Barrow’s Goldeneyes will be departing soon, so I needed to get my fill while I still can. This pair (left) was with 17 Common Goldeneyes and a drake Hooded Merganser at Anniversary Park in Auburn on the 20th.
A very busy couple of weeks precluded much birding away from our yard recently. Luckily, the feeder-watching was excellent, as were my few dedicated outings over the past ten days.
1 Red Crossbill, over our yard in Durham, 2/15.
1 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, over Richmond Island from Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 2/19 (with Paul Doiron, Kristen Lindquist, and Jeannette).
1 continuing hen COMMON EIDER SPP BOREALIS and 6 BARROW’S GOLDENEYES (4 drakes, 2 hens), Winslow Park, Freeport, 2/21. Barrow’s usually peak here at the end of February.
FEEDER BIRDS UPDATE:
There was a widespread dearth of feeder birds in most yards throughout the region this past fall. While a few people are still mentioning a lack of feeder birds this winter, many others are telling us they are seeing a lot of birds now. At our home in Durham, this winter our feeders have been very busy. But just how busy is it, and how does that compare to last winter? I did some feeder watching and counted a bunch of birds to find out.
After the 16th, activity remained strong, with another surge of Dark-eyed Juncos bringing the total to a high count of 72 on the 17th, along with an increase to 13 American Tree Sparrows. A new peark of 70++ American Goldfinches was reached on 2/21. And our first Red-winged Blackbird of the year appeared in the snow on the 23rd.
Meanwhile, here at the store, the 24 White-throated Sparrows at the feeders 2/16 was a new all-time high count for the winter season for us here.
Using our Durham yard as a case study, I wanted to check to see if there were indeed fewer birds this winter than last year, as some (but no longer a majority) of folks have continued to mention to us at the store.
Stuck at home last winter while recovering from shoulder surgery, our feeding station provided my primary source of entertainment. I occupied my time with mugs of tea and enjoying the activity, and occupied my mind with figuring our exact counts, keeping tallies, and watching behavior closely. I wrote about my counts and observations in a pair of blogs, the first one is here, and the second one is here.
This past fall, everyone saw a very slow fall at feeders in Maine, and throughout the East, as discussed here. That was changing for a lot of people – but not all, by December, which I talked about in this follow-up blog.
In January, a series of strong storms, unseasonable heavy rain and flooding, a few cold spells, and eventually, by month’s end, solid snowcover helped change the narrative. Winter food resources were being consumed, ground-feeders were being forced out of the woods, finches were moving about, and so on. Furthermore, I believe that those strong storms knocked a lot of cones – especially those of Eastern White Pine – to the ground where they were subsequently consumed and/or buried.
At least here at our feeders in Durham, a slow start to the winter was a thing of the past, as we were filling almost all of our feeders daily by the end of January. Some impressive tallies included over 70 American Goldfinches and over 50 Dark-eyed Juncos at the end of the month.
American Goldfinches have been absolutely ravaging Nyjer at our home this winter. Fresh Nyjer makes all of the difference!
While some factors remain true from the fall – an abundance of natural food overall, relatively limited snowcover, low movement of irruptive species, etc – clearly most people were reporting to the store that things were “back to normal” or “tons of birds all of the sudden,” and so on. Our seed sales more than doubled by the end of January from what they were at the beginning of the month (by overall poundage).
Just how “normal” have things returned to, and what anomalies are out there? While our home in Durham is only two years old, and we’re a long way away from baseline data or long-term averages, we can at least compare February of 2024 to February of 2023. And since I had nothing better to do last winter, I already had some data to compare to.
So, for the last 10 days (not including the two that we were out of town for), I have once again returned to the window for dedicated sessions of feeder-watching and counting. Like last year, I used the standard methodology of using “high counts” (maximum number of individuals seen at any one time, unless they were readily identifiable as being different), and I was sure to count for at least one hour a day each day.
February 5 – February 15 (minus 2/12 and 2/13).
Species
Average per day 2023
Average per day 2024
Difference
Wild Turkey
0.2
0
-0.2
Mourning Dove
13.5
26.5
+13
Sharp-shinned Hawk
0.4
0.2
-0.2
American Goshawk
0
0.1
+0.1
Red-bellied Woodpecker
1
1
Same
Downy Woodpecker
2.4
2.9
+.5
Hairy Woodpecker
2
2
Same
Pileated Woodpecker
1
0.1
-0.9
Blue Jay
7.8
3.0
-4.8
American Crow
0.7
0
-0.7
Black-capped Chickadee
7.4
2.9
-4.5
Tufted Titmouse
4
3
-1
White-breasted Nuthatch
2
1.4
-0.6
Red-breasted Nuthatch
0.7
0
-0.7
Brown Creeper
0.4
0
-0.4
Carolina Wren
0.9
1
+0.1
European Starling
1.1
2.7
+1.6
Eastern Bluebird
4.4
3
-1.1
House Finch
2.1
0
-2.1
Purple Finch
0.5
0.3
-0.2
Pine Siskin
0
0.2
+0.2
American Goldfinch
26.6
46.8
+20.2
American Tree Sparrow
8.0
4.2
-3.8
Dark-eyed Junco
16.6
30.3
+13.7
White-throated Sparrow
2
2.3
+0.3
Song Sparrow
0
0.9
+0.9
Northern Cardinal
5.2
3.8
-1.4
Total individuals/day
110.9
138.6
+27.7
*Addendum: I guess I should have continued the study for a few more days! By 2/17, we had a whopping 72 Dark-eyed Juncos and an increase to 13 American Tree Sparrows, and by the next day, the American Goldfinch flock returned to well over 60 birds!*
Every year is different, and every yard is different. Controlling here for time and place, we can make some comparisons however. It was much colder in this period last year, with an average morning low of 19.6. This year, the average morning low for the ten days was 23.9 and there is a lot less snow on the ground, even after the fresh inch and a half Friday morning; there were three light snowfall events during the “study period” last year.
Clearly, there are plenty of birds at our feeders at least! And, contrary to conventional wisdom, we actually have more birds overall than last year! The dearth of feeder birds from the fall is no longer true for us. Similar conclusions can be reached from comparing data on our feeder birds at the store, and from conversations with friends and customers. Therefore, I believe the overall pattern fits what many are observing throughout the area.
As discussed in the aforementioned feeder blogs from the fall, Black-capped Chickadees are in low numbers. I saw 4.5 fewer per day at the feeders than last year. This goes with the idea that our local residents were not augmented by irruptives from points north, but also suggests that they did not have a great breeding season. Same for Red-breasted Nuthatch and Blue Jays.
