Brandon Baldwin and Kevin Harding found this American White Pelican off Wharton Point in Brunswick on the 24^th. 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).

• 2 continuing adult RED-NECKED GREBES, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 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).
• Ruddy Turnstone: 30, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• RED KNOT: 1 ad and 1 juv, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• STILT SANDPIPER: 1 continuing adult, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 8/19 (with Jeannette) and 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• Sanderling: 17, Hill’s Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• DUNLIN: 1 fresh juvenile (FOY), Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).

• Least Sandpiper: 100+, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• White-rumped Sandpiper: 6, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1250, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• Short-billed Dowitcher: 16, The Pool, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER: 1 adult, Walsh Preserve, 8/19 (with Jeannette). Photo below.
• Spotted Sandpiper: 3, Ocean Avenue, 8/23 (with Noah Gibb).
• Solitary Sandpiper: 2, multiple locations and dates this week.
• Lesser Yellowlegs: 54, Walsh Preserve, 8/19 (with Jeannette).
• “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.