Tag Archives: Monhegan

2026 Spring Monhegan Migration Weekend Tour Report

*What’s better than a Blackburnian Warbler at eye level in an apple tree?*
*Such are the thrills of birding Monhegan in spring!*

Another remarkable Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend is in the books. Every day out here is different in migration, and every tour is unique. But this one was particularly full of superlatives.

It seemed slow. Low numbers, low diversity, but yet with new birds being seen every day we ended up with a very good, above-average tally of 95 species, with the 18 species of warblers being just about the long-term average.

While numbers of individuals, especially warblers, were dreadfully low, we more than made up for it with quality. Quality of species, but especially quality of sightings. Just about everything was seen so well. A recurring theme of the weekend was definitely “wow, that was a great view!” or “what a fascinating behavior!” The bird-watching was simply divine!

Due to ferry schedules, we now begin the weekend with a casual birdwalk at the Marshall Point Lighthouse (and up the road) in Port Clyde. Friday morning was pleasantly birdy, with great views of American Redstarts, Black-throated Green Warblers, Yellow Warblers, and Northern Parula. We also picked up a few species we won’t see on the island – like House Finch and Turkey Vulture – and introduced our visitors from the west to the likes of Common Eider and Black Guillemots.

A pleasant boat ride (it sure beat last year!) was very productive, with 2 pairs of Atlantic Puffins seen very well on the water, an immature Great Cormorant, and most notable: 10 truant Purple Sandpipers on Shag Ledge.

We arrived at the island, soon greeted by a calling Sora. We expected that call would torment us for the next several days. After checking in and having lunch, we began our island birding. It was pretty slow overall, but we started having such great experiences.

The two Green Herons at the Ice Pond were unusually conspicuous and confiding (as they were all weekend). While talking about eiders and Black Guillemots, a spiffy drake Long-tailed Duck pops up right in front of us. Then, while scanning the Outer Duck Islands, a pair of American Oystercatchers fly through my field of view – my 232^nd species on Monhegan, and only about the 7^th or so Island Record!

Red Crossbills were one of the stars of the weekend, and we began our good fortune with observing them really well each day, starting with 2 females and 2 juveniles feeding next to the Ice Pond. And remember that Sora, starting its annual taunt? Well, it (or as it turns out, one of at least 2) was surprisingly close to the pumphouse when we arrived, so we used the time to wait patiently for the outside chance of an appearance.

And about 15-20 minute of tantalizingly close, incessant calling, there it was – a Sora! In the open! Foraging for about a minute in a narrow chunk of marsh grass, and then flying across a patch of open water. Everyone in the group saw a Sora!

Then, a text from a friend came through, and the continuing Lark Sparrow was in her yard. A private yard, but we were granted the privilege to access it, and when we did, the Lark Sparrow was nearly at our feet!

*We learned the value of dandelions, too, as they are the first fresh seeds of the year.*

Quality views of the notable birds on the island, our self-found rarity, Red Crossbills everywhere, and yeah – we saw a Sora! Not bad for the first day, and we didn’t even arrive until 11:30am.

On Saturday morning, we awoke to an ambiguous radar image overnight, but there wasn’t much overhead after dawn, other than a small migrant flock of Blue Jays. We took the time to learn a little about the radar, decipher that it was probably a lot of pollen in the air overnight rather than birds, and ground-truthed that with our copious sniffles.

Our pre-breakfast walk was also rather slow by Monhegan morning standards, but observations and species were slowly building. Once again, we continued to comment on the quality of the observations and bird experiences. There was the three-pair Yellow Warbler brawl that took place inches from us. Cedar Waxwing flocks eating apple blossoms, great views of colorful Magnolia Warblers and American Redstarts, a Merlin hunting robins and grackles (unsuccessfully), etc.

Although Yellow Warblers are one of the most abundant breeding birds on the island, and they were often all around us, we never tired of observing them, watching their behavior, and seeing what they were eating.

After breakfast, we watched a displaying Sharp-shinned Hawk and then found another notable bird out here: an adult Broad-winged Hawk! It was circling low overhead to really show off for us, too. I don’t know if I have seen one out here in spring before. And we finished with a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting, always crowd-pleasers.