But native sparrows are in larger numbers than last year, especially Dark-eyed Juncos (and elsewhere, like our store, significantly more White-throated Sparrows with a new winter record of 24 on 2/16). My guess is because the mild fall, abundant seeds from a productive growing season, and benign start to the winter kept those around to be pushed to feeders as the season wore on.
And yes, there are indeed a lot of goldfinches around! But very few other finches – at least at feeders. I am not sure where these European Starlings came from, however, and I’m not overly pleased by it!
Raptors are another part of the equation. This time last year, we had more consistent presence from two different Sharp-shinned Hawks. This winter, we only recently confirmed the presence of a single Sharp-shinned Hawk (seen on 2/15 and 2/16, but she likely took a Mourning Dove on the 14th). There was also an all-too brief fly-through of an immature American Goshawk on the 6th. Also this winter, a Red-tailed Hawk has been more frequent around the feeding station, but its focus is primarily the squirrels and voles. So we’ve had enough native predator presence both years that it shouldn’t be a huge factor in comparing feeder counts.
There you have it. 2024 does not have fewer birds at feeders compared to the same period in 2023, at least not in our yard as a single case study. With continued improvement of our yard’s habitat (most of which was put on hold this year due to my shoulder issues) planned, we would hopefully be increasing our yard’s carrying capacity, as feeders remain only a supplement and a relatively small percentage of a bird’s diet, even in the depths of winter.
Next winter, we also might not find a single Eastern White Pine cone in the entire state, and a lot fewer Red Oak acorns and Balsam Fir cones. And if that’s true to our north, perhaps this will increase the amount of irruptives around the area. But we’ll see! And maybe I’ll repeat this exercise next year, if I can force myself to sit still long enough!
Last winter, we had a male Red-bellied Woodpecker nearly every day, while this winter it has only been this female. We hope they find each other!
This Northern Hawk-Owl has been present for a while in Piscataquis County where it has been seen by many. Jeannette finally took a ride up to see it on the 12th, making our “weekend” out of it.
I enjoyed a great week of birding, both locally and with a trip to north-central Maine. Winter irruptives and the first migrants of spring were among my many highlights over the last seven days.
1 Hermit Thrush, North River Road, Auburn, 2/8.
1 continuing female Red-breasted Merganser, Lincoln St Waterfront Park, Lewiston, 2/8.
5 Northern Pintails (FOY), Flying Point Preserve, Georgetown, 2/9.
1 hen COMMON EIDER SSP. BOREALIS and 1 pair BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 2/10 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
1 continuing NORTHERN HAWK-OWL and 1 Northern Shrike, Piscataquis County, 2/12 (with Jeannette). Photo above.
1 Northern Shrike, County Road, Milford, 2/13 (with Jeannette).
100+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS (FOY), downtown Old Town, 2/13 (with Jeannette).
140 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and 1 NORTHERN FLICKER (great winter bird away from the coast!), Riverside Park, Veazie, 2/13. Waxwings relocated on Thompson Road where we enjoyed an immersive photo session!
1 male Red-winged Blackbird (first of spring), here at the store on 2/14. Arrived on 2/12 – one of our earliest records here.
Scattered Turkey Vultures and increasing reports of prospecting migrant flocks suggests I will forgo Turkey Vultures on the highlights list for the next 9-10 months already!
Taking the long road to Augusta for an appointment last week, I checked a few open sections of river, including here at the Gardiner Waterfront Park where a group of 16 Common Mergansers were present. Such a snappy bird!
We’ve been busy catching up from our winter vacation, but I did see a few observations of note over the past ten days.
Our feeders In Durham continue to be exceeding active, with at least 70 American Goldfinches and over 50 Dark-eyed Juncos leading the way this week. We’ve also seen increases to 6 American Tree Sparrows, 3 White-throated Sparrows, and a returning two Song Sparrows among all of the resident species. A single Pine Siskin joined the goldfinches on 2/2.
1 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Lewiston/Auburn, 1/30.
The long-staying hen American Wigeon offered a good, close study as part of the Winter Waterbird Workshop with Down East Adventures tour that I conducted on the 14th.
While I didn’t get as far afield as last week, I enjoyed a productive six days of birding, especially for early January! Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.
Our feeders in Durham have been incredible, led by a growing flock of Dark-eyed Juncos that peaked at 41 on 1/8 and 40+ continuing American Goldfinches. There was a big movement of sparrows after the weekend snow storm, with flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows common and widespread in the area, along with an increase in American Tree Sparrows. During Tuesday’s snowfall, a careful inventory during the snowfall on the 16th yielded 127 individuals of 16 species, led by 41 American Goldfinches and 37 Dark-eyed Juncos.
At least one Turkey Vulture still continues in the I-295 corridor between Cumberland and Freeport.
1 DOVEKIE, Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, 1/13. Patch Bird #198! Healthy fly-by apparently turning around upon seeing the bridge, then turning northeast and following the Cousin’s Island shoreline. I lost it in the fog, but presumably rounding the island to return to sea. A Black Guillemot to the south of the bridge was one of my few ever from this location.
1 continuing female American Wigeon, York Duck Pond (Abbott’s Pond), York, 1/14 (with Down East Adventures Winter Waterbirds Workshop tour group).
Small number of Red Crossbills, Bear Mountain, Hartford, 1/15 (with Jeannette). Mostly single fly-overs and one small heard-only group, so quantification was impossible.
Freeport Wild Bird Supply is very excited to partner with Down East Magazine’s Down East Adventures for the fourth year of offering exclusive birding workshops focused on gaining greater knowledge and field skills in a focused group of seasonally accessible birds. Focused on skill-builder rather than list-building, there will be plenty of “life birds,” but also more knowledge and education about birds, habitats, birding, and much more about the natural world. We’re happy to bring back the complete slate of tours from our 2023 season.
The full list and descriptions, along with registration information, for all of our upcoming tours (and an outline of 2025 options) can be found here. At the conclusion of each tour, I’ll post the trip report here.
Winter Waterbirds Workshop, January 14th.
I mean, really, what’s better than a Harlequin Duck?
For the second year in a row, very strong winds greeted us in the morning. So the game of the day was finding sheltered coves and respites from the wind. Therefore, we adjusted our itinerary accordingly, making a further adjustment based on parking lot closures from storm damage.
While we had high hopes of finding alcids that were blown closer to shore and were seeking refuge after the strong storm of the previous day, we didn’t see a single one – not even a Black Guillemot! However, we did see just about every other regularly occurring winter waterbird, from Red-necked and Horned Grebes to Buffleheads and Long-tailed Ducks Not surprisingly, Harlequin Ducks were the star of the show, with about 10 along Marginal Way in Oqunguit and abut 20 at The Nubble. Large rafts of Black Scoters were seen at several locations, with Surf and White-winged Scoters seen nearby for careful study.
We had a lot of Common Loons today, and we practiced learning their shape and size to separate them from other waterbirds at any range. Great Cormorants at The Nubble were nice to see, and we did a little introduction to gull identification with a mixed flock at Short Sands Beach.
Finally, a stop at the York Duck Pond introduced us to another group of waterbirds: dabbling ducks. There, we had close studies of Mallards, American Black Ducks, and hybrids thereof. Practicing our “feather birding” we used the hybrids of an example of what to look for beyond the general impression of size and shape we were focused on throughout much of the day. The icing on the cake was the hen American Wigeon that has been here all winter – you may never see one as close and as well as that again! Enjoying the fine black detailing on the steely blue bill was a highlight for me.
Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop, May 12th.
Honestly, I am not sure if we could have dialed up a more productive morning for an instructional workshop designed for learning about migrants – from identification to natural history, habitat to visible migration. “Slow” by mid-May standards, we eventually tallied 15 species of warblers (including a few “heard only”), but we had absolutely remarkable “quality time” with so many of the species we did encounter today.
We were greeted by a Great-crested Flycatcher and finished with Maine’s most confiding Great Egret. In between, a wide range of species included an uncommon Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and a family of Wood Ducks. I particularly enjoyed the quality time spent with a pair of Black-capped Chickadees who were busy gathering moss for their nest lining.
But it was the Neotropical migrants who were the stars of the show, as predicted and hoped for. My first Red-eyed Vireo of the spring was uncharacteristically low and cooperative, but the single early-ish Blackpoll Warbler was most definitely not. However, almost every other warbler was just shockingly well seen. In one willow thicket, we watched – often without binoculars and often within 10-15 feet of us and below eye-level – two each of stunning Magnolia Warblers, gorgeous Northern Parulas, charismatic Common Yellowthroats, and distinctive Chestnut-sided Warblers. A short distance down the trail, our patience with Ovenbirds was rewarded with one walking out into the open a short distance ahead.
In between bird sightings, we discussed habitat, NEXRAD radar, and the big picture of what we were and were not seeing today and why. We noted how American Crows mobbed a Red-tailed Hawk but barely bothered to call at the sight of a less-threatening Broad-winged Hawk. OK, fine, those aren’t songbirds, but we learned a lot from them anyway.
More birds of more species can and will be seen under different conditions at Evergreen Cemetery and similar urban green spaces as encountered today, but we would be hard pressed to see so many birds so well, for prolonged periods of time to allow for thorough study. While we encountered one wave of migrants all moving together, which can easily become frustrating when getting started, many of birds came one or two at a time allowing for in-depth observation -exactly want we want in a songbird workshop!
Not a songbird, but this Great Egret that frequents the ponds here also poses in interesting places.
Shorebird Workshop, August 15th.
Nothing wrong with starting out with the easy ones, like dapper Ruddy Turnstones!
Recent rainfall, approaching thunderstorms, and current observations all combined to make me throw our itinerary out the window this day. Sometimes audibles work…and today, it most definitely did.
While I prefer to start with smaller groups of birds so as not to overwhelm, we took advantage of the lovely morning and high tide to soak in an estimated 2000 shorebirds at our first stop! Biddeford Pool Beach did not disappoint, and we began our lessons with the basics: shorebird vs everything else, plover vs sandpiper, and eventually each species. We compared Semipalmated Sandpipers (~1750 individuals) and Semipalmated Plovers (about 200 individuals), then teased out several White-rumped Sandpipers from the masses. We noticed how white Sanderlings look, and what little bulldozers the distinctive Ruddy Turnstone can be. Spotted Sandpipers nicely demonstrated their shallow short-distance flight wingbeats as well.
Nearby Great Pond allowed us to compare Semipalmated Sandpipers vs Least Sandpipers at nearly arm’s length, while giving us better looks at a couple of Spotted Sandpipers. A single Lesser Yellowlegs was also added to the list.
By using habitat cues and tide charts, we maximize our shorebirding productivity. By studying birds near (like these side-by-side Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers) and far, we can learn to quickly recognize most shorebirds, most of the time, using a range of tools that we worked on together throughout the day.
Next up was Hill’s Beach, on the prime outgoing tide. Unfortunately, thunderstorms were rapidly approaching, and after a short check (more Sanderlings and a growing number of Semipalmated Sandpipers and Plovers), we decided to play it safe, return to the cars, and head into Saco for lunch. Good thing, too, as while we were eating, it was pouring outside!
White-rumped Sandpiper.
Returning to the field, we poked around the edges of Scarborough Marsh as we waited for the tide to begin rolling back in and for the rain to finally come to a stop. After a 10-minute rain delay in the cars while we waited out the last of it, we returned to the field to take in the flats of Pine Point. Good looks at Black-bellied Plovers (75+) allowed us to compare their shape, size, and feeding style to the estimated 300 Semipalmated Plovers that were here. Another 1200 or so Semipalmated Sandpipers contained at least a dozen White-rumped Sandpipers, which we practiced sorting out at a distance using shape and size, especially those long primaries. 14 Willet were new for our list, and the 90’s steroid-era-baseball-players of the greater Tringa family nicely contrasted with 4 slim Lesser Yellowlegs that alighted with some of them. Four not-so-short-billed Short-billed Dowitchers were our 11th species of shorebird of the day. And finally, as we continued to grow and practice our shorebird identification toolkit, we also took note of some non-shorebirds, such as Common Terns and a variety of gulls which today included 2 very-uncommon Lesser Black-backed Gulls!
Monhegan Birding Workshop, September 13th – 15th.
Cedar Waxwings were often with us, alighting on trees, eating native fruits, and avoiding marauding Merlins. Few things bring as much pleasure to the birding day as a “Waxwing Christmas Tree.”
Arriving on a glass-calm sea on Friday the 13th, luck was most definitely with us today and the entire weekend. We were greeted at the dock by a darting Merlin, a sign of things to come. After checking in and a relaxed lunch, we began our workshopping. While overall songbird activity was slow, we enjoyed plants, butterflies, and the weather as we wandered around and spotted birds here and there: a Northern Waterthrush in an isolated bush in a yard, a female Black-throated Blue Warbler in the woods, and lots of Cedar Waxwings in small flocks, overhead and landing in trees. Merlins continued to perform, and several Peregrine Falcons and Sharp-shinned Hawks joined the show, although it did not help us detect skulking warblers!
A late afternoon walk to Burnt Head to take in the cliffs and sample the habitat of the island’s interior produced a 1st-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, but more importantly perhaps, allowed us to enjoy such a beautiful day on the island for mid-September.
On Saturday morning, we stepped off the porch at the Monhegan House, and it was ON. A great Morning Flight (morning redetermined migration) was underway, with dozens upon dozens of warblers zipping overhead as the sun slowly rose. As we did a short stroll to some favored early-morning micro-habitats, we ground-truthed the morning flight, finding that Cape May Warblers were indeed the dominant migrant of the morning. In fact, we often had 3 or 4 (as many as 5 in one tree) in the top of nearly every spruce we checked, and the entire range of plumages was on display. Northern Parulas were also numerous, but we estimated about 3 of every 5 warblers we encountered this morning were Cape May!
It was such a great morning it was hard to come inside to break for breakfast. Or so one thinks until they have had the Monhegan House Breakfast…and this was just the final of three courses!
Although the day’s activity peaked in the morning as many of the birds in Morning Flight continued on back to the mainland with a light northwest wind becoming northeasterly by noon, we continued to find pockets of activity and mixed-species foraging flocks throughout the day. There were a few Eastern Kingbirds and Eastern Wood-Pewees scattered about, often giving very good looks, and we had a nice mixed vireo flock that included 2 Philadelphia Vireos, 1 Blue-headed Vireo, and several Red-eyed Vireos for nice comparison. Northern Harriers put on a performance for us in the late afternoon over the marsh.
While our afternoon walk through the woods to the lighthouse was as much for pleasure and learning about habitats as it was for birds, the result was the discovery of a rare Lark Sparrow! We covered a lot of ground today, and definitely earned our delicious dinner. Before that, however, we had a little workshopping session to recap the day and compare what we saw (morning flight) with what the overnight radar image had suggested.
One of the new migration skills we learned was how to monitor and plan your birding accordingly by looking at NEXRAD weather radar. For comparison, here are the 1am images from Saturday and Sunday morning, respectively, showing the greater density of birds in the air and offshore on Saturday morning – and confirmed by our morning flight observations come sunrise.
Another clear and calm night resulted in a very strong flight of birds, but with fewer birds drifting offshore, the morning flight was slower than Saturday, as we forecast. However, there were plenty of new birds around, and we repeatedly saw birds we had not yet seen and many rather “fun” species. It started with a drift-vagrant Dickcissel in Morning Flight, followed by a Whimbrel flying around. A likely Clay-colored Sparrow disappeared before we could confirm it in poor light, but warblers such as Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, and Wilson’s were more confiding. Unexpected offshore and always a surprise on Monhegan, an immature Cooper’s Hawk flew over us on our way to lunch.
There was a noticeable turnover in species, with more sparrows and many fewer Cape May Warblers. We had some unusually cooperative Lincoln’s Sparrows to study, such as this one that perched in a bush with a Song Sparrow for comparison (and later, the same bush held a Swamp Sparrow next to a Song for further study of the entire genus!).
Since we were focused on learning bird identification and the nuances of migration’s ebbs and flows (and mechanisms thereof), we did not keep a running bird list. We did count our warbler tally and finished the trip with a very respectable 17 species of warblers! We found a couple of “good birds” (and jokingly disparaged the use of the descriptor) for ourselves and ate way too much good food. We learned a bunch about migration, plants, birds, and insects, and a little about the island. So instead of trying to add one more bird to the non-existent list, we brought the tour – and the 2024 Down East Adventures Birding tours season to a close with lunch and a toast at the brewery!
Barrow’s Goldeneyes returned to the Androscoggin River this week, with a pair below the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge between Auburn and Lewiston on the 12th. Early morning shadows were challenging for photos, so I was happy with this great comparison shot of an intermingled pair each of Barrow’s and Common Goldeneyes.
While I didn’t get as far afield as last week, I enjoyed a very productive week of birding, especially for early January! Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.
Our feeders in Durham have been incredible, led by a growing flock of Dark-eyed Juncos that peaked at 41 on 1/8 and 40+ continuing American Goldfinches. There was a big movement of sparrows after the weekend snow storm, with flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows common and widespread in the area, along with an increase in American Tree Sparrows.
2 drake and 1 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/6 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
Still fascinated by the warbler flock in Ogunquit Beach after my visit there last week, Jeannette and I went back down on 1/8. Unfortunately, we only had a short look at the brighter CAPE MAY WARBLER and 1 “WESTERN” PALM WARBLER. One Yellow-rumped Warbler spent almost the entire time we were there in and around the sewage tank, eating the little flies along its edge. The Cape May and Palm just briefly waved through the nearby trees. I would have thought that anything still alive would have been in the tank the whole time on that cold morning, as was the single Yellow-rump. Interesting.
While searching, we had 100+ Sanderlings on the beach, two continuing Northern Harriers and 8 Snow Buntings in the marsh, and in the Ocean Avenue neighborhood leading to the footbridge, we had 1-2 fly-over Red Crossbills and 1 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD while checking feeders in hopes of relocating the warblers.
Cape Elizabeth with Dan Nickerson on 1/11: 1 2nd Cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a few Razorbills at Dyer Point; 1 DOVEKIE at Two Lights State Park; 1 Swamp Sparrow on Private Property, and 1600-2000 Black Scoters between Dyer Point and Kettle Cove.
1 pair BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn/Lewiston, 1/12.
1 immature Great Cormorant, North River Road Boat Launch, Auburn, 1/12.
+/- 130 Mixed scaup, Lake Auburn, 1/12. Actively feeding, but Lesser continue to greatly outnumber Greater in the flock, as expected on freshwater in winter.
At least one Turkey Vulture continues in the I-295 corridor between Cumberland and Freeport this week.
UPCOMING TOURS.
Winter Waterbirds Workshop with Down East Adventures. Sunday, January 14th. Info here.
No Birdwalk, Saturday, 20th.
No Birdwalk, Saturday, 27th.
Gull Identification Workshop. Saturday, February 3rd and Sunday, February 4th. Info here.
The only thing sweeter than seeing a first state record is when you find it yourself! This Spotted Towhee that I found in November at Fort Foster in Kittery was #4 on my list of next birds for Maine.
It’s once again time for my annual Predictions Blog, where I view into my crystal binoculars and attempt to forecast some of the “new” birds to grace the State of Maine – and then my own personal state list – in the coming year.
