Tag Archives: Florida Lake Park

This Week’s Highlights, May 21-27,2022 (including 3 days on Monhegan)

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This Sandhill Crane was more than a little shocking as it arrived on the island and flew right over several us eating lunch before landing on the shoreline. It was a most unexpected “island-bird” for me,
and a real special treat for my client.

If I was going to top last week’s spectacular week of migration, it was going to require a visit to Monhegan. And Monhegan definitely delivered, even if the largest number of birds this week moved over the weekend, before I arrived on the island. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.

  • 17 species of warblers, led by 16 Common Yellowthroats and 9 American Redstarts, but also including 5 Bay-breasted Warblers, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/21 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (FOY), Florida Lake Park, 5/21 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 15 species of warblers, led by 11 Common Yellowthroats and 8 Yellow-rumped Warblers, Florida Lake Park, 5/22 (with clients from Maine).
  • 10 Common Nighthawks (FOY), our yard in Pownal, 5/22.
  • ~40 Short-billed Dowitchers, flying high over our Pownal yard on 5/22 (with Jeannette). Interestingly, the third record for our yard of high spring migrants.

Three days on Monhegan with a client from India on 5/23 through 5/25 yielded 91 species and 18 species of warblers.  Monday was incredible, with lots of diversity, lots of quality, and just incredible looks at everything. Blackpoll Warblers were by far the dominant migrant each day, as expected. Here are our daily highlights:

5/23:

  • 1 SANDHILL CRANE – I almost dropped my hand pie as this came cruising over the Trailing Yew, circled the meadow, and landed on the shoreline at a tidepool where observed by almost everyone on the island – birders and bird-curious alike.  Photos above.
  • 1 immature, I believe continuing, BROAD-WINGED HAWK.
  • 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo (FOY)
  • At least 4-5 Black-billed Cuckoos, including this incredible observation of such normally shy birds!
  • 1 imm. male ORCHARD ORIOLE
  • 1 EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL (FOY, and a self-found island bird from my bedroom!)

5/24:

  • 1 continuing SANDHILL CRANE. In the meadow in early morning before reportedly being observed later flying toward the mainland.
  • 1 imm. male Orchard Oriole
  • 1 continuing EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL (with client, Kristen Lindquist, Bill Thompson, and Jess Bishop).
  • 1 leucistic (and nearly pure-white but with normal bare parts) Herring Gull.

    5/25:
  • 1 female ORCHARD ORIOLE
  • 1 Green Heron (FOY)
  • 1 Wood Thrush

Our first pelagic with our partners Cap’n Fish’s Cruises out of Boothbay Harbor will run on Monday, June 6th. It includes a visit to Eastern Egg Rock and chumming deeper offshore.  Info here: https://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/pelagics

I found a Northern Parula building a nest at Florida Lake Park last week, and was enthralled
with watching its progression.

This Week’s Highlights, May 7 – May 12, 2022.

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This stunning Prothonotary Warbler headlined my best warbler day of the spring so far when I found it at Florida Lake Park early in the morning on the 12th. Details below. This photo does not do the Swamp Canary justice!

It was another slow week of migration. This week, high pressure dominated, and a northerly to easterly flow continued essentially unabated from Saturday through Thursday.  Winds were at least light enough at night that some birds fought the unfavorable conditions and “new” birds arrived almost every day, just never in large numbers. But it remains slim pickings, especially at migrant traps this week. Even on Thursday morning (more calm winds overnight allowed a few more birds to proceed) – my best day of the spring so far – numbers at Florida Lake were still very low for the date. The quality more than made up for it, however!

My observations of note over the past six days included:

  • 10 species of warblers in one place for the first time this spring – finally – but led by only 14 Yellow-rumped Warblers and 8 Black-and-white Warblers, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1-2 continuing Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, private property in Durham, 5/9 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 continuing Louisiana Waterthrush, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/11.
  • 1 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER among 15 species of warblers, Florida Lake Park, 5/12, led by ~25 Yellow-rumped Warblers and 9+ Black-and-white Warblers. The PROW was my 169th all-time species at the park!  I first found it along the base of the long dike at the north edge of the pond, as it belted out a song within about 8-10 feet from me. Foraging in low shrubs along the pond edge, in perfect light, I was of course without my camera. I did get some identifiable video and a recording of the song with my phone, before taking off in a sprint to the parking lot. I returned with my camera and eventually refound the bird when it sang again from the small wooded island in the lake (photo above), just as Noah Gibb arrived. It then flew right past me as it disappeared into the woods. It reappeared a short while later on the island and was seen by several more people. I am still kicking myself, however, for leaving the camera in the car when it was so close.  Such a stunning bird deserves a better photo.
If the owlet is asleep and doesn’t know you are even there, you are a safe distance away!
Great Horned Owl chick at an undisclosed location.

And my list of personal “first of years” this week also included the following:

  • 1 Veery, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Nashville Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow, Florida Lake Park, 5/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Northern Waterthrush, Florida Lake Park, 5/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Baltimore Oriole, our yard in Pownal, 5/7.
  • 1 Yellow Warbler, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 5/8.
  • 4 Common Terns, Wharton Point, 5/8.
  • 1 Great-crested Flycatcher, Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 5/8.
  • 4 Warbling Vireos, Green Point WMA, Dresden, 5/9 (with Jeannette).
  • 3 Least Flycatchers, Green Point WMA, 5/9 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Eastern Kingbird, Green Point WMA, 5/9 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Spotted Sandpiper, Green Point WMA, 5/9 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, private property in Durham, 5/9 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 Blackburnian Warblers, Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 5/10.
  • 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/11.
  • 1 Magnolia Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/12.
  • 1 Wilson’s Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/12 (with Noah Gibb).
For much of Tuesday afternoon, it was just me and Hawkwatch Junco at the summit of The Brad.

This Week’s Highlights, April 23-29, 2022.

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Palm Warblers were on the move this week, although concentrations remain low.

Persistent winds from unfavorable directions precluded a big push of migrants this week, but the season is slowly progressing. There were a couple of decent nights of migration this week, on Sunday and Monday nights. My observations of note over the past seven days included:

  • 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (FOY), our yard in Pownal, 4/23.
  • 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt Trail, 4/25 (with Jeannette).
  • 40 Purple Sandpipers, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 4/25 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, private property in Durham, 4/27.
  • 2 pairs of Gadwall, Pelreco Marsh, Scarborough Marsh, 4/29.

And my list of personal “first of years” this week also included the following:

  • 1 Laughing Gull, Winslow Park, Freeport, 4/23 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 House Wren, here at the store, 4/23.
  • 1 early CLIFF SWALLOW, Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 4/23.
  • 1 Blue-headed Vireo, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/24.
  • 1 RUSTY BLACKBIRD, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/29.
  • 1 Willet, Dunstan Landing, Scarborough Marsh, 4/29.
  • 1 LITTLE BLUE HERON, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 4/29.

And don’t forget, this weekend is Feathers Over Freeport! With the weather of the past three days in particular, it should be a great weekend for migrants!

Carolina Wren from the Saco Riverwalk on Sunday.

Derek’s Birding This Week, 5/8-14/2021

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It’s warbler season! This obliging Northern Parula was in the canopy surrounding the
Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch on May 14th. You know the hawkwatching season is coming to a close when there are more species of warblers around the summit than migrant hawks tallied overhead!

My highlights over the past seven days included the following:

  • 12 species of warblers led by 40-60 Yellow-rumped Warblers and 10 Black-and-white Warblers, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/8 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk Group).
  • 17 species of warblers, led by 30+ Yellow-rumped and 9 Common Yellowthroats, Florida Lake Park, 5/11.
  • 1 Rusty Blackbird continues at Florida Lake Park through week’s end; regular in early May here.
  • 1 Warbling Vireo, our yard in Pownal, 5/14 (Yard Bird #131!)
  • 18 species of warblers led by 40+ Yellow-rumped and 19 Common Yellowthroats, Florida Lake Park, 5/14.
  • 1 Evening Grosbeak (with Noah Gibb) and 4 Lesser Yellowlegs (my 164th Patch Bird here!), Florida Lake Park, 5/14.

It’s on! My personal first-of-years and new spring arrivals included:

  • 1 Magnolia Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/8 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 American Redstart, Florida Lake Park, 5/8 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Least Flycatcher, Florida Lake Park, 5/8 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow, Garcelon Bog Conservation Area, Lewiston, 5/9.
  • 2 Bank Swallows, Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch, Pownal, 5/9.
  • 1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, here at the store, 5/9.
  • 1 Great-crested Flycatcher, Florida Lake Park, 5/10.
  • 1 Solitary Sandpiper, Florida Lake Park, 5/10.
  • 14 American Pipits, Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch, 5/10.
  • 1 Eastern Kingbird, Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch, 5/10.
  • 1 Spotted Sandpiper, Florida Lake Park, 5/11.
  • 1 Wilson’s Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/11.
  • 1 Blackpoll Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/11.
  • 1 “WESTERN” Palm Warbler – rare but fairly regular in spring, Florida Lake Park, 5/11.
  • 2 Prairie Warblers, Hidden Pond Preserve, Freeport, 5/11.
  • 1 Swainson’s Thrush, Hedgehog Mountain Park, Freeport, 5/12.
  • 3 Bobolinks, Hedgehog Mountain Park, 5/12.
  • 1 Wood Thrush, Florida Lake Park, 5/14.
  • 2 Canada Warblers, Florida Lake Park, 5/14.
  • 2 Cape May Warblers, Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch, 5/14.