The mid-day break was anything but a break – at least for me, however. I had just finished crushing a couple of slices of Novelty pizza and was walking back to the Yew when a group of birders from Rhode Island flagged me down. “I think we just had a kite!” Jen Leito says. She showed me the photos, and sure enough – it was a Mississippi Kite! I grabbed my phone to get the word out, and at the same time, Mik Oyler was reaching for his – the Mississippi Kite was near the brewery. It then perched, and then he saw it flying off to the east.

I of course had turned around and was walking up Horn’s Hill and began to hawkwatch. It was time for me to meet the group though, so I started walking downhill. I had just about reached the Novelty once again when Paul Dorion and Kristen Lindquist texted that they had the bird from the top of the hill. I then sprinted up the hill (scope, boots, back-pack…and my Fitbit tracked it all, the spike offering a chuckle later!) and scanned again. Catching a quick glimpse of it through the treetops, it was the world’s least satisfactory view of such a Mega rarity. In fact, even though I saw it “well enough to count,” it was so underwhelming that I wondered if I would even bother putting it on my list!

I then jogged back to the Yew, met the group, and the search began. Focusing on the southern end of the island, we kept one eye on the sky, but no more reports of kites were to come. Instead, we enjoyed the occasional pockets of warbler activity, slowly adding new species to our trip list as we basked in more great views of Red Crossbills. But alas, the kite was gone. Or was it?

Somehow, I never thought of taking a photo when all 11 of us were together, but I am still happy to see people taking advantage of the flexibility of our tour itinerary to enjoy other aspects of the island…including rest!

On Sunday, the weather forecast had greatly improved, and we awoke to cool and cloudy conditions, but no precipitation would fall before dusk except for a few very light afternoon showers. An easterly wind overnight appeared to have shunted the overnight migration well inland, and it was once again a non-existent morning flight, and therefore another relatively slow morning.

But once again, great looks and notable birds: a continuing female Long-tailed Duck that we finally spotted, a Tennessee Warbler or two, and a very intriguing and thought-provoking study of the world’s dullest and somewhat-streaked female Pine Warbler for yet another rewarding teaching moment.

With a near-complete turnover in the group between Saturday and Sunday, we set out to “clean up the dirty birds.” Needless to say, we didn’t expect that to include more visuals of the Sora though! But once again, patiently waiting as a bird called (this time, on the other side of the marsh just off the road) was rewarded when not one, but two(!) Soras popped up from the grass, taking flight, fluttering a short distance, gangly legs dangling, before plummeting back into the meadow. Another Sora sighting!? Incredible!

The rest of the morning, and the afternoon, were exceedingly slow, but we enjoyed more Red Crossbill quality time, had some more instructive moments, and spotted an Arctic Tern off of Lobster Cove.

There was fear of a wash-out on Monday, but after showers, mist, and drizzle overnight with periods of heavier rain, we awoke to only mist and drizzle as we stepped outside. Great views of two different Indigo Buntings highlighted the first walk, while after breakfast we enjoyed some time with a Blackburnian Warbler, before settling into a requested gull workshop. 3-4 age classes of both Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls were before us, so we began the lesson.

And then the skies opened up. A soaking downpour didn’t last long, but it was efficient. I give everyone credit for powering through, but during a lull in the rain, I finally called it quits at around 11:00am – still more birding time in the morning than we expected. In fact, by the time we got together again at 1:00pm, the rain had stopped and there were already peaks of sun!

*Female Blackburnian Warbler in the morning rain.*

As the skies cleared, we enjoyed a pair of Blackburnian Warblers and Red Crossbills yet again, heard a very uncommon for the island Prairie Warbler, and then heard the report of another rarity: a Yellow-throated Warbler! We weren’t far away, but the bird, found by Mackenzie McKnight along Pumphouse Road, had gone AWOL. We began to search but soon thereafter, Bill Thompson relocated it on Wharf Road, so we raced around the corner and were treated to delightful views – even some in the scope!

What a great way to cap a wildly successful tour, but with time remaining, we tried to re-find the Lark Sparrow for the second half of the group (it was not seen since Saturday) but instead finished with a glorious Rose-breasted Grosbeak singing in the sun!

As usual, Jeannette and I spent a day off together the next day, enjoying the birds, food, beer, and friends of Monhegan. The birding wasn’t too shabby either, thanks to a light flight overnight. We began with an Olive-sided Flