, and just general birding enjoyment. Quality time with boreal breeders in the Rangeley area and specialties such as Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows, Roseate Terns, etc here at the coast were the usual highlights of the first half of June, both personally and professionally.

In addition to the regular breeding birds we seek – again, both personally and professionally – it’s also a good time of year for unexpected birds in unexpected places, and just general good birding. Some of my additional, less expected observations of note over the past ten days included:

  • 1 immature male and 1 female ORCHARD ORIOLE (FOY), and 1 late Red-throated Loon, Fort Foster, Kittery, 6/2.
  • 1 1st summer LITTLE BLUE HERON, Seapoint Beach, Kittery, 6/2. Photo above.
  • 6 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 Semipalmated Plover, and 3 Short-billed Dowitchers, Wells Harbor, 6/2.
  • A visit to the Kennebunk Plains on 6/4 with Jeannette yielded 2 singing CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS (one continuing male near “Clay-color Corner” and one about half-way between there and the main parking lot on the eastern loop trail).  2 UPLAND SANDPIPERS, 6 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, and at least 11 Red Crossbills were also detected.
  • 2 RUDDY DUCKS, 1 drake Northern Shoveler, etc, Sanford Lagoons, 6/4 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 pair Cape May Warbler, 1 Wilson’s Warbler, 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher, Palm Warblers, displaying Wilson’s Snipe, family of Canada Jays, etc, Dallas Plantation, 6/7 (with Matt Young).
  • Fun to be in the field with Matt Young for the Rangeley Birding Festival and hear him describe (and hopefully me learn!) Red Crossbill call notes. There weren’t many around, but we did encounter both Type 12’s and Type 4’s. Meanwhile, scattered birds continue to be widespread down here at the coast.
  • 7 Turkey Vultures, over downtown Rangeley from porch of Parkside and Main, 6/7 (With Matt Young and Birds on Tap! event group for the Rangeley Birding Festival). Less than 10 years ago, a single was unheard of.
  • 1 Semipalmated Plover, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 6/11 (with clients from New Jersey).

Tours and Events:

  • Due to tours, there will not be a Saturday Morning Birdwalk on either 6/22 or 6/29.

Recent Highlights, 12/9 – 12/15, 2023

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I had a nice photo session this morning with White-throated Sparrows at the Saco Riverwalk. I enjoyed watching them extracting the seeds from crabapples, the opposite of true frugivores that consume the flesh and cough up or poop out the seeds.

It’s been a productive seven days, with this week’s highlights being decidedly wintery in nature. ‘Tis the season!

  • 7 Red Crossbills, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 12/9 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, Hunter Road, Freeport, 12/9 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).

It’s never a good sign when you must circle the bird in your attempt at a documentation shot! I got one shot off before it flew.

  • 2 Red Crossbills, our property in Durham, 12/10.
  • 39 total WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS in scattered small groups, and 54 total Pine Siskins, Long Falls Dam Road, Somerset County, 12/12 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Northern Shrike (first of season), our property in Durham, 12/13.
  • 1-2 Swamp Sparrows, Tidewater Farm Preserve, Falmouth, 12/14.
  • 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Saco Riverwalk, 12/15.

NOTES.

Since we’ve had a mix of “the birds are back!” and “there are still no birds at my feeders” at the store recently, I wrote an updated blog talking about the season and the inconsistencies we are seeing with overall feeder activity, which is posted here:

Why There Are Not (or, maybe there are now) Birds at Your Feeders, December 2023 Edition.

Recent Highlights, 10/21 – 11/3, 2023

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I tried birding less (Doctor’s orders!) recently, but it’s such a tough time to do that. Luckily, this time of year is so fruitful that even reduced birding resulted in a number of sightings of note. Between rest days and a shelter-in-place order, I minimized birding to aid in my recovery. Slowly, however, I was getting out more and for more time.