It was another great year for “mega” rarities in Maine. Whether it’s more birders and better communication, a climate in crisis, neonicotinoid pesticides effecting navigation, and more – or likely, all of the above – more really strange birds are ending up in really strange places – Maine definitely included. Four new species showed up in Maine in 2023, plus a first state record whose photos surfaced from 2022. I also had another pretty good year, despite much reduced birding as I recovered from shoulder surgery and a series of setbacks thereafter coupled with a record-busy year for tours and private guiding.
Last winter, recovering from shoulder surgery, I spent a lot of time watching our feeding station, quantifying those ebbs and flows, and paying a lot of attention to behavior. From dominance hierarchies in junco flocks to a case of Sharp-shinned Hawk cannibalism, dedicated feeder-watching (in a house designed to maximize it!) was a great way to pass the time stuck indoors. I recounted many of my observations in blogs earlier this year, especially these two:
Once up and about, I found myself forgoing birding mornings afield – especially in the fall – to just enjoy migration through our property in Durham and build our rapidly expanding yard list. Having moved in last fall, it was exciting to see the seasons change. Fall migration was particularly productive, and I found myself not wanting to bird anywhere else before work. Some great yardbirds over the year included a Snow Goose on 3/27, three different Mourning Warblers (one each in May, June, and September), an American Bittern for the day on 8/28, and a Dickcissel on 9/1. The yard was already approaching 150 species by year’s end.
Furthermore, I put more effort than ever into birding Androscoggin County in general, and while I didn’t find any rarities in the county this year, I did spend lots of quality time at Sabattus Pond and in search of patches for future birding focus – I didn’t find any of those, either, but I did get to know my new home county a lot better. In other words, when I did get out birding this year, I put a lot more focus on staying close to home – this less carbon-intensive mode of birding is what I believe the future of birding is (eg the “5 Mile Radius” list, which is all the birds seen within a five mile radius of one’s home) anyway, and I plan on keeping this focus for 2024.
But back to the rarities. Let us start as usual with a look at last year’s prognostications and see how I did.
Of the five new species for Maine, three were in my Top 12. I found Maine’s first confirmed Spotted Towhee at Fort Foster in Kittery on November 19th (and continued obligingly through the end of the year). This long-overdue addition to the state’s list was #4 on my predictions list.
Right behind it at #5 was the Hammond’s Flycatcher found on Monhegan in October. I’ve felt flycatchers were going under-detected in Maine for a while, and therefore they have been prevalent on my predictions lists. Then, a photograph from Mount Desert Rock from August of 2022 was reanalyzed and showed a Western Flycatcher (as it is once again rightly called, with Pacific-sloped and Cordilleran finally “lumped” back together), which was #12 on my list.
That strange date for a vagrant flycatcher is rather remarkable, as was the other addition to the list from the MDI region when a Red-footed Booby was photographed in Lamoine in July of this year. This tropical sulid didn’t even make my honorable mention list.
And finally, just before the clock was about to strike twelve, a remarkable Hepatic Tanager was found in Stockton Springs! While it was on my radar due to several well out of range records, it did not qualify for my Honorable Mentions list. It was the icing on the cake to another exceptional year of birding in Maine.
With three birds from the 2023 List off the board, I’ll do some reshuffling. A possible Gray Heron was photographed in Scarborough Marsh on the Portland CBC in December, but the photos – although very suggestive – were inconclusive. A search the next day didn’t turn anything up, but I hope others remain on the lookout. Nonetheless, it was suggestive enough to bump Gray Heron up from my Honorable Mention list into the Top 25, that is for sure. Lewis’s Woodpecker, Dusky Flycatcher, and White Wagtail are making their debut in the rankings while I’ve dropped Black-tailed Gull out of the Top 25 as North American records seem to have dried up.
As we found out when we saw this Gray Heron while vacationing on Prince Edward Island in 2022, they are not always easy to pick out of a crowd, as we looked through a lot of Great Blue Herons during our search for this long-staying individual. Hopefully, our view in Maine will be a little better, like this one Jeannette photographed in Norway.
Neotropical Cormorant
Black-chinned Hummingbird
California Gull
Limpkin
Gray Heron
Bermuda Petrel
Graylag Goose
Little Stint
Audubon’s Shearwater
Common Shelduck
Anna’s Hummingbird
Heerman’s Gull
Common Ground-Dove
Allen’s Hummingbird
Spotted Redshank
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Ross’s Gull
Black-capped Petrel
Lesser Nighthawk
Elegant Tern
Dusky Flycatcher
Painted Redstart
Hooded Oriole
White Wagtail
Common Scoter
Personally, I added 5 new species to my own Maine State List this year, despite relatively limited birding and a less concentration on rarities in general. Three days after my shoulder surgery, however, Jeannette loaded me into the car and took me down to Timber Point in Biddeford for a Common Ringed-Plover, which was #10 on my predictions list. Can’t say it was my most comfortable twitch, however. Medication helped.
In June, I raced down with Jess Costa between tours to see the Loggerhead Shrike at the Kennebunk Plains, which was my 399th species in Maine (recently relegated to my honorable mentions lists as they have become increasingly rare anywhere out of their contracting range).
So for #400, I said it had to be “the Tufted Puffin or self-found” – I wasn’t going to chase anything else. With several sporadic sightings in June and July, and with numerous boat tours scheduled in July, I had high hopes. With an observation at Eastern Egg Rock on July 9th, and with a tour there scheduled the next afternoon with our partners Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, I was getting excited. And to hedge the bet, I hopped aboard their morning Eastern Egg Rock trip, and as we approached the island in the fog, a large, dark, puffin stood towering over the local residents! “TUFTED PUFFIN!!!” I exclaimed. No microphone was necessary. And this was #400.
With so few sightings – all being one-minute wonders – in the previous years, I hadn’t elevated this to my personal Top 25, but that’s OK – it was just as sweet.
A Purple Gallinule (honorable mention) in the North Maine Woods near Moosehead Lake in October was beyond my chasing range, but when another – or perhaps, the same bird – appeared at a small park in Kennebunk, I was on my way!
The absurdity of the locale and ease of viewing simply forced me to go back for another look a week later with Dan Nickerson…after dipping on a nearby Western Wood-Pewee as Luke Seitz struck again. Making that miss worse was the reason I didn’t chase it on its day of discovery: we were on lockdown during the manhunt after the tragic Lewiston mass shooting. My state list was just not a priority I will readily admit.
Of course, the aforementioned Spotted Towhee, which was #15 on my list was a welcome self-found addition.
And finally, Evan Obercian and I paid a visit to the Hepatic Tanager in Stockton Springs on New Year’s Eve, bringing 2023 to a close.
Of course, I missed a few rarities this year, too! Although I only “dipped” on one chase (the pewee), I was simply unavailable to chase anything else, such as the Kirtland’s Warbler (unlisted) on Seal Island in September (can’t get there from here!). And I just didn’t have the time to chase Hammond’s Flycatcher (#14) on Monhegan. Meanwhile, the Red-footed Booby (unlisted) was a one-day wonder, and of course I missed a couple of Franklin’s Gulls (#2) as usual. Notorious one-day wonders, there was one on September 24th passing Schoodic Point, and one on November 18th at Long Sands Beach. I was going to “end up” at Long Sands the next day at the same time and tide, but my birding outing began and ended with my towhee find at Fort Foster. This rare but regular transient is officially my nemesis in the state!
But the one that really stings was missing out on Crested Caracara once again. I was birding with clients in Spurwink Marsh in late May when a friend texted me that he had one (the one?) flying over his house…we were no more than 2-3 miles away! Thankfully, my clients were game for a little searching, so we spent some time looking before having to move on. The caracara then resurfaced a couple of other times in the Mid-Coast, near Belfast, but I was on Monhegan or with a tour group elsewhere. So close!
Last year, I also predicted that my #400 would come from my Top 25 list. But Tufted Puffin wasn’t on it, so I was wrong about that. Forgive me if I wasn’t upset, however.
I did some reshuffling (it’s just a matter of time before I finally find or catch up with a Franklin’s Gull, right? RIGHT!?), and therefore my forecast for my next 25 species on my personal Maine list reads as follows:
Franklin’s Gull
American White Pelican
Neotropic Cormorant
Brown Pelican
California Gull
Brown Booby
Crested Caracara
Slaty-backed Gull
Boreal Owl
Calliope Hummingbird
Graylag Goose
Cerulean Warbler
Gull-billed Tern
Pacific Golden-Plover
Limpkin
Wood Stork
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Yellow Rail
Virginia’s Warbler
Western Wood-Pewee
Virginia’s Warbler
Gray Heron
Common Gull
Heerman’s Gull
It’s about time for me to finally see a Franklin’s Gull in Maine.
But really, who knows what might show up these days? For example, I am sure that no one had Red-flanked Bluetail on their Next Birds in New Jersey list, but one showed up in a random inland neighborhood in early December. It continued through year’s end, and it was awfully nice of it to remain at least through December 26th, when we just happened to be in the area for Christmas. In fact, it was only 24 minutes away from my Mom’s house. A bonus Christmas gift!
Bring it on, 2024. But less injuries and other birding-limiting events, please. I also have a goal of finding a rarity in Androscoggin County away from Sabattus Pond or our property! Will it be on this list?
I had a nice photo session this morning with White-throated Sparrows at the Saco Riverwalk. I enjoyed watching them extracting the seeds from crabapples, the opposite of true frugivores that consume the flesh and cough up or poop out the seeds.
It’s been a productive seven days, with this week’s highlights being decidedly wintery in nature. ‘Tis the season!
7 Red Crossbills, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 12/9 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
Since we’ve had a mix of “the birds are back!” and “there are still no birds at my feeders” at the store recently, I wrote an updated blog talking about the season and the inconsistencies we are seeing with overall feeder activity, which is posted here:
Although around in excellent numbers, goldfinches are not inundating feeders despite a bumper crop of juveniles thanks to the abundance of natural food resources from our exceptional growing season.
If you think it’s slow at your feeders right now, you are not alone. We are being swamped with reports and concerns here at Freeport Wild Bird Supply of “no birds,” “slow,” “they all disappeared” etc. In fact, they are so frequent – and causing so much consternation – I decided to write this blog to help further explain the observations (or lack there of).
So the first thing to know is: don’t worry. This is normal, this is natural, and it happens on a fairly regular basis. There is a lot of concern, even panic, going on right now, fueled by misinformation, inadequate answers, and downright fear-mongering on the internet (I know, shocking!).
I think the success of the 3 Billion Birds campaign, which analyzed and publicized the finding that North America has lost one in four birds since 1970, has greatly heightened awareness about the plight of the continent’s birds. Media coverage of disease in birds has increased in recent years, which is both good and bad (good in the awareness about the issues, bad in the misleading, misguided, and often irrational coverage). So we are hyper-aware.
But yes, your feeders have been slow. Our feeders have been slow. And feeders throughout the state have been slow. But let me assure you that this is OK. In fact, it’s very OK. It is not a sign of the sky falling, the Rapture, or another disease outbreak. While the overall decline of songbirds is dramatic and palpable, many resident feeder bird species are actually increasing over the long term. While I don’t want to talk you out of being concerned about the general welfare of all birds, I want to assure you that what your feeders are experiencing right now is nothing to be worried about. It’s impacting our enjoyment, yes, but it’s not a bad thing for the birds!
The most important thing to remember is that birds always prefer natural food sources (our feeders are only a helpful supplement) so if they can find what they need in their natural habitats, they do not need to visit our feeders nearly as often. If there’s ever proof-positive to finally kill this silly myth about birds being dependent on feeders, seasons like this are it! (If they were dependent, there would be the same amount of birds at feeders all the time).
So let’s talk about what’s really happening. And as usual in nature, it’s not completely simple. It’s a myriad of issues and events that have once again collided in a “perfect storm” of low feeder activity scenarios. And every yard is different, so there are exceptions to each and every rule.
Yes, it has happened before!
In fact, it happened as recently as 2017 and 2019. In 2017, the lack of feeder birds was so widespread that it was making the TV news, and it was even registering in the region-wide wholesale market. It was not just in Maine. That fall, I took to my blog to explain it and ease concerns. Interestingly, this was my most popular (by views and shares) blog entry of all time, meaning people found it valuable. I hope this blog helps in the same way, and since many of the circumstances are the same, you’ll see more similarities than differences in the explanation.
Likewise, in the winter of 2019, I put together a little Christmas Bird Count case study to explain the perceived lack of birds at that time – to put a small amount of data into the equation.
2.Abundance of Natural Food Sources. For the most part, it is the abundance – or paucity – of natural food that determines how much activity you will have in your yard. This is particularly significant for our seed-eaters, like finches and sparrows, and fruit-eaters, like waxwings. Many trees go through “masting” cycles. This is a survival strategy in which a tree will produce a huge amount of fruit or seed one fall, followed by one or more years of very little production. Therefore, in the high production years, there is so much seed/fruit that predators cannot possibly consume it all, and the tree is all but guaranteed that a large number of its seeds will survive to germinate.
This fall has been a high production year for several common tree species. Acorns, beechnut, and other foods are in good supply, keeping Blue Jays busy. Balsam fir and Red Spruce are in good to great supply, keeping Red-breasted Nuthatches and Black-capped Chickadees happy. In fact, the mast of balsam fir is one of the components that has led to minimal southbound movements of Red-breasted Nuthatches and chickadees that would augment our local populations in winters where they move south out of the boreal, according to the Winter Finch Forecast (more on that later
Elsewhere..my goodness are Eastern White Pines laden! I mean like fall-over-from-the-weight-laden. There are so many cones that it looks like the crowns of healthy White Pine are dying.
And the soft cones and abundant seeds of White Pine are just as important to Maine’s birds as the trees are to our cultural heritage, and when there’s a mast, there’s a lot of nutritious food for our resident and migratory seed-eaters alike. There’s so much of it that Red Crossbills all the way from the Rockies are spreading east to take advantage of it (and other conifer crops), and keeping a lot of our “Northeastern” (aka Type 12) Red Crossbills around, hopefully to breed this fall and winter. Unfortunately, few if any will visit feeders as usual, at least in most of the state.
In addition to these important tree food resources, you may have noticed a wee bit of rain this summer. All summer. Record amounts. And after a slow start to the breeding and growing season (why you were feeding so much more seed than normal back in June and into July), the productive growing season has produced a whole lot of soft seeds: grasses, “weeds,” wildflowers – the natural food that our resident and migratory sparrows depend on. And goldfinches…there are A LOT of goldfinches around right now, but they are more frequent on native wildflowers such as Evening Primose that are abundant right now.
For example, in Durham, our yard is hosting 30-40 American Goldfinches daily. They’re spending most of their time in the weedy edges, meadows, and birches around our property. But since there are so many, they are constantly coming and going from our feeding station. Hulled Sunflower and Nyjer – both seeds that need to be constantly refreshed if not consumed rapidly – are by far our most popular feeders, and the two tubes dedicated to hulled sunflower have to replenished daily here. I’ve been enjoying them feasting on Evening Primrose, peeling the seed pods like a banana, then hopping over to the feeders, and after a few minutes, plopping right back into the patch of primrose (the opposite of what dependency would look like!).
2) Mild and Benign Weather. After an often miserable summer, we have earned a lovely fall, and the last few weeks have been delightful! But the mild weather also means birds eat less supplemental food as they don’t need to burn as many calories to make it through the night. There’s also a lot of insects still available – no killing frosts yet, and none on the horizon at least here in Southern Maine.
3) Facultative and Long-Distance Migrants While most of our long-distance migrants (like warblers and orioles) are departing rapidly, many of our later-season migrants (like blackbirds and most of our native sparrows, as well as most of our waterfowl) are facultative (or “flexible”) in their timing. They can adjust their respective arrival and departures based on abundance and/or access to food. Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, and the last wave of blackbirds are still not here in Southern Maine, lingering as far north as they can for as long as they can. These birds will move a short distance south as soon as they have to, and if the winter is a short one, they will begin to work their way north earlier – or even “overwinter” further north than normal. Not even a freak snowstorm will affect them – they are built for it, and will make range adjustments as needed. With so many hayfields unmowed, corn still being harvested, and lack of urgency, the usual fall complaint about being overwhelmed by flocks of voracious blackbirds have not been heard. Enjoy it while you can!
As for long (and medium-distance obligate migrants), it just so happens many of them clear out in late September. While there are still scattered Ruby-throated Hummingbirds around the state, a large portion of the population cleared out in the last two weeks. Adding to the perception that “all the birds have disappeared” was the reality that many of our migrants took advantage of favorable conditions to be on their way.
Another example of this is that here at our feeders in Durham, at least three Gray Catbirds have remained loyal and persistent. Thanks to the abundance of Arrowwood Viburnum on our property, they are still around, and between bouts of berry-harvesting, they continue to visit our suet and nut feeders. They will depart any night now, and when they do, the feeding station will be much quieter. Woodpeckers are taking advantage of all of the natural food and insects out there, so they are – as usual in the fall – making less frequent visits to the suet feeders. Our suet will be depleted much less quickly when the voracious trio of fat-deposting catbirds departs!
Also here in Durham, the first few White-throated Sparrows have finally arrived, and the first wave of Dark-eyed Juncos will be here soon. However, our extensive grassland restoration project and weedy edges have produced a bumper crop of Song Sparrows, which will mostly leave our yard before the winter. If your Song Sparrows have left already and you don’t have White-throats or juncos yet, then your white millet is not being used as quickly. Here, our millet platform is one of our feeders that we have to still fill daily (plus more on the ground) as we continue to improve our already sparrow-rific yard.
4) Irruptives, or Lack There Of.
The venerable Winter Finch Forecast (WFF) lights our way here. As predicted, Purple Finches have been slow to arrive outside of the Boreal and Boreal transition belts. “In the east, many Purple Finches are expected to overwinter in southern Canada and the northeastern United States… Don’t be surprised if, as winter progresses, a late movement in January and February occurs into the Carolinas as eastern crops are depleted.” Here at our feeders in Durham, a male Purple Finch arrived this weekend – our first in a couple of weeks here.
The WFF however, is predicting a flight of Pine Siskins, possibly in large numbers. We’re starting to see a few here and there in Southern Maine, and a massive flock of 200+ showed up on Monhegan mid-week before dispersing. However, with the aforementioned abundances of natural food sources for them (hemlock, birch, alder, weeds, etc), few have been reported at feeders which will likely be the case for a while.
There may be other birds arriving in the coming months, according to the WFF, but those will be a topic for another time.
5) Predators.
Many people have said that the birds “disappeared all at once.” And while for the most part, it is just a combination of the various topics discussed above, there are instances when feeder activity does in fact grind to a sudden halt.
There are two reasons birds stop coming to a feeder all of the sudden: the food has spoiled or is no longer accessible (the feeder clogged up) or there’s a new predator on the scene. Hopefully there’s not a new outdoor cat in the neighborhood, but it’s also the peak of raptor migration. A transient or winter resident Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned Hawk setting up camp near your feeders will indeed reduce activity suddenly. Hey, if you want to feed the small ones, you’re going to feed the big ones, so this is an important part of the cycle and should be celebrated (but yes, we all have our rooting interests). Especially young, inexperienced juvenile birds don’t always make good decisions about where to perch and give up their presence too easily. However, as soon as the local birds figure this out, they’ll stop coming and the raptor will move along and look for another concentration. And your songbirds will be back soon thereafter. That cat is a bigger problem, however.
