One of three Fox Sparrows that appeared last week at the store and continued into this week, with one present through week’s end.
It was one of those weeks with lots to do, and therefore I didn’t get out as much as usual, as if often the case in the buys holiday shopping season. Nonetheless, when I was out (or inside watching feeders), there was plenty of good birding to be had. “Late/lingering” species continue to dominate the news.
3 Fox Sparrows continued at the feeders here at the store through 12/8, with a single bird continuing through week’s end.
1 drake and 1 hen Barrow’s Goldeneye, Winslow Park, Freeport, 12/7 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). Early compared to recent years here.
1 Wilson’s Snipe and 1 American Wigeon, Moody Marsh, Ogunquit/Wells, 12/8.
1 immature Red-shouldered Hawk, 1 Northern Flicker, and 1 Swamp Sparrow, Community Park, Wells, 12/8.
1 Fox Sparrow, our feeders in Durham, 12/10-12.
1 FISH CROW (my first inland Dec/winter record), Auburn Riverwalk, 12/13.
1 drake Green-winged Teal, North River Road Boat Launch, Auburn, 12/13.
1 GRAY CATBIRD, 2 Hermit Thrushes, and 2 Fox Sparrows, North River Road, Auburn, 12/13.
Snow Buntings and Horned Larks were encountered in a bunch of locales this week, and Turkey Vultures are clearly no longer rare in early to mid December in southern Maine!
This molting juvenile (into 1st winter) Stilt Sandpiper was one of a goodly 8 that were in the salt pannes along the Eastern Road Trail through Scarborough Marsh on the 19th.
With numerous nights of clear and calm conditions, or northerly winds, migration continued in earnest almost every night this week. Meanwhile, a couple of days of onshore winds have helped push record numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls to the Maine coast. My observations of note over the last week were as follows:
It was a big week of sparrow migration as well. For example, we had an estimated 100 each of Song and Savannah Sparrows, 25 Swamp Sparrows, etc, at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport on our Saturday Morning Birdwalk on the 21st.
8 juvenile/1st winter STILT SANDPIPERS and 1 juvenile AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/19.
An incredible 42 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (all but 4 were adults);1 adult presumptive LESSER BLACK-BACKED X HERRING GULL HYBRID (perfectly intermediate in all characteristics); 1 ad with 1 juvenile CASPIAN TERN; and 1 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/20.
1 Snowy Egret, Auburn Riverwalk, 9/22.
Highlights from morning birding on our Durham property this week included near-daily Philadelphia Vireo, continuing Indigo Buntings, multiple Lincoln’s Sparrows daily beginning on 9/19, the arrival of Palm Warblers on the 21st, a late YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO on 9/22, a bog arrival of Swamp Sparrows on 9/24, and late-ish Scarlet Tanager and Magnolia Warbler on 9/25.
Five of the 38 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Popham Beach on the 20th.
UPCOMING TOURS:
Our annual half-day pelagic with our partners Cap’n Fish’s Cruises out of Boothbay Harbor is only 2 ½ weeks away! Join us on this annual favorite on October 14th – a nice, late date that should put us more in the season of things like Great Skua. More info and link to registration is here.
Although not in Maine, this spiffy adult Sabine’s Gull was the icing on the cake of an incredible day in Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick on 9/4 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends). An impressive concentration of gulls was led by 5,000-8,000 Bonaparte’s Gulls, 5,000 Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, and also including 20+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 20-30 Laughing Gulls (also Ring-billeds and Black-legged Kittiwakes). It was the best concentrations of birds we have experienced here in several years.
With our annual early fall weekend with friends to Washington County, a productive eight days of birding included the following observations of note:
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/3: 355 total migrants led by 105 Northern Parulas and 88 Cedar Waxwings, and also including a single BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER (Only my 4th morning flight record). Complete tally here.
4 Red-breasted Mergansers, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/5 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends).
1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Roque Bluffs State Park, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
1 juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, Jones Creek, Pine Point, Scarborough, 9/10 (with Jeannette).
Our Durham property continues to impress during migration. Another week with at least 15 species of warblers detected in the yard, and highlights including Philadelphia Vireo on several days and a Brown Thrasher at our feeders 9/8-9.
Based on the progressing season, and my upcoming schedule, this was the last week I focused on shorebirds. As always, my peak shorebird season culminates with our visit down east. There are plenty of shorebirds left to enjoy (and count), but my final shorebird “high counts” report of the season – including a goodly 20 species this week – is as follows:
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 4 (2 ad with 2 juv), Pine Point, Scarborough, 9/10 (with Jeannette).
Black-bellied Plover: 8, Pine Point, 9/10 (with Jeannette).
Killdeer: 14, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 9/8.
Semipalmated Plover: 71, Pine Point, 9/10 (with Jeannette).
Whimbrel: 3, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/5 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends).
Brandon Baldwin and Kevin Harding found this American White Pelican off Wharton Point in Brunswick on the 24th. My “lunchbreak chase” ended up taking a few extra hours, but it was more than worth it when a small group of us were treated to the bird flying right over our heads at the end of the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land trail. Luckily, it wasn’t any closer when it decided to lighten the load, as caught in action here.
It was an exceptional week of late summer birding. Once again motivated by shorebirds, I ran into quite a few other species of note while working the usual hotspots. My non-shorebird observations of note over the past 7 days included:
Common Nighthawks were on the move this week, while some other widespread migrants and frequent visitors to our Durham property included American Redstart and Yellow, Black-and-white, Magnolia, Tennessee and Cape May Warblers.
1 adult Little Blue Heron and 2+ Surf Scoters, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/21 (with Anniversary Day Birdwalk group).
2 FORSTER’S TERNS, 2 CASPIAN TERNS, and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
1 female LONG-TAILED DUCK and 2 Surf Scoters, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 2 Cape May Warblers, etc, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 8/24 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/24. A State Bird for me, it was found about an hour earlier by Kevin Harding and Brandon Baldwin. After it was displaced by a passing airboat, I arrived at about 12:30 and relocated it on the rocky ledge at the southern end of the bay. Brandon and I cut the distance in more than half by walking out to the end of the Maquoit Bay Conservation Land trail. Although closer, the light was brutal, but a small group of us waiting until the tide had inundated the ledge. Then the pelican took off. First it started heading south, but circled back, passed directly overhead (see photo above) and then gained altitude high over Wharton Point before disappearing off to the north.
26 Surf Scoters, Maquoit Bay Conservation Land Trail, 8/24 (with Brandon Baldwin).
Meanwhile, fueled by a successful 19-species “shorebird mini-Big Day on 8/23 with Noah Gibb, my shorebird high counts for a total of 20 species this week were as follows:
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 2, Little Whaleboat Ledges, Casco Bay, 8/25 (with Birds of Casco Bay Boat Trip tour group).
Black-bellied Plover: 150+, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
Killdeer: 26, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/21 (with Anniversary Day Birdwalk grpup).
Semipalmated Plover: 400, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
Piping Plover: 1, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
“Eastern” Willet: 3, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
Greater Yellowlegs: 8, Royal River flats, 8/25 (with Birds of Casco Bay Boat Trip tour group).
An adult LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was a fun find for Jeannette and I this week at the Walsh Preserve in Freeport. It could have been closer, but this photo shows some of the pertinent identification features in the bird to the right including the larger size and very round shape, hunched back, and uniformly reddish tone throughout much of the undersides.
Far from being my best shot of the week, our Saturday Morning Birdwalk group enjoyed 2 Stilt Sandpipers at Freeport’s Walsh Preserve. Here’s one of them (pardon the lousy hand-held phone-scoped photo) flanked by Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs for a perfect comparison. Instructional shorebird identification was the name of the game for my tours this week!
Two shorebird-focused tours, plus a few mornings out on beach/mud on my own produced some solid shorebird high counts. My species list and a few high counts would have been added were in not for the rapidly-approaching thunderstorm as my Shorebird Workshop group arrived at Hill’s Beach on the 15th! Landbird migration is really picking up as well, with lots of the expected early warblers on the move, including a Cape May Warbler at the Walsh Preserve in Freeport (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) on the 17th.
Non-shorebird observations of note this week:
28+ continuing Surf Scoters, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/12.
2 Common Nighthawks (First of fall), over our property in Durham, 8/13.
2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
6 Surf Scoters, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 8/16.
Shorebird high counts this week:
Black-bellied Plover: 91, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/12 (with Jeannette).
Killdeer: 35, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/12 (with Jeannette).
Semipalmated Plover: ~300, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Least Sandpiper: 20+, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
White-rumped Sandpiper: 12, Pine Point, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Semipalmated Sandpiper: ~1750, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group). Honorable mention of ~1200 at Pine Point on 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Short-billed Dowitcher: 8, Popham Beach State Park, 8/16.
Spotted Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations this week.
“Eastern” Willet: 14, Pine Point, 8/15 (with Down East Adventures Shorebird Workshop tour group).
Greater Yellowlegs: 41, Wharton Point, 8/13 (with Jeannette).
Tours and Events:
The 20th Anniversary Celebration Month is underway here at the store. All the details can be found here, including a silent auction for conservation, and several chances to win a new pair of binoculars!
Two of the three Lesser Black-backed Gulls present at Hill’s Beach in Biddeford on the 8th included these two 3rd-cycle birds, seen here with a likely 4th cycle Herring Gull for a nice comparison.
Once again, I focused on shorebirds this week, and not surprisingly the non-shorebird highlights I encountered were while looking at said shorebirds. Meanwhile, passerine movement is really ramping up, with lots of early warblers like Yellow, American Redstart, and Black-and-white on the move. Some of the other migrants on our Durham property this week included Canada Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Bobolink, and Barn Swallow.
3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (one 1st-summer; with Dan Gardoqui and two 3rd-summers arriving later), Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/8.
The adults of a lot of species of shorebirds are peaking now, and a growing number of juveniles are arriving, providing for some good numbers at a variety of locations. Shorebird high counts this week:
Black-bellied Plover: 86, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/8.
Killdeer: 21, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 8/5 (with Jeannette).
Semipalmated Plover: 150+, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/11 (with Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! Tour group).
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1500+, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/8 (with Dan Gardoqui).
Short-billed Dowitcher: ~40, The Pool, 8/8 (with Dan Gardoqui).
Spotted Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations this week.
Solitary Sandpiper: 1, several locations this week.
Lesser Yellowlegs: 71, Walsh Preserve, 8/9.
“Eastern” Willet: 18, Pine Point, 8/11 (with Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! Tour group).
“WESTERN” WILLET (FOY): 1, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/8.
Greater Yellowlegs: 12, Wharton Point, 8/6 (with Jeannette).
Tours and Events:
The 20th Anniversary Celebration Month is underway here at the store. All the details can be found here, including free raffles for dinner (get your tickets in soon; drawing on Wednesday!), a silent auction for conservation, and several chances to win a new pair of binoculars!
Birds of Casco Bay with Seacoast Tours, originally scheduled for 8/4, has been postponed until Sunday, 8/25. Call Seacoast Tours to see if any spaces have opened up.
This Ovenbird on our property paused for a moment as it enjoyed a snack it pulled from the leaf litter.
The migratory floodgates really opened this week, as expected, with the diversity of Neotropical migrants increasing dramatically. Days like the 7th and 8th are truly special, but any day birding – especially in May! – yields its own rewards. My observations of note over the past seven days also included:
10 species of warblers (FOY) led by ~40 Yellow-rumped Warblers and 25+ Black-and-white Warblers, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/6 (with Jeannette).
15 species of warblers (FOY) led by 100+ Yellow-rumped Warblers and 13 Black-and-white Warblers, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/7.
~40 Chimney Swifts, over downtown Portland at dusk, 5/4 (with Jeannette).
4+ Common Terns, Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, 5/5 (with Harpswell Heritage Land Trust birdwalk group).
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird, our property in Durham, 5/6.
1 Cape May Warbler, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/6 (with Jeannette).
5 Common Yellowthroats, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/6 (with Jeannette).
1 Solitary Sandpiper, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/6 (with Jeannette).
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler, our property in Durham, 5/6.
1 YELLOW-THROATED VIREO (a little early), Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/6 (with Jeannette).
3 Least Flycatchers, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/7.
3 Magnolia Warblers, Florida Lake Park, 5/7.
2 American Redstarts, Florida Lake Park, 5/7.
1 Scarlet Tanager, Florida Lake Park, 5/7.
1 Veery, Florida Lake Park, 5/7.
1 Blackburnian Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/7.
Since I had not been in Scarborough Marsh in a few weeks, a number of personal first-of-years on 5/7 for me that have been present for a while now included Lesser Yellowlegs, Glossy Ibis, Willet, and Least Sandpiper, while more recent arrivals included 1 Least Tern (Pelreco Marsh) and 1 Spotted Sandpiper (Pelreco Marsh).
1 Warbling Vireo, our property in Durham, 5/8.
1 Wilson’s Warbler, our property in Durham, 5/8.
2 Bobolinks, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 5/9 (with Dan Nickerson).
Although it had moved further away by the time I arrived, I managed a few phone-scoped photos of the Loggerhead Shrike that graced Chandler Brook Preserve and nearby yards in North Yarmouth on 4/21.
It was a great week of birding, with an impressive fallout on Saturday morning, a local mega rarity, and more new spring arrivals. My highlight of the week was catching an incredible early-season fallout at Florida Lake Park in Freeport on 4/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). I eventually settled on a guestimate of 400 Palm Warblers and 125 Yellow-rumped Warblers. The full report can be found here. 75+ Palm Warblers and 50+ Yellow-rumped Warblers were present on the 24th, but on both dates the only other warbler – as expected for the date – were Pine (3 each day).
My other observations of note over the past seven days included:
1 Fish Crow, over our property in Durham, 4/20 (Yard Bird #150!)
1 LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, Chandler Brook Preserve, North Yarmouth, 4/21. Found earlier in the afternoon and seen by several of us in the evening. I don’t chase very often, but when I do, I prefer it to be only 15 minutes out of the way on my way home from the store! It was only my second in Maine.
6 Red Crossbills (1 male, 2 female, 3-4 juvenile. Type 12 as per Matt Young), here at the store, 4/24.
Additional personal first-of-years this week also included:
*1+ CLIFF SWALLOW, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Florida Lake Park, 4/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 Blue-headed Vireo, Morgan Meadow WMA, Raymond, 4/21.
1 Black-throated Green Warbler, Papermill Trail, 4/26.
*Numerous very early arrivals of regular migrants are likely also tied to the overshoot event that brought southern vagrants to locations up and down the state’s coast.
TOURS AND EVENTS:
Feathers Over Freeport This Weekend!
Saturday, April 27th at Bradbury Mountains State Park and Sunday, April 28th at Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park. All events FREE with park entry!
From birdwalks and a hawkwatch workshop to kids’ arts and crafts and a food truck, join us for two activity filled days in the 13th year of Feathers Over Freeport! A full schedule of events can be found here.
Note our regularly scheduled Saturday Morning Birdwalk meets at Bradbury on the 27th.
Presumably having wintered somewhat locally and recently set out in search of new food resources, this Gray Catbird was feasting on what was left of our Highbush Cranberry and Staghorn Sumac here at the store on 3/27.
After the snowfall, and especially ice, over the weekend of the 23rd-24th, a resurgence in feeder activity was widespread. Fox Sparrows seemed to be everywhere (I saw more driving around on the morning of the 26th than I sometimes see in an entire spring!), American Robins were being reported at feeders, and Dark-eyed Juncos and Song Sparrows were in every feeder and patch of bare ground. I think we can expect more of that this week, based on the current forecast!
At our feeders in Durham, some select high counts included 52 Dark-eyed Juncos on 3/25 and two Fox Sparrows 3/26 – present, 3 Purple Finches and 4 Pine Siskins on 3/31, etc. Meanwhile, at least a dozen White-throated Sparrows continue, well over our usual for the season.
Away from our yard, my observations of note over the past seven days included the following:
Red Crossbills continue to be widespread in small numbers.
30 Northern Pintail, 2 American Wigeon, 6 Green-winged Teal, etc, Mouth of the Abagadasset River, Bowdoinham, 3/26.
1 GRAY CATBIRD, yard here at the store, 3/27. Photo above.
30 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, here at the store, 3/30 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
2 Red Crossbills, 1 Fish Crow, etc, South Freeport Village, 3/30 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 Tree Swallow (FOY), Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 3/31.
TOURS AND EVENTS:
April 6th’s “Woodcocks Gone Wild” is currently sold out (weather date, 4/13). This year, we are requesting pre-registration for the first time, with evening-of walk-ups only if we have extra space; sorry for the inconvenience. Give us a call at the store or email us to be added to the waitlist.
April 17: 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. Join us for a Community Pizza Night to benefit Feathers over Freeport. Proceeds from a raffle along with 20% of all food sales from 4-8:00 p.m. will be donated to support the annual birdwatching and nature discovery weekend hosted by the Bureau of Parks and Lands. Park and event staff will host an activity & information table and be on hand to answer questions about birding, the Hawk Watch, and Feathers Over Freeport. Location: Maine Beer Company, in the Tasting Room, 525 US-1, Freeport, ME 04342.
We got underway for the 18th season on Friday, March 15th. Zane Baker, back for his record-shattering 6th season, kicked things off with two triple-digit counts in the first three days of the season.
Daily counts will be posted to Hawkcount.org and the BirdHawk listserve, while weekly summaries will be posted to the News Page of our website.
We birded Rhode Island for a couple of days this week, and found this Pink-footed Goose, about the 7th or 8th ever recorded in the state as we drove through Middletown!
Despite 4 days of birding out of state during this period, I had a handful of observations of note here in Maine over the last nine days, including the vanguard of spring migrants. They included:
The first significant influx of Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackles arrived this week, and waterfowl are definitely on the move. Scattered Red Crossbills continue, including around our Durham property and around the store area this week.
4 drake and 2 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES continue, Winslow Park, Freeport, 3/2 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
3 American Woodcocks (FOY), our property in Durham, 3/9.
Total of 12 Killdeer (FOY) from several locations around the “Greater Yarmouth Goose Fields, 3/10.
1 pair Northern Pintail, Thornhurst Farm, North Yarmouth, 3/10.
TOURS AND EVENTS:
Only a four spaces remaining for April 6th’s “Woodcocks Gone Wild.” This year, we are requesting pre-registration for the first time, with evening-of walk-ups only if we have extra space; sorry for the inconvenience. You can register here.
Maine Birding Field Notes 