Tag Archives: Eastern Kingbird

2023 Monhegan Spring Migration Tour Report

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Not surprisingly for the end of May, Blackpoll Warblers were the dominate migrant on Monhegan this weekend. However, we never tired of seeing both males (above) and females (below) so well each and every day.

A point-blank Bay-breasted Warbler. Up close and personal Magnolia Warblers, Northern Parulas, and 9 other species of warblers including more Blackpoll Warblers than we knew what to do with…and we hadn’t even made it up the hill of Dock Road yet!

In other words, our 2023 Spring Monhegan Migration Weekend tour got off to a great start as we really hit the ground running.  Then, a calling Evening Grosbeak. A fly-by Black-billed Cuckoo…more. Hmm… it was time to check in, and happily, shed a few layers.

After lunch, the excellent birding continued, with highlights including a flock of 10 Bay-breasted Warblers, a spiffy male Orchard Oriole, and great looks at a Philadelphia Vireo.  By day’s end, we had 59 species including 13 species of warblers – not bad for a mid-morning arrival!

Yellow Warblers (above) and Common Yellowthroats (below) were common and conspicuous in and around town and other scrubby environs as expected.

It was cool and clear on Saturday morning, and the overnight radar image was a little ambiguous. Did the light westerly wind overnight push birds offshore as they approached from the south, or was that all just pollen and smoke haze in the atmosphere? However, the radar return did suggest birds offshore in the early morning, so we were excited to find out. Afterall, I did not expect yesterday to be so good, and it was excellent.

While only a few warblers were overhead by the time we assembled around the coffee pot at 6:30, it took a while for us to leave the spruces behind the Trailing Yew, as we had a nice pocket of warblers and good early-morning activity. We teased out a Blackburnian Warbler – the only one of the weekend, and the 3 White-winged Crossbills that have been on the island paid us a visit. Later in the morning, we caught up with the stunning male Dickcissel that has been around for a while, and were among the first to see a pair of recently-arrived House Finches (a surprising rarity on the island!). We also found a flock of 10 tardy White-winged Scoters and a total of 6 Surf Scoters that briefly visited Deadman’s Cove.

After lunch, we had the female/immature Summer Tanager, a female Orchard Oriole, found an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and while the afternoon was overall rather quiet, we had lots of great studies of a variety of birds, especially Blackpoll Warblers.

Although far from one of our best birding days on the island, it was noteworthy how well we saw just about everything. Even with a full group, birds were overwhelmingly cooperative, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the birding…and another beautiful day of weather!

Many of our common warblers were easy to see, photograph, and enjoy throughout the weekend, such as this Northern Parula (above) and Black-and-white Warbler (below).

Saturday night into Sunday morning saw another ambiguous radar image, but the overall small number of new arrivals suggested that most of the return was something other than birds this day.

That being said, we started the day with one of the birds of the trip when I nearly spit out my coffee when I realized that flock of cormorants that looked strange was actually a flock of 9 Glossy Ibis.  They circled the town, looked to be pondering the town marsh, and then soared up high and over Lighthouse Hill. Incredibly rare for the island, these were a new “island bird” for me, and we felt very fortunate that we were one of the only birders (I believe only one other birder saw them at all) on the island that got to see them. The “lingering around the coffee pot at the Yew” strikes again!

As expected, it was relatively slow overall, but even after the excitement of the ibis, we continued to enjoy ourselves. We had great looks at a lot of things all morning, including common warblers like American Redstarts and oodles of Blackpolls.  We had our best looks yet of feeding Red Crossbills – they were all over the island this spring! – spotted a Peregrine Falcon, and continued to marvel at the growing flock of swirling Blue Jays contemplating a trip back to the mainland.

Ring-necked Pheasants kept us entertained as always, however.

After breakfast, we had another good find when a Purple Martin flew over us, and a bigger flock yet of Red Crossbills entertained us for a while. Jeannette arrived and joined the group to help carry my scope and to take photographs for this trip report, as well as help us find more birds.

Juvenile Red Crossbill.

It was warm and fairly slow, so I needed all the help I could get. Regardless, we added species to our trip list here and there in the afternoon, with quality surpassing quantity.  We visited the long-staying 1st year male Blue Grosbeak that has taken up residence at Lobster Cove, where, unlike most Blue Grosbeaks, it has taken to flycatching for seaweed flies in the wrack. Why it is doing this no one knows, but it was a fascinating behavior to watch. Birds and birding on Monhegan never cease to amaze!

The Blue Grosbeak.

A little later, we found an immature Broad-winged Hawk, or again, it found us, as it passed right over us as we poked around the Underhill Trail to find some birds in the shade and in cover.  It was often a struggle to find birds this afternoon, and it was downright hot!  But I heard very few complaints compared to the slow days when it’s 45-degrees, windy, and raining!

We spent a lot of quality time observing birds today, getting to know their behavior and natural history, such as these courting Cedar Waxwings.

While also practicing our field ID skills, such as Eastern Wood-Pewee.

And enjoyed whatever warblers we did encounter, including this male Black-throated Green Warbler.

Monday saw even further reduced activity, with a very summer-like feel to the birding. The migrant flock of Blue Jays built up to at least 46, a Pine Siskin must have just arrived, and some of us even spotted the Virginia Rail!  While passage migrants were few – almost all Blackpoll Warblers – we still had a great day of birding thanks to continued great views of most of what we were finding. There was a Northern Parula nest that a friend found for us to marvel at, and we had quality time once again with a family group of Red Crossbills. Watching them, especially the juveniles, eating buds and cones of Red Spruce at close enough distance to see if they were “righties” or “lefties” was memorable, and more than worth the visit. We had the male Orchard Oriole again, and paid the Blue Grosbeak another lengthy visit.

We took some time to scan the skies over the marsh while also enjoying “Lefty,” the Red-winged Blackbird with white outer primaries on only his left wing. He’s back for the second year.

One of the few birds we missed as a group all weekend was a long-staying but frustrating Snowy Egret that never seemed to stay in the same place long. It was reported at the Ice Pond while we were having breakfast, and Jeannette and I raced down to see it. The “racing” part after the new and ample breakfast buffet at the Trailing Yew may not have been the best decision, however, we got the bird! It was another island bird for me (#226) and I am glad I made the decision to skip the break to chase it, as it was long gone by the time our group arrived at the Ice Pond. I always like to get those chases out of my system before making a bad leadership decision and marching people across the island for a bird that only I cared about!  (Since they are locally common on the mainland, only an island-lister cares about such silliness).

As the afternoon wore on, the group slowly moseyed away from the Blue Grosbeak-evolving-into-a-flycatcher and made our way back to town to catch the last ferries of the weekend, bringing the tour to a close.

A friend found a Northern Parula nest under construction that we took time to marvel at. Here, the female brings some more material in to line the nest, which is nestled in a woven basket inside of large clumps of down-hanging Old Man’s Bear lichen.

However, as usual, Jeannette and I stayed around for another 24 hours to have a day off together and with friends. Leaving the brewery with one friend, I found a male Eastern Bluebird- an odd “new bird” for the date. Where the heck has he been or where did he just come from? Another Monhegan bird mystery…their migration ended a month ago.

Later, as we walked back from dinner with other friends, we heard at least three displaying American Woodcocks. The sunset was quite the stunner, too.

I wasn’t upset to not have a group on Monday, because my goodness, it was slow! I think what was left of the passage migrants cleared out overnight, and little if nothing came in. There were a few Blackpolls here and there, and maybe a few more American Redstarts than usual in the summer, but in and around town, that was about all.

So Jeannette and I decided to take a longer hike and check some oft-productive-but-less-often-birded areas. In doing so, we found a Field Sparrow on Horn Hill, and had a singing Yellow-bellied Flycatcher between Burnt Head and White Head. An adult male Sharp-shinned Hawk was a surprise – was it breeding here? – and a visit into the shaded woods added Winter Wren and Swainson’s Thrush to our weekend list.

We got excited when we saw a gray-backed, white-bellied flycatcher over at Gull Pond, but alas, it had the expected short, not-forked tail that we were hoping for!

Not including the 7 species Jeannette and I saw between 3:00 on Monday and when we departed at 3:15 on Tuesday, the tour list for the 12th annual Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend ended up a goodly 90 total species, despite only 15 species of warblers.  The overall count was better than our last two tours, but still below our long-term average. But I cannot recall four (and five) days of simply gorgeous and warm weather on any of our prior tours!  While the benign weather of late reduced the volume of migrants yet to pass through, and allowed many recent migrants to pass unimpeded overhead, I was pleasantly surprised by the final tally. It was also a high-quality list, with lots of “good” birds not seen by many in Maine away from the island. Oh, and my two island birds were nice, too!

Blue Jays are not the biggest feeder bird on this island!

Even our most common and familiar birds present speciaal photographic opportunities out here!

Species5/265/275/285/29
Mallardx10108
Mallard x American Black Duck1000
Common Eiderxxxx
White-winged Scoter01000
Surf Scoter0600
Ring-necked Pheasantx665
Mourning Dove810810
Black-billed Cuckoo1000
Chimney Swift0010
Ruby-throated Hummingbird6431
Virginia Railh.oh.o11
Semipalmated Sandpiper0010
Greater Yellowlegs0100
Black Guillemot2030x20
Laughing Gull6*216
Herring Gullxxxx
Great Black-backed Gullxxxx
Common Tern1 + 5*000
Northern Gannet0001
Red-throated Loon0100
Common Loon3*100
Double-crested Cormorantxxxx
Great Blue Heron0013
SNOWY EGRET0001**
GLOSSY IBIS0090
Bald Eagle2100
Osprey0322
Red-bellied Woodpecker0010
Merlin2210
Peregrin Falcon0010
Eastern Kingbird0022
Olive-sided Flycatcher0100
Eastern Wood-Pewee2222
“Traill’s” Flycatcher2010
Least Flycatcher2110
Eastern Phoebe1111
Philadelphia Vireo1100
Red-eyed Vireo6844
Blue Jayx484752
American Crowx46x
Common Raven0110
Black-capped Chickadeexxxx
Tree Swallow0222
PURPLE MARTIN0010
Barn Swallow1011
Golden-crowned Kinglet0010
Cedar Waxwing30504030
White-breasted Nuthatch0111
Red-breasted Nuthatch1000
Carolina Wren3 h.o.443
Gray Catbirdxxxx
European Starlingxxxx
American Robinxxxx
HOUSE FINCH0022
Purple Finch0122
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL0330
RED CROSSBILL022420
Pine Siskin0001
American Goldfinch12101212
Chipping Sparrow0011-2
White-throated Sparrow2220
Savannah Sparrow3010
Song Sparrow10Xxx
Lincoln’s Sparrow0110
Bobolink1100
ORCHARD ORIOLE1102
Baltimore Oriole1433
Red-winged Blackbirdxxxx
Common Gracklexxxx
Northern Waterthrush0010
Black-and-white Warbler3443
Tennessee Warbler8430
Common Yellowthroatx8xx
American Redstart525168
Cape May Warbler1000
Northern Parula15101212
Magnolia Warbler10868
Bay-breasted Warbler11302
Blackburnian Warbler0100
Yellow Warbler10201515
Chestnut-sided Warbler2111
Blackpoll Warbler25602520
Black-throated Green Warbler1131
Wilson’s Warbler2220
SUMMER TANAGER0100
Scarlet Tanager0100
Northern Cardinalxxxx
Rose-breasted Grosbeak3220
Indigo Bunting0110
BLUE GROSBEAK0011
DICKCISSEL0110
Day Total60666954
Warbler Day Total13131210
Trip Total90
Warbler Trip Total15
Here is the trip list four the four-day tour. * = seen from ferry only. **=not seen with tour group.

Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend, 5/26-30/2017

1 Reply

OCWA_day5
Our group found a singing male Orange-crowned Warbler, one of the best birds of the weekend.

For the 7th year spring a row (fall tours since for over a decade), I spent my Memorial Day Weekend with a tour group visiting the magical and magnificent Monhegan Island. Exactly 100 species (including birds seen offshore during the ferry crossing) later – including 18 species of warblers – I was forced to depart, already counting down the days to my two fall tours (and perhaps making some plans for a summer visit…just because).

But the usually stress-free tour (compared to the logistics of much of the rest of my summer slate) got off to a rocky start (pun intended) with the early boat from New Harbor cancelling their morning trip late in the evening on Thursday. We made plans to head up to Port Clyde instead, and early in the morning, we received confirmation that all was well with the 10:30 am departure and we were reserved on it. Phew!

The whole group rendezvoused in Port Clyde, where based on the ride, well, let’s just say we were glad we were taking a big, heavy boat with a route that is sheltered for the first half. Because once we cleared the islands, well, things got a ‘rollin! But as always, the captain of the Monhegan Boat adeptly chose the route, and we basically tacked our way to Monhegan to avoid taking the swells on broadside. It was breezy enough that we were able to avoid the rain but remain in the fresh air outside on the stern (without diesel fumes), and we even spotted two Atlantic Puffins on the trip! But as for that small gull that was wheeling off in the distance just as we hit a trough and I hit John in my scramble for a view…well, we’ll never know.

Not surprisingly, the trip took longer than usual, but it allowed us to miss the rain! We arrived shortly after noon, with just a little lingering drizzle and mist. With diminishing northeast winds, we were prepared for worse, so we were fine with merely cool, only damp, and rather slow birding. Sure was better than steady rain and wind! And there were a few good birds to track down, led by the three Cattle Egrets that had been frequenting the island – my 206th species on the island, and a state bird for most of the group, at least. They were not hard to find, and were in fact pretty hard to miss for the better part of the next two and a half days. Really, until Jeannette arrived on Sunday, but that’s a story for a different day.
CAEG

Good looks at Philadelphia Vireo, a very vociferous Sora, and a dusk vigil which resulted in very close encounters with Common Nighthawks rounded out a productive first day.
EAKI
Eastern Kingbirds spent most of the weekend foraging low along the shoreline.

5/27: Day 2.
Well, that was a cold night in the rooms! Clearly the buildings of the island didn’t have a whole lot of ambient warmth built up, and extra blankets were at a premium. And with light northeast winds overnight, little to no migration was visible on the radar or in the dawn flight, but it was our first morning on the island, so we had a lot of birding to do.

A few pockets of migrants here and there slowly built up the checklist, with occasionally goodies including the Cattle Egrets, an immature male Orchard Oriole, a good look for most of a singing Mourning Warbler, and a fleeting White-eyed Vireo. We finally caught up with a female Summer Tanager (a bona fide one, not the female Scarlet with some missing feathers near the base of her bill), and we once again finished the day with feeding nighthawks, the incessantly calling Sora, and last but not least, a displaying American Woodcock.
female_SUTA
Female Summer Tanager

BAOR
Immature male Baltimore Oriole.

BLPW
Male Blackpoll Warbler

In between, we feasted on delicious pizza at The Novelty, fueled ourselves with coffee at the Black Duck, and relaxed in the late afternoon with a beer at Monhegan Brewing (including ginger beer and root beer, too). Yeah, a slow day of birding on Monhegan is better than most days most anywhere else!
Yew_Sunset, 5-27-17_edited-1

5/28: Day 3
With some people departing on Saturday, and others joining us for Sunday, we started Day 3 with a great find: A singing Orange-crowned Warbler right outside the Trailing Yew. Well, OK, it found us, and I’ll admit to taking way too long to identify it by sound with my pre-coffee and poor-night’s-sleep foggy state. Eventually, we had great looks at it, and those who were not yet with us were able to catch up with it later in the day or early Monday morning. This is a great bird in Maine in spring. In fact, it may have been my first in Maine in this season.
OCWA

Clearing skies and calm winds overnight allowed for an impressive migration, and the Orange-crowned was just the start of a great day of birding. The first half of the day was very birdy, with lots of new arrivals and new species. It was one of those mornings that were hard to break for breakfasts…but those breakfasts are all so damn good!

We found a second White-eyed Vireo, had unusually good looks at several Swainson’s Thrushes and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, and slowly built up our triplist. It was a very good day, featuring a goodly total of 70 species.
MAWA
Magnolia Warbler
RBGR
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
WIWA
Wilson’s Warbler
YWAR
Yellow Warbler

5/29: Day 4
Light southerly winds at dusk had me optimistic as birds took to the air en masse come sunset. However, overnight, the winds shifted more easterly, shunting the flight inland, and overall, many more birds departed than arrived. With dense fog and a little mist come morning, my hopes for fallout conditions were dashed by the light to moderate easterly.

And accordingly, birding was very slow. I had a private tour for the first 2/3rds of the day, and we clawed our way through scattered small migrant flocks to find the goodies. There were definitely more Yellow-bellied Flycatchers around – including several unusually well out in the open. But the skies cleared up as the fog lifted, and we had a decent morning, a good part of which was simply spent exploring the woodlands of the interior of the island.
YBFL
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Smooth_Green_Snake
A photo session with a Smooth Green Snake was a nice treat, however.

Zippy_GreenSnake,5-28-17_edited-1

In the afternoon, Jeannette and I joined with several friends for some casual birding and conversation. Of course, once “off the clock,” my luck returned. After two of our friends had spent the weekend desperate for a good look at the Mourning Warbler, I walk by Donna’s lawn and calmly proclaim “umm, the Mourning Warbler is in Donna’s lawn.” We received permission to enter her yard, and followed it around the house for a while as it foraged around the foundation. This is not where I usually expect to see a Mourning Warbler, but we’ll take it. Unfortunately, all of Jeannette’s photos of it are of its butt.

Although it remained very slow overall, we had some really great looks at several birds we never did see on the tour, like a male Indigo Bunting, a Northern Waterthrush, and two very cooperative Olive-sided Flycatchers. We also caught up with the immature male Summer Tanager that was hanging out with the female and at least three Scarlet Tanagers – an impressive swatch of color and splendor, let alone offering good studies and comparisons.
INBU

OSFL

RedBelliedSnake2,5-29-17_edited-1
Undersides of a Red-bellied Snake
Male_SCTA
Male Scarlet Tanager
Male_SUTA
Immature male Summer Tanager

And in the afternoon, after everyone else departed, Jeannette and I happened upon a female Bay-breasted Warbler at Fish Beach that needed some help. Several mealworms later (a new species for my fed-mealworms list!) she hopped off into cover to digest. And I am happy to report that by the next morning, she didn’t need any handouts as she was actively foraging on her own.
female_BBWAfemale_BBWA_withMealworms

Jeannette and I enjoyed dinner at the Island Inn as our 24-hour vacation got underway, with Common Nighthawk, Sora, and American Woodcock serenading us on the way home.
IMG_4562-edited-edited
Willets spotted earlier in the day by Jeannette and several others as they briefly alighted on the island.

Day 5: 5/30.
It was just Jeannette and I today, and with no visible migration on the radar and expansive fog, our main plans were to sleep in for a change – and for the last time for me until July! So we did not expect to be woken up by sun shining into our windows.

Not surprisingly, I popped up and outside, and began birding with another great look at the continuing Orange-crowned Warbler. There were not a lot of new birds around, not surprisingly, but with sun shining, birds were out at edges and easy to see. The female Bay-breasted Warbler was busy catching seaweed flies at Fish Beach, joined by a companion male Blackburnian Warbler and later, a young male American Redstart.
BBWA_day5
BLBW-FishBeach
AMRE-FishBeach

We finally saw a Bald Eagle after five days on the island, and 4-7 Great Blue Herons dropped in for a visit. It was extremely quiet after breakfast, but again birds were just pleasantly visible in the sun, especially in blooming apple trees. Things like the Eastern Kingbirds, which spent most of the weekend feeding in and around patches of seaweed on the beaches were up and about, flycatching “normally” from treetops. We also slowly padded the triplist, with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (incredibly, the first woodpecker of my five days here – how did I miss the resident Downies?) and great look at a Yellow-billed Cuckoo (my first of the year, and later, a very good look at a Black-billed as well). The male Summer Tanager, at least, continued to frequent a feeding station, and a Garter Snake was my third snake of the weekend (Smooth Green on a couple of occasions, and a single Red-bellied on Monday morning).
GBHE

FISP
Field Sparrow

A little wave of presumed migrant swallows increased the number of Barn and Tree Swallows by 2-3 each, but also including 3 Bank and 1 Cliff Swallow, the final two new species of our stay.

The afternoon was quite slow otherwise, but admittedly, we spent a decent portion of the last couple of hours of the afternoon involved in conversation at the brewery, and about everywhere in between.
brewery_bins,5-30-17_edited-1

horn_hill,5-30-17_edited-1

But alas, it was time to go, on the late boat back to Port Clyde. We said our goodbyes, for now, wondering if we’ll be back next spring (depending on if that misguided wind project gets underway), but also how soon we can get back this summer!
departure,5-30-17_edited-1

While we didn’t have any puffins – or any other seabirds – on our smooth ride back, we did have a couple of Roseate Terns as we approached Port Clyde. And then it was time for the drive home, and back into entry into the real world!

Here’s the five day daily checklist:
Mallard 16-16-10-12-10
Common Eider x-x-x-x-x
Ring-necked Pheasant 0-0-1-1-1
Common Loon 0-0-2-1-3
Northern Gannet 10-0-1-3-3
Double-crested Cormorant x-x-x-x-x
Great Cormorant 0-0-2-2-1
CATTLE EGRET 3-3-2-0-0
Great Blue Heron 0-0-0-0-4
Green Heron 0-2-0-0-0
Osprey 0-0-1-0-1
Bald Eagle 0-0-0-0-1
Merlin 0-1-1-1-1
Peregrine Falcon 0-1-0-0-0
Sora 1-1-1-1-1
Greater Yellowlegs 1-0-0-0-0
Spotted Sandpiper 0-1-0-0-0
American Woodcock 0-1-0-0-0
Laughing Gull (8)-0-2-2-11
Herring Gull x-x-x-x-x
Great Black-backed Gull x-x-x-x-x
Common Tern (x)-0-0-0-0
Roseate Tern 0-0-0-0-(2)
Black Guillemot x-x-x-x-x
ATLANTIC PUFFIN (2)-0-0-0-0
Mourning Dove 4-8-6-6-4
Black-billed Cuckoo 0-1-0-0-1
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO 0-0-0-0-1
Common Nighthawk 2-2-0-1-0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2-3-3-2-3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 0-0-0-0-1
Belted Kingfisher 0-0-1-1-0
Olive-sided Flycatcher 0-0-0-2-0
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2-1-2-2-1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 0-0-3-6-0
Alder Flycatcher 0-0-1-1-0
Willow Flycatcher 0-3-3-2-1
“Traill’s” Flycatcher 1-2-0-0-0
Least Flycatcher 0-3-4-0-2
Eastern Kingbird 5-4-3-2-2
WHITE-EYED VIREO 0-1-1-0-0
Blue-headed Vireo 0-1-0-0-0
Philadelphia Vireo 1-3-4-3-2
Red-eyed Vireo 3-6-15-6-4
Blue Jay 6-8-6-6-6
American Crow 4-x-x-x-x
Common Raven 0-0-0-1-0
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 0-0-1-0-0
Tree Swallow 0-2-2-2-2
Bank Swallow 0-0-0-0-03
Barn Swallow 0-3-3-0-4
Cliff Swallow 0-0-0-0-1
Black-capped Chickadee x-x-x-x-x
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4-4-8-8-4
House Wren 0-1-0-0-0
Winter Wren 0-0-2-2-1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 0-0-6-10-4
Veery 1-0-1-0-0
Swainson’s Thrush 0-0-4-1-1
American Robin 8-10-10-12-15
Gray Catbird 20-x-x-x-x
Brown Thrasher 0-1-0-1-0
European Starling 4-6-6-10-10
Cedar Waxwing 40-40-40-30-50
Tennessee Warbler 0-0-2-0-0
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER 0-0-1-1-1
Northern Parula 3-6-8-8-8
Yellow Warbler 15-20-15-12-20
Chestnut-sided Warbler 0-4-10-8-6
Magnolia Warbler 1-3-20-10-15
Yellow-rumped Warbler 0-0-0-2-0
Black-throated Green Warbler 2-3-8-8-4
Blackburnian Warbler 0-1-6-6-8
Bay-breasted Warbler 0-1-0-1-1
Blackpoll Warbler 4-10-20-10-15
Black-and-white Warbler 0-2-2-2-1
American Redstart 6-15-40-20-10
Northern Waterthrush 0-0-0-1-0
MOURNING WARBLER 0-1-0-1-0
Common Yellowthroat 12-20-x-x-x
Wilson’s Warbler 1-0-4-1-2
Canada Warbler 0-1-2-0-1
SUMMER TANAGER 0-1-0-2-2
Scarlet Tanager 1-4-3-3-3
Chipping Sparrow 0-4-2-4-2
Field Sparrow 0-1-0-1-1
Savannah Sparrow 0-2-2-2-1
Song Sparrow x-x-x-x-x
White-throated Sparrow 0-1-1-0-1
Northern Cardinal x-8-8-8-6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1-3-3-3-4
Indigo Bunting 0-0-1-2-1
Bobolink 0-1-2-1-0
Red-winged Blackbird 15-14-x-x-x
Common Grackle x-x-x-x-x
ORCHARD ORIOLE 0-1-0-0-0
Baltimore Oriole 4-3-5-3-3
Purple Finch 2-3-2-2-1
Pine Siskin 0-0-1-0-0
American Goldfinch 10-12-10-10-8

so_many_birders2,Monhegan,5-17-17_edited-1
Just a typical Memorial Day Weekend full of birders on Monhegan!

Birds on Tap – Monhegan!

3 Replies

IMG_1030_edited-2
“Coffee Warbler” would be a better name for the Magnolia Warbler due to their affinity, and perhaps even reliance, on shade-grown coffee plantations in winter.

Beer + bird-friendly coffee + birds + migration + Monhegan + Dr. Steve Kress* = Epic.

IMG_1180_edited-2

You never know what will show up on Monhegan on Memorial Day weekend, like this female Hooded Warbler.

For a while now, I have been hinting at a big event in the works for Memorial Day Weekend on Monhegan Island. Partnering with Birds & Beans Coffee, Monhegan Brewing, and The Trailing Yew, Freeport Wild Bird Supply is pleased to announce:

Birds on Tap – Monhegan!

We have the “Birds on Tap!” lecture series at Rising Tide in partnership with Dr. Noah Perlut, and the Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! series in conjunction with the Maine Brew Bus, and now, we’re going even bigger with a weekend on the birding Mecca of Monhegan Island!
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Eastern Kingbirds.

But now we’re adding coffee to the mix, specifically bird-friendly, shade-grown, organic, and fair-trade certified – not to mention absolutely delicious – Birds & Beans coffee! Roasted right here in Maine, Birds & Beans (available at Freeport Wild Bird Supply and several other retailers around the state) coffee carries the “gold standard” of certification, the “Bird Friendly” label of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. With this level of certification, we can protect the rainforest habitat required for the Neotropical migrants that us birders flock to places like Monhegan Island in spring and fall to see.
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Want to see warblers, vireos, tanagers, and orioles? Well then we really can’t afford to lose more rainforest where these birds spend up to eight months of every year. So this year, while enjoying the migrants that pass over and through Monhegan, we’re going to work to save them. By drinking coffee…and a little beer.
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Northern Parula on springtime apples on Monhegan.