Derek’s Birding This Week, 4/10-16/2021

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I didn’t get out and about much this week, so my highlights over the past seven days were limited to the following:

  • 2 Evening Grosbeaks, our yard in Pownal, 4/10.
  • 4 Red Crossbills, here at the store, 4/14.

And my personal first-of-years and new spring arrivals included:

  • 1 Chipping Sparrow, our yard in Pownal, 4/10.
  • 3 Palm Warblers, our yard in Pownal, 4/10.
  • 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, our yard in Pownal, 4/10.
  • 2 Swamp Sparrows (FOS), Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/11.
  • 1 Pied-billed Grebe, Florida Lake Park, 4/14.

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.

Three Days at Florida Lake Park

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IMG_4214-edited-edited
Northern Parula

One of my favorite aspects of May is that there are “new” birds every day. Constant turnover as the flow of migratory songbirds, especially the long-distance Neotropical migrants, reaches its peak means “first-of-years” can be found almost every day. Even better, is the constant turnover and new arrivals almost anywhere we go birding.

…Including at local patches. And for me, there are few places I’d rather be than staying near home at Florida Lake Park in Freeport. I can get in several hours of birding and still make it to work in time, which is important in one of our store’s two busiest months. We’re luck to have this park only 12 minutes from our house, which makes for a perfect birding “patch.”
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Blackburnian Warbler

With an exceptionally busy week, my birding time was limited to the early mornings, but Florida Lake did not let me down. In fact, it was a lot of fun. With good diversity each day, and new birds arriving each night, there was always something new to look at. And, as is the case with loyal patch-working, the consistency of visitation makes for a nice education on the ebbs and flows of seasonal migrants.

Check out the scorecard of warblers (and a few other personal first-of-years) that I had each day this week, and note the subtle change in diversity and species dominance as the season advances. Numbers of individuals have not been huge, but numbers of species have been great for the second week of May.
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Yellow-rumped Warbler

Wednesday, 5/9.
46F, dense fog, calm.
Radar down for maintenance.

(14 species of warblers)
25+ Yellow-rumped Warblers
10+ Northern Parulas
10 Common Yellowthroats
8 Black-and-white Warblers
6 Black-throated Green Warblers
4 Ovenbirds
3 Nashville Warblers
3 Pine Warblers
3 Northern Waterthrushes
2 Chestnut-sided Warblers
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Palm Warbler
1 Magnolia Warbler

4 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (FOY)

Thursday, 5/10.
43F, dense fog, calm.
Ambiguous radar due to presence of fog that moved inland overnight, but looked good for birds, too, and possibly large flight inland.

(14 species of warblers)
22 Yellow-rumped Warblers
11 Black-and-white Warblers
7 Common Yellowthroats
5 Ovenbirds
5 Black-throated Blue Warblers
4 Northern Parulas
4 Yellow Warblers
3 Pine Warblers
2 Black-throated Blue Warblers
2 American Redstarts (FOY)
2 Blackburnian Warblers
2 Magnolia Warblers
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Wilson’s Warbler (FOY)
IMG_4421-edited-edited
Wilson’s Warbler

Friday, 5/11.
52F, partly cloudy, moderate NW.
Dry cold front passed overnight with SW to S winds shifting to W to NW by 3:00am. Very strong flight early in overnight diminished rapidly after midnight.

(18 species of warblers; very good tally for the 11th of May here)
16 Black-and-white Warblers
13 Yellow-rumped Warblers
10 Common Yellowthroats
7 Northern Parulas
7 Black-throated Green Warblers
7 Magnolia Warblers
6 Ovenbirds
4 Nashville Warblers
4 American Redstarts
4 Chestnut-sided Warblers
3 Yellow Warblers
2 Pine Warblers
2 Wilson’s Warblers
2 Blackburnian Warblers
2 Black-throated Blue Warblers
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Blackpoll Warbler (FOY)
1 Palm Warbler


And these radar images from midnight showed that it was going to be a great day!

Folks in Portland have been rewarded with daily visits to Evergreen Cemetery and/or Capisic Pond Park, while those closer to Biddeford have headed to Timber Point, for example. But regardless of where you are, there’s a local “patch” to be “worked,” or perhaps to be discovered. And there’s no better time than now!

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Palm Warbler

Three Days of Migration Watching in May -Day and Night.

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In my blog last Wednesday, I made some prognostications about what we might expect for birds in the coming days. Let’s see how I did so far.

Rain began to fall Wednesday evening, and continued, heavy at times, through Thursday morning. With a persistent easterly wind, overnight migration was non-existent. In the rain on Thursday morning, Katrina and I checked out Florida Lake Park, but found only about 20 Yellow-rumped and 10 Palm warblers – fewer than in recent days. The local River Otter pair, however, put on a great show. Nothing new under the feeders at home (or at the store), either.

Afterwards, I took a spin through the local farms and fields, but found nothing out of the ordinary; it’s too early for most shorebirds anyway. Admittedly, however, I had vagrants on my mind (and still do! As usual). Although the southerly winds conducive to southern overshoots (as I discussed in the aforementioned blog) had yet to kick in, the deep easterly flow that we have been ensconced within could offer up its own surprises. With reports of the “largest incursion of Icelandic/European birds to Newfoundland in recent memory,” including amazing tallies of European Golden-Plovers, 9 Black-tailed Godwits, North America’s 4th (or so) Common Redhank…yeah, the “Rarity Fever” in me can’t help but kick up. Perhaps something will ride one of those Iceland-Portland cargo ships that are in service these days!

Light rain continued through Thursday morning, diminishing to drizzle and fog until the afternoon, when a shift to westerly winds began to clear things out. Overnight, light and variable winds suggested a good migration should occur, but the radar wasn’t showing more than a light flight.
1am radar, 5-2-14  1am velocity, 5-2-14

However, it was foggy for much of the night, and fog can obscure the image of birds on the radar, especially if they are flying low. “Birding by radar” is not infallible, and I had a feeling it might have been a little misleading this morning. A steady trickle of Yellow-rumped Warblers moving over the yard at dawn confirmed this. The weather was just too-not-terrible for there not to be a lot of birds on the go.

So off to Florida Lake I went.  And, for a change this spring, I was not disappointed.  100+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, 20+ Palm Warblers, my first Northern Waterthrush and Black-throated Green Warbler (finally!) of the year, a singing migrant Greater Yellowlegs, and much, much more. I caught the lingering pair of Green-winged Teal copulating; are they going to breed here? Ring-necked Ducks had increased to 16 and there is still a pair of Common Mergansers here.

As the fog burned off, the sun shone brightly, and heat began to rise in swirling thermals, hawks took to the skies on the light westerly wind. I had to pull myself away from the hawkwatch kicking and screaming at 12:30, but by then we had eclipsed (at 10:35) our all-time record count of 4,474 birds when a Merlin streaked by. 388 Broad-winged Hawks and 22 Sharp-shinned Hawks were included in the total of 429 migrant raptors when I departed.

Last night’s passerine migration – yup, the fog on the radar definitely obscured the intensity of the flight! – was still evident well past noon, as Yellow-rumped Warblers were still on the go, reorienting inland after last night’s flight. Well over 200 had passed the summit by the time I departed, as did my first two Chimney Swifts and Eastern Kingbirds (also 2) of the year. And by day’s end, 705 raptors led by 583 Broad-wings were tallied, adding to our record totals. Around 4:00pm, our 5000th raptor had passed – a milestone we never thought we would reach.

Come nightfall, the radar was active once again.  Here are the 1am reflectivity and velocity images for example:
1am radar, 5-3-141am velocity, 5-3-14

Notice the dark greens in the center of the return, but overall the rather narrow diameter of the image?  My guess is that mostly overcast skies and a light westerly winds, perhaps including some turbulence from the passing cold front, kept birds low once again.  But, without fog around, it was certain that this was birds – confirmed by the distance SW-NE pattern of the velocity image, and its speed. I think it was actually a lot of birds.

And come morning, Yellow-rumped Warblers were overhead as I stood on the back porch at dawn, and the Saturday Morning Birdwalk group and I headed over to Florida Lake.  Yeah, it was good.  Very good.

In the past few days, we’ve also finally had the first couple of reports of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Baltimore Orioles, so that those have just begun to arrive.  As I mentioned the other day, food is in short supply for these backyard favorites, so feeders are going to be important for the first arrivals.

But no vagrants from the south, or East …yet!