Tag Archives: "Eurasian" Green-winged Teal

This Week’s Highlights, 4/5-4/11/2025.

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Some Greater Yellowlegs (usually males) can look very dainty, and at this time of year have a virtually all-dark bill, suggesting Lesser Yellowlegs. Luckily, this one called to confirm, which is always helpful at this season when breeding plumage is often not fully developed.

There were not a lot of days this week that felt like spring, but spring birding was in full swing this week, at least when I was actually out in the field. Rare and once-rare waterfowl led the way once again, with an increased appearance of new arrivals of a wider range of species as well. Here are my observations of note and new arrivals over the past seven days:

  • Three Fox Sparrows continued at our home feeders in Durham through week’s end, while at least 1 continues here at the store as well.  
  • 1 continuing Brown Thrasher, 450+ Greater with a few Lesser Scaup, 350+ White-winged Scoter, 3 Swamp Sparrows, etc, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 4/5 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Eastern Phoebe at the store on 4/6 – feeding on dried mealworms from within the starling-proof bluebird feeder. This was a first for me. They rarely eat mealworms, let alone dried mealworms, and I have never seen them enter a restricted-space feeder.
  • 1drake “EURASIAN” GREEN-WINGED TEAL, Mouth of the Abby, Bowdoinham, 4/7 (with Jeannette. Perhaps the same individual I found here on 3/27 with Bill Thompson.
  • An incredible 44 Gadwall in the salt pannes at the Eastern Road Trail, Scaborough Marsh, on 4/9. This is likely a new state record high count.

My personal “first of years” this week also included:

  • 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (first of spring), here at the store, 4/5.
  • 3 Piping Plovers, Pine Point Beach, Scarborough, 4/9.
  • 14 Great Egrets, total in Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 18 Greater Yellowlegs, total in Scarborough Marsh, 4/9 (see photo above).
  • 51 Glossy Ibis, total in Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 1 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 1 Pine Warbler, Powell Point Preserve, Freeport, 4/10.
  • 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, our property in Durham, 4/11.
  • 2 Chipping Sparrows, our property in Durham, 4/11.

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch

The Week 3 report can be found here.

Upcoming Tours (with Space Available):

Evergreen Cemetery, Capisic Pond Park, Orange Bike Brewing and TBA with our partners Portland Explorer (formerly Maine Brews Cruise).

A week-long immersive skill-building seminar for beginning and intermediate birders based in Steuben.

Caption: While there have been a few nights with decent songbird migration so far this year, the night of the 10th-11th was the first one with a sizeable enough flight to be clearly detectable on the overnight NEXRAD radar. It’s on!

Recent Highlights, 3/22-3/28/2025.

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This adult Red-shouldered Hawk didn’t look very pleased about the snowfall on Monday as it
hunted voles in our yard in Durham.

As is often the case in March, waterfowl and new arrivals dominated my observations of note over the past seven days.

  • 6 Lesser Scaup with ~600 Greater Scaup, 400-450 American Black Ducks, 200-250 White-winged Scoters, 2 American Wigeon, 1 Ring-necked Duck, etc, Maquoit Bay Conservation Land, Brunswick, 3/22 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Fox Sparrows at our feeders in Durham peaked at an impressive 5 on 3/24.
  • 1 Rusty Blackbird, 6 Horned Larks, 1 pair Northern Pintails, etc, North River Road, Auburn, 3/25.
  • 4 SANDHILL CRANES (FOY), Upper Street, Turner, 3/25.
  • 1 imm. American Goshawk (FOY), Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch, 3/25.
  • 1 Rusty Blackbird, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 3/26.
  • 1 “EURASIAN” GREEN-WINGED TEAL (FOY) and 2 Wilson’s Snipe (FOY), Mouth of the Abby, Bowdoinham, 3/27 (With Bill Thompson; photos).
  • 1 “EURASIAN” GREEN-WINGED TEAL, Green Point WMA, Dresden, 3/27 (with Bill Thompson; photos).
  • 1 first-cycle Iceland Gull, Front Street Boat Launch, Bath, 3/27 (with Bill Thompson).
  • 8 Fish Crows, Bath Landfill, 3/27 (with Bill Thompson).
  • 1 Snowy Egret (FOY), Wharton Point, Brunswick, 3/27 (with Bill Thompson).
  • Total of at least 31 Bald Eagles around Merrymeeting Bay on 3/27 (with Bill Thompson).

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch

The Week 1 report can be found here.

Upcoming Tours:

  • NO BIRDWALK, Saturday 3/28 due to the winter storm.
  • Woodcocks Gone Wild scheduled for TOMORROW, Saturday, March 29th has been postponed due to the weather until Saturday, April 5th. Call for waitlist.

This Week’s Highlights: 4/1-7, 2023

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Three Evening Grosbeaks at our feeders in Durham on the 3rd was a highlight this week; they were our first here this year.

It didn’t feel like it on most days this week, but spring was still in the air. My observations of note over the past seven days included the following:

  • 3 male Evening Grosbeaks, our feeders in Durham, 4/3.
  • 1 Pine Warbler (FOY), Brown’s Point Road, Bowdoinham, 4/4.
  • I enjoyed a fantastic visit to the Mouth of the Abby in Bowdoinham on 4/4. The tally:
    • 1 drake “EURASIAN” GREEN-WINGED TEAL
    • 1 drake “EURASIAN” X “AMERICAN” GREEN-WINGED TEAL HYBRID
    • 269 American Black Ducks
    • 264 Green-winged Teal
    • 90 Canada Geese
    • 28 Mallards
    • 13 Wilson’s Snipe (FOY)
    • 11 Common Mergansers
    • 6 Ring-necked Ducks
    • 4+ Mallard x American Black Duck hybrids
    • 2 American Wigeon
    • 2 Common Goldeneyes
    • 2 Buffleheads
    • 2 Lesser Scaup
    • 1 pair NORTHERN SHOVELERS (FOY)
    • 1 pair Blue-winged Teal (FOY)
  • 1 Hermit Thrush (FOS), Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/5.
  • 2 male Evening Grosbeaks, our feeders in Durham, 4/7.

Now that I am back in the field and at work a little more, my feeder-watching at home is just a little less frequent. However, as you can see above, we had some good visitors this week. For continued weekly updates, you can follow “Feeder Watching Friday” posts each Friday on our store’s Facebook page.  This week was certainly interesting at the feeding station.

Tour Notes:

Our annual “Woodcocks Gone Wild!” trip at Pineland Farms was rescheduled to Saturday, 4/8 and we are a go. More info here.

Derek’s Birding This Week, 4/3-9/2021

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My highlights over the past seven days included the following:

  • 1 Red Crossbill, Runaround Pond, Durham, 4/3.
  • 1 drake “EURASIAN” GREEN-WINGED TEAL, Mouth of the Abagadasset River, Bowdoinham, 4/4 (with Jeannette).
  • 3 Red Crossbill, Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 4/8.
  • 1 probable WHITE-FACED IBIS (as previously reported; FOY), Rte 1/9 Salt Pannes, Scarborough MarSh, 4/9. However, it did not have particular bright bare parts or “face,” so it is either not yet in high breeding, or it could be a hybrid. My views were just a little too insufficient to be 100% sure.

And my personal first-of-years and new spring arrivals included (obviously I had not been to Scarborough Marsh in a while!):

  • 3 Wilson’s Snipe (FOS), Pineland Farms, 4/3 (with “Woodcocks Gone Wild!” tour group).
  • 1 Pine Warbler, Brown’s Point Road, Bowdoinham, 4/4 (with Jeannette)
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, Mouth of the Abby, Bowdoinham, 4/4 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Winter Wren, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/7.
  • 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (FOS), Florida Lake Park, 4/7.
  • 1 Purple Finch (FOS), feeders here at the store, 4/7.
  • 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (FOS), Bradbury-Pinelands Corridor Trail, Pownal, 4/8.
  • 1 Osprey, Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 4/8.
  • 51 Glossy Ibis, Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 14 Great Egret, Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 3 Snowy Egrets, Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 1 pair GADWALL, Pelreco Marsh, Scarborough Marsh, 4/9.
  • 3 Savannah Sparrows (FOS), Scarborough Masrsh, 4/9.