  • 4 Field Sparrows and 1 fly-over Snow Bunting (FOF), Waterboro Barrens Preserve, 10/23 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Indigo Bunting, 1 “Western” Palm Warbler, 2 Field Sparrows, etc, private property in Cape Elizabeth, 10/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 continuing WESTERN CATTLE EGRET, Blackrock Farm, Kennebunk, 10/27 (with Dan Nickerson). Photo above.
  • 1 continuing PURPLE GALLINULE, Rogers Pond Park, Kennebunk, 10/27 (with Dan Nickerson).
  • 1 Red Crossbill, Otter Brook Preserve, Harpswell, 10/29 (with Harpswell Heritage Land Trust tour group).
  • 2 Field Sparrows and 5 Horned Larks, Pott’s Point, Harpswell, 10/29 (with Harpswell Heritage Land Trust tour group).
  • Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 11/2 (with Dan Nickerson): 591 Ruddy Ducks, 289 Mallards, 107 American Black Ducks, about 80 mixed Lesser and Greater Scaup, 68 Buffleheads, 19 Canada Geese, 15 Northern Pintails, 13 Hooded Mergansers, 8 Common Mergansers, 7 American Wigeon, 7 Green-winged Teal,  6 Common Goldneyes, 2 Horned Grebes, 1 female Long-tailed Duck, 1 female Red-breasted Merganser, etc. etc.

Meanwhile, here in the yard, the season was rapidly changing. Starting this period with lots of Savannah and Swamp Sparrows around, they had mostly petered out by week’s end. Song Sparrows remain strong, albeit in somewhat reduced numbers, but White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos have finally begun to increase.

We’re down to just a couple Yellow-rumped Warblers in the yard now, but a few late-ish migrants have included a Red-eyed Vireo and Common Yellowthroat on the 25th, and the occasional small group of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are still trickling through.

Pine Siskins and Purple Finches have been near-daily fly-overs, with the occasional Purple Finch visiting the feeders, building to 8 by 10/26 and a few Pine Siskins finally visiting the feeder on 11/1. Our American Goldfinch flock remains strong, however, with 20-25 continuing, splitting time between the feeders and the weedy margins of the property (especially Evening Primrose). Siskins and Purple Finches continued to pour into the area in the last days of October. Multiple large flocks of siskins and at least 20+ Purple Finches were in the Otter Brook Preserve in Harpswell, on the 29th, for example, and more are being reported at feeders in the area now.

Now that we are in November, the attention turns towards the water…and migrant traps for rarities!

TOURS and EVENTS:

All of our tours for 2023 are now complete, not including Saturday Morning Birdwalks of course. Keep an eye on the Tours page of our website, as we’ll soon begin adding more 2024 outings.

Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend, Sept 2022.

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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 Falcon
Northern 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 Warblers
Cape May Warbler.
We also made it over to the cliffs to see what may have been in the island’s lee.
Female Green-winged Teal
Scarlet Tanager
We 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 Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Blackpoll 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 Sparrow
Two 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

Canada Goose 8 18 19 8
Wood Duck 0 1 1 1
American Black Duck 2 2 1 1
Mallard 15 24 24 24
Mallard x American Black Duck Hybrid 1 1 1 1
Green-winged Teal 0 1 2 1
Common Eider x x x x
Ring-necked Pheasant 20 12 12 8
Mourning Dove 20 15 18 18
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 2 1 0
Semipalmated Plover 0 0 1 0
Killdeer 0 0 1 0
Solitary Sandpiper 1 1 1 0
Black Guillemot 2 6 2 6
Laughing Gull 0 0 0 2*
Herring Gull x x x x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL 2 0 1 1
Great Black-backed Gull x x x x
Common Loon 0 0 0 1
Northern Gannet 10 10 8 20
Double-crested Cormorant x x x x
Great Cormorant 0 0 0 3
Northern Harrier 0 0 1 0
Osprey 4 4 2 2
Bald Eagle 1 0 1 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 0 2 2
Belted Kingfisher 1 1 0 0
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 12 10 20
Downy Woodpecker 2 2 2 2
Northern Flicker 30 40 20 30
American Kestrel 1 2 3 4
Merlin 8 15 10 10
Peregrine Falcon 10 10 5 5
Eastern Wood-Pewee 0 1 0 1
Alder Flycatcher 1 0 0 1
“Traill’s” Flycatcher 0 0 0 1
Least Flycatcher 1 1 0 0
Eastern Phoebe 6 4 4 6
Red-eyed Vireo 10 10 6 8
Blue Jay 8 6 18 12
American Crow 6 4 4 4
Common Raven 1 2 2 2
Black-capped Chickadee x x x x
Golden-crowned Kinglet 0 0 4 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 2 6 6
Cedar Waxwing 50 2 38 38
Red-breasted Nuthatch 15 10 6 10
White-breasted Nuthatch 4 6 4 4
Brown Creeper 0 0 1 1
House Wren 0 0 1 2
Carolina Wren 3 3 4 4
MARSH WREN 0 0 1 0
Gray Catbird 6 8 6 10
Brown Thrasher 1 0 0 0
European Starling 18 18 18 18
Veery 0 0 1 0
Swainson’s Thrush 1 6 3 4
American Robin 4 4 8 12
American Pipit 1 1 1 0
Purple Finch 14 8 4 4
LARK SPARROW 0 1 1 1
American Goldfinch 8 10 14 14
Chipping Sparrow 0 10 15 15
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW 0 0 3 3
Dark-eyed Junco 2 10 6 10
White-crowned Sparrow 2 4 8 8
White-throated Sparrow 26 150 50 50
Savannah Sparrow 1 4 3 4
Song Sparrow 20 30 20 20
Lincoln’s Sparrow 0 0 2 2
Swamp Sparrow 0 0 1 2
Baltimore Oriole 2 2 6 6
Red-winged Blackbird 0 1 1 1
Bobolink 0 0 1 0
Rusty Blackbird 0 0 6 0
Common Grackle 12 24 24 24
Black-and-white Warbler 1 1 0 0
Tennessee Warbler 0 15 3 3
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER 0 1 0 0
Nashville Warbler 0 4 1 1
American Redstart 0 2 0 2
Common Yellowthroat 8 10 4 10
Cape May Warbler 5 10 6 6
Northern Parula 1 7 4 2
Magnolia Warbler 2 0 0 0
Yellow Warbler 5 3 2 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 0 0 0 1
Blackpoll Warbler 50 75 20 15
Palm Warbler 2 4 10 6
PINE WARBLER 0 2 0 0
Yellow-rumped Warbler 70 50 50 75
Black-throated Green Warbler 5 3 0 1
Scarlet Tanager 0 2 2 2
Northern Cardinal 6 8 8 10
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 0 0 1 3
Indigo Bunting 1 0 0 1
DICKCISSEL 2 2 1 1

Day Total 67 71 80 81
Warbler day total 10 14 9 12

4-Day Tour total= 95
Plus on my own before the tour =2 (Ring-billed Gull and Tree Swallow)
Total warblers = 16

Blackpoll Warblers were the “migrant of the weekend” with unforgettable views and quality time each day.

This Week’s Highlights, June 4 – June 9, 2022

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Wilson’s Storm-Petrels were the bird of the week. Incredible numbers, especially for this early in the
pelagic season, are now in our offshore waters.

My observations of note over the past six days, with my tour season in full swing, included the following:

  • 2 NORTHERN FULMARS and 1100+ Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, Cap’n Fish’s Whale Watch, Boothbay Harbor, 6/5.
  • Boothbay Mini-Pelagic with our partners, Cap’n Fish’s, Dan Nickerson, and Jeannette on 6/6.

7 Razorbills among the puffins and terns at Eastern Egg Rock.

Unbelievable estimate of 2600 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels offshore. Massive early-season numbers continue in the Gulf of Maine from Massachusetts at least to the Mid-coast of Maine.

Complete trip report here.

Upcoming pelagics from both Boothbay Harbor and to Seal Island NWR from Stonington are listed here.

  • 1 continuing CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, 1-2 UPLAND SANDPIPERS, 10+ Grasshopper Sparrows, etc, Kennebunk Plains, 6/7 (with Jeannette).
  • And finally, here is my full trip report (including daily lists) of my Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend tour on May 27 – May 31.
2022 Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Tour Report.

2022 Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Tour Report.

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With so many great views of Black-billed Cuckoo(s) each day over the weekend, it was hard to argue against this being the bird of the trip. It was unusual how well, and how often, we saw this usually reclusive bird.

How about we just fast-forward to Sunday?  Sunday was delightful.

After two quiet days, which I will eventually confess to, we had a bunch of birds. And no fog. And colorful birds in good light. The pre-breakfast loop was actually downright great, with a good variety of warblers. One copse of trees alone featured 3 Blackburnian Warblers, 4+ Blackpoll Warblers, 2 each of Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, American Redstart, and 1 Magnolia Warbler

It was nice and birdy after breakfast as well, with more Blackburnian fun, a single Cape May Warbler, and a nice birdy walk through the woods (Winter Wren, Carolina Wren, and House Wren singing one after another) to Whitehead where we actually got to see the ocean – and a Great Cormorant for those visiting from afar. Bird activity and birdsong was pleasantly consistent throughout the day, and in most places we visited.

We caught up with a continuing immature male Orchard Oriole for all to see, and while perhaps one could argue it was still fairly slow for Monhegan by Memorial Day Weekend standards, it was a lot better than Friday and Saturday! In fact, the 59 species and 11 species of warblers was more than the first two days combined. A few of us who stayed out late even got to see an American Woodcock as it displayed over Horn Hill at dusk. It was a good day. 

Blackpoll Warbler was definitely the migrant of the weekend. Besides being by far the most numerous passage migrant, they constantly offered crippling views throughout the tour. The male is above, and the female is below.
This American Robin nesting in lobster traps was a delight to watch. The parents had to run a gauntlet of 5 or 7 traps to enter and exit the nest. It was a great demonstration of how lobster traps work.
Laura shows off her handiwork. Hey, on a slow day, I’ll take all of the birds I can get!
Northern Parula
Immature male Orchard Oriole

Friday got off to a rocky start. Really rocky actually, as in few people were even able to keep their breakfast down on the two ferry rides. Dense fog and near-zero visibility resulted in virtually no birds being seen, and well, let’s just not talk about these boat trips anymore…it was one of the worst I have ever experienced on the way to or from. Thankfully, I am not predisposed to feeling how many people felt upon arrival, but it was still a challenge to shake it off, and all of us were moving slowly by day’s end.

The sheltered waters of Deadman’s Cove were deceiving, but I think you get the idea!

Of course, it didn’t help that there were so few birds around! The huge wave of birds that arrived the previous weekend had cleared out, and nothing had arrived to take their place over the last few nights. With such strong winds, it was a challenge to find sheltered pockets, and when we did, we didn’t find many with many birds.  Only Blackpoll Warblers were to be seen in numbers.

That being said, what we did see – especially the aforementioned Blackpolls and the continuing world’s most cooperative Black-billed Cuckoo(s) – we saw really well. A few of us even saw the Virginia Rail for a second. The dense fog also precluded scanning the water, so our checklist is even more pitiful for the day. Ring-necked Pheasants put on a show though, from confiding snazzy males to adorable little chicks.

There was no shortage of Cedar Waxwings this weekend, with numbers growing in the final two days of our stay.
We definitely took advantage of the lull in birding to do some botanizing, including taking the time
to stop and smell the Twinflower (Linnea).
What migrants were around, however, were often low, close, and confiding, such as this Red-eyed Vireo.

I had hopes for Saturday – it really couldn’t be any worse than Friday anyway! – based on the forecast. However, only a light flight was detected on the radar overnight, despite light southerly winds. It was mostly cloudy, but I couldn’t help to wonder if we were just running out of migrants.

Rain that could have resulted in a fallout of what little was airborne overnight didn’t arrive until after sunrise, but it only caused a 20-minute delay to the start of the day. That was it though, and certainly we were lucky that Saturday was not the washout that was predicted as of a few days prior. It was still slow, but once again, we had exceedingly great looks at everything that we did encounter, including more quality cuckoo time, a stunning male Indigo Bunting that was just glowing in the soft light, Blackpoll Warblers, Northern Parulas, American Redstarts, and more colorful splashes to brighten another gray day. And it wasn’t raining.

But it’s hard to sugarcoat just how slow it was – like Mid-June-kinda slow. Luckily, the fog lifted just long enough to see some waterbirds, and we took advantage of that for an impromptu gull workshop. 

A tease. The fog returned shortly thereafter.
It was news to me that Red-backed Salamanders were on the island. Upon finding that out, our Saturday afternoon walk in the woods featured a lot of log-rolling to sample. Apparently, they are rather widespread, as we found them throughout the spruce forest of the next few days.
Sunsets on Monhegan are always memorable, but Saturday night’s was even more exciting
as it meant an end to two days of solid fog.
Tomorrow would be better, this scene promised. And it most certainly was!

A brief shower at dinnertime ushered in a cold front and skies began to clear at dusk, with the fog finally lifting.  That led to the delightful Sunday I was talking about.  And Monday wasn’t too shabby either, as we again started the day without fog, a very light wind, and evidence of some bird migration on the radar overnight. And, with the southwesterly flow continuing, we had even higher hopes for finding the “mega” that would make up for the so-far lackluster species list.

Starting the morning with a Black-billed Cuckoo sunning itself in a tree right in front of the Trailing Yew was a solid start, and there were more Eastern Wood-Pewees and a decent number of Blackpoll Warblers around.  Again, a rather slow day by Monhegan standards, but we really had more great looks at everything we did see. Today’s magic tree was by the Ice Pond, with a pair of Blackburnian Warblers, a pair of Blackpoll Warblers, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and finally a Bay-breasted Warbler.

We also finally had some rarity excitement. First, a Spizella sparrow flushed in front of us and a very quick glimpse in the scope suggested a Clay-colored Sparrow, which is a great bird in the spring. But just to be sure, we searched for it, but to no avail. Luckily, its identity was confirmed the next morning went it put on a show in the exact same spot it didn’t want to return to today.

Later, a female Purple Martin made an appearance…OK, fine, I could not completely rule out a Gray-breasted Martin. I was trying.

The tour officially concluded in the afternoon, but Jeannette and I remained to enjoy a 24-hour vacation.  Don’t worry, you didn’t “just miss” something, as all we had new in the afternoon was a Savannah Sparrow.

It’s already baby bird season!
Cedar Waxwings were the most numerous passerine on the island – or at least, the most obvious, with a flock of 60 that grew to at least 150 by Tuesday afternoon.
Common Yellowthroat.
Eastern Kingbird

Also, don’t worry that you missed the day Monhegan legends are made of on Tuesday. You did not.  It was still fairly slow, but we had a little uptick in diversity. The pulse of late-migrating flycatchers that I had expected finally arrived, there was a good Northern Gannet show off Lobster Cove in the morning, and a steady trickle of commuting Atlantic Puffins in a small sample of afternoon Lobster Cove seawatching.  

Eastern Wood-Pewee

We picked up three Willets well offshore to the south from Lobster Cove in the morning, eventually following them into the harbor where they landed for a spell.  As for that “probable” Clay-colored Sparrow that was nagging me all afternoon and night, well, I am thankful that it returned to the exact same spot as where we first glimpsed it. I received a text that it had been observed, photographed, and confirmed by others, and it obligingly remained long enough for us to catch back up with it.

Clay-colored Sparrow

Overall, there were many fewer warblers around on Tuesday, likely as many of the passage migrants had departed overnight.  But it would have been nice if this diverse day with several quality birds and good seawatching fell during the official tour!

The 11 species we added after the group tour ended therefore were as follows:

  • Savannah Sparrow
  • White-winged Scoter
  • Surf Scoter
  • Atlantic Puffin
  • WILLET
  • Alder Flycatcher
  • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
  • Bobolink
  • Pine Siskin
  • Hermit Thrush
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker (where were you hiding these past 4 days?)
Common Eiders
Black Guillemot
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Ring-necked Pheasant. No need to work on primary projection beyond the tertial step to identify this one!

Furthermore, on the Hardy Boat back to New Harbor, we added 2 Red-necked Phalaropes (personal first-of-year) and a Razorbill.  With those 13 species, we had a total of 88 species over the 5 days, with a couple of more “quality” birds and that would have produced a much more respectable tour list! But alas.

So yes, by Monhegan standards, it was a pretty slow weekend. In fact, the 75 species on Friday through Monday was a record low (by two) for this annual tour. 16 species of warblers wasn’t too bad (last year’s soaker only produced 10), and we had some great birds. We also had such good looks at so many things, especially those – like Black-billed Cuckoo – that just don’t give such great looks very often, let alone daily! 

Here is the official trip list (not including the 13 additional species from Monday afternoon through Tuesday evening when we got off the boat in New Harbor):

*denotes ferry ride only
27-May28-May30-May31-May
American Black Duck1+chicks1+chicks1+chicks1+chicks
Mallard14+chicks16+chicks12+chicks10+chicks
Common Eiderxxxx
Ring-necked Pheasant6+chicks6+chicks4+chicks5+chicks
Mourning Dove810616
Black-billed Cuckoo1121
Chimney Swift0010
Ruby-throated Hummingbird1121
Virginia Rail1h.o.h.o.2
Sora0h.o.h.o.h.o.
Greater Yellowlegs0101
American Woodcock0010
Black Guillemotx83050
Laughing Gullx*164
Herring Gullxxxx
Great Black-backed Gullxxxx
Northern Gannet1*010
Double-crested Cormorantxxxx
Great Cormorant0011
Osprey0013
Belted Kingfisher0011
Merlin0010
Eastern Kingbird4466
Eastern Wood-Pewee1138
Willow Flycatcher0122
Blue-headed Vireo00h.o.0
Red-eyed Vireo23410
Blue Jay44148
American Crowxxxx
Common Raven0001
Black-capped Chickadeexxxx
PURPLE MARTIN0001
Barn Swallow0022
Golden-crowned Kinglet01081
Cedar Waxwing60606080
Red-breasted Nuthatch0221
House Wren2242
Winter Wren00h.o.0
Carolina Wren0h.o.21
Gray Catbirdxxxx
Brown Thrasher0022
European Starlingxxxx
Eastern Bluebird0001
Swainson’s Thrush0h.o.00
American Robin888x
Purple Finch0121
American Goldfinch681015
Chipping Sparrow0010
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW0001
Song Sparrowxxxx
Red-winged Blackbird8151515
Common Gracklexxxx
ORCHARD ORIOLE0011
Baltimore Oriole0010
Ovenbird0001
Northern Waterthrush0h.o.00
Black-and-white Warbler0132
American Redstart56128
Common Yellowthroat10151515
Cape May Warbler0010
Northern Parula48108
Magnolia Warbler1163
Bay-breasted Warbler0001
Blackburnian Warbler0043
Yellow Warbler34810
Chestnut-sided Warbler0021
Blackpoll Warbler1083020
Black-throated Blue Warbler00h.o.0
Black-throated Green Warbler0414
Canada Warbler0100
Northern Cardinal6445
Indigo Buntingh.o.112
Day Total37486259
Warbler Day Total6101212
4-Day Tour Total=75
Total Warblers=16
A cuckoo a day keeps the birders….coming back.

Additional (non-Sandy Point) Highlights This Week, 10/2-8, Pelagic reminder, and Monhegan trip report.

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This Savannah Sparrow contemplated walking across the channel instead of flying over the water during Morning Flight at Sandy Point.

A few observations of note away from the Morning Flight over the past seven days for me included:

  • 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 10/2 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk).
  • Overall, it was a great week of sparrow migration, with a nice high count on 10/8 from Wolfe’s Neck Center of 125 Song, 100 Savannah, 75 Swamp, 25 White-throated, 2 White-crowned, and 1 Lincoln’s.
  • Sabattus Pond season is underway as well!  On 10/8, I had early-season tallies of 76 Ruddy Ducks (first of fall), 33 Lesser Scaup, 18 Greater Scaup (first of fall), 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers (first of fall), etc.

Notes:

  • And I’ve finally posted my tour report from Monhegan, 9/24-9/28. The blog includes photos and daily checklists:
2021 Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend Tour Report.