6) Memory Bias. Humans inherently think of the recent past first (“recency bias), and so we find ourselves often comparing this fall to last fall, which saw exceptionally high feeder visitation thanks to the prolonged drought we had experienced throughout the summer, greatly reducing perennial seed crops (exactly as we had seen in the summer of 2017). Some of the masting trees were at cyclical lows, and cyclical lows of many cone and seed crops. And irruptions of Red-breasted Nuthatches, and to a lesser extent Purple Finches, were already underway by now. Especially if you have only been feeding birds – or paying more attention to your feeder birds – in the past two years, this fall would seem like a striking anomaly.
6) The Filthy Feeders and Stale Seed Catch-22. When activity is low at feeders, we can become a bit blasé about maintenance. Not keeping feeders clean and filled with fresh seed will only make it less likely that birds will want to frequent your yard. And, with ridiculously prolonged wet weather of the summer, seed went bad out there – even if it was fresh when you bought it. And unusually high humidity for much of the summer meant the “cool, dry” place you tried to store seed in was anything but. Seed spoils. It gets stale. And it did that more quickly this summer than most. Unless you have it stored in a climate controlled silo and bagged a couple of days before its ship like our exceptional seed distributor does, the seed that you have had since the spring is now worthless. And the birds know this.
No one likes to waste seed, but if it has been sitting in a feeder untouched for a month or so, it is time to toss it and start over. This is especially true for Nyjer, hulled sunflower, and shelled peanuts, which are most susceptible to the elements. (If you dump it in the woods, rest assured that something will eat it, or at the very least nothing will be harmed by it. If mold is visible, however, it is best to bury it). Clean your feeders, and disinfect them with a mixture of one part white vinegar to four parts water if mold was present. Fill your feeders halfway until activity builds up again if you are concerned about waste. When birds return and they find stale or spoiled seed in your feeders, they’ll continue right on by. Toss that saved seed. Start fresh. The birds will start coming back, but the longer you wait to restock, the longer it will take for your feeder activity to return.
7) The Big Picture We certainly do not want to downplay the significance of population declines in many of our bird species due to a whole host of large-scale issues (a topic for a different article), but rest assured that “your” birds are probably doing just fine from one year to the next over the short term. In fact, most of our resident “feeder birds” have steady, if not in some cases, increasing populations. Climate Change is affecting bird populations. Habitat loss is affecting bird populations. Cats are killing up to 4 BILLION birds a year. Windows are killing up to 1 BILLION birds a year. We could go on.
However, this has not changed in the past few weeks. Those long-term declines are often subtle and hard to detect without coordinated scientific investigation. All it takes is a walk in the woods and fields to see that the birds are out there. In fact, there are a lot of them out there, and they are doing just fine. They just don’t need our feeders as much right now.
And because of that, consider working on adding more native plants and natural food sources to your yard. That will keep more birds around more of the time, and – like our goldfinches and sparrows at our home in Durham – augment feeder activity in what is otherwise a slow season.
8) It WILL Change! Natural food supplies will slowly get used up, nights will get colder and longer, and our facultative migrants will come. A frost will come, ending the growing and insect seasons. Eventually, we’ll see some snow and ice that will make it harder to find the remaining natural food, and when all of those things happen, our feeders will be ready for them!
White-throated Sparrows have just returned to our feeders in Durham.
In a few weeks, the comment about Blue Jays “eating me out of house and home” will begin as they ramp up their winter caching. They’ll focus mostly on acorns as usual, augment it with pine nuts, but also supplement that with nuts and seeds from our feeders. Blackbirds flocks will begin to depart the farmlands and stop by feeding stations for some refueling. Weed seeds will begin to be used up, pushing more arriving sparrows and goldfinches back to feeders more of the time.
9) In sum.
This is normal, explainable, and predictable. It happens every now and then. It will change. Refresh your seed, adjust your offerings, and clean your feeders. Quality seed matters, especially when there are other options around for birds to choose instead. Make a planting plan for next year to improve the quality of your surrounding habitat. Keep cats indoors, windows treated to prevent strikes, and support bird conservation efforts. We want more birds around us, for our pleasure and for the ecological benefits. And as this fall demonstrates, feeders are only a small part of the equation.
We hope this helps clear up some of the misinformation out there. And please do share this widely – we want to get the word out. And finally, if you have any additional questions, feel free to drop by the store.
And never stop looking! You never known what might show up out there, even on the slow days, like this young female Dickcissel that graced the feeders at the store for a week earlier this month.
10/7 Update:
A lot of people have asked about Hurricane Lee and its effect on birds, so just wanted to comment about that here. Simply put: Lee had NOTHING to do with it; it was irrelevant. However, in the days before and after the storm’s passage, there was excellent conditions for migration (the first in a while), so many migratory birds did clear out at that time. And yes, the amount of rain likely clogged some feeders and spoiled some seed, too, but no more than any other storm would. So basically, I believe the passage of Lee was merely coincidental at best.
On the other hand…here come the Pine Siskins! Reports of huge numbers pouring out of the boreal are being received, and birds are arriving in northern and eastern Maine. Be sure you have fresh Nyjer ready to go!
11/15 Update:
With the onset of colder weather, feeder activity is picking up dramatically. More and more folks are reporting “the birds are back” at their feeding stations. At our home in Durham, we never “lost” feeder activity, but it has certainly picked up over the past two weeks. We’ve had 50+ American Goldfinches scarfing Nyjer and hulled sunflower the last few days, up from the 20-30 that have been frequent for most of the fall.
Dark-eyed Juncos and Eastern Bluebirds are returning to feeders, but sparrow numbers overall remain low…I think most of the White-throated Sparrows have gone over and through, but American Tree Sparrows have not yet arrived.
Here at the store, the feeder activity remains below normal, however, but Eastern Bluebirds have just returned here as well. But our surrounding habitat doesn’t hold nearly as many birds as our yard in Durham, so this is a big part of the equation.
So to sum it up: it’s getting better, more active, and more diverse at the feeders. And I think fresh seed is a big part of the equation, so if you’re waiting for birds to return with only old, stale (or worse) seed to offer, I think you’ll be waiting even longer (more on this soon, as I am playing around with another blog on the topic).
Maine Birding Field Notes 