Dr. Stephen Kress will be giving a program titled: “Saving Seabirds: Lessons from Puffins and Terns”. Worldwide, about one third of all seabird species are globally threatened due to human caused threats. A recent study has shown that 70% of all seabirds have vanished in the last 60 years. Now, often at the last hour, there is a bold approach emerging to help some of the most threatened species. Dr. Kress will review how techniques developed on Maine islands have led to the restoration of puffins and terns to historic nesting islands. He will also discuss how these techniques are helping to expand breeding ranges and reduce risks to extinction worldwide while serving as a bellwether to the effects of commercial fishing and climate change. His lecture includes reviews of several inspiring and hopeful seabird restoration projects worldwide. Dr. Kress will also share the recent discovery of the previously unknown winter home for puffins- to an area known as New England’s remarkable ‘coral canyons and seamounts’ off the NE continental shelf. Discovery of the puffin wintering area provides an additional reason to protect this biologically diverse habitat.

Dr. Kress is Vice President for Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society and Director of Project Puffin and the Hog Island Audubon Camp. His career has focused on developing techniques for managing colonial nesting seabirds. In this role, he manages 13 seabird nesting islands in Maine that are home to more than 42,000 seabirds of 27 species. Each year his program trains about 25 interns; hundreds of professional seabird biologists can trace their first interest in seabirds to Project Puffin. Methods first developed in Maine such as seabird chick translocations and social attraction are now standard practice worldwide. Dr. Kress received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and his Master’s and undergraduate degrees from Ohio State University. In the summer he lives in Bremen and winters in Ithaca, NY with his wife Elissa and daughter Liliana. He is author (with Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe) of a new autobiography (Project Puffin: the Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock). The book tells the inside story of how puffins were brought back to Egg Rock and other Maine islands.

 

The Trailing Yew will be serving Birds & Beans Coffee for its guests all weekend, and there will be an ample supply available to fuel Sunday Morning. We’ll begin by sipping coffee while observing the “Morning Flight” above the Trailing Yew and keeping an eye on the spruces around the property – often one of the most productive patches on the island at sunrise! After breakfast, local experts will lead a birdwalk to some of the nearby hotspots, departing the Yew at 9:00am and returning around 11:00am.

Memorial Day weekend is prime time to view migrants on their way north, in full breeding garb, and we’ll also be seeking rarities – unusual species from all directions often show up on this weekend; expect the unexpected.

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Such as near-annual Summer Tanagers…

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… or, as in 2014, Maine’s first-ever Brewer’s Sparrow!

“But wait,” many of you are saying, “you said something about beer!” It is called “Birds on Tap!” afterall, so beer will definitely be at the forefront of this special weekend. But not just any beer, Monhegan Brewing’s fantastic beer! In fact, the event kicks off on Saturday afternoon with an exclusive, limited-edition, small-batch coffee stout brewed with Birds & Beans! “Beer-listers” will want to head out just for this one-time offering, just like birders flock to Monhegan for those once-in-a-lifetime bird sightings!
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Kenn and Kim will be signing books, birds will be discussed, and beer will be imbibed. And that’s just the kickoff!

Sold yet?

This is going to be a one of a kind event, so you’ll want to make your reservations soon. You can join my MonhegZen Birding Weekend Tour for 1, 2, or 3 days (see details on the “Tours, Events, Workshops, and Programs” page of our website) or make your reservations to spend a night on the island (our group, and our guest speakers, will be staying and dining at the Trailing Yew if you would like to join us!) and join us for some of these outstanding events…all of which are completely free (with books and beer available for purchase). Edit (5/12): NOTE: The tour is full, but all of the following events are free and open to the public, with no registration necessary.

Here’s the complete schedule of events.
Saturday, May 28th:
3:00pm – Release of Monhegan Brewing Company’s coffee-infused Milk Stout. Location: Monhegan Brewing Co.
7:30pm – Presentation by Dr. Stephen Kress. Location: community church. (Note: Trailing Yew will be offering an early dinner service at 6pm).

Sunday, May 29th:
6:30-7:30am – Casual birding while sampling B&B coffee with local experts around the Trailing Yew
9:00-11:00am – Guided birdwalk with local experts (Location: begins and ends at the Trailing Yew)

You often hear birders on Monhegan exclaim “it doesn’t get any better than this!” Except now, it has! I sincerely hope you’ll join us on the island for this fun-filled weekend, as if you needed more incentive than visiting Maine’s premier migration hoptspot!

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BBlogofinalThis. Is. Going. To. Be. Awesome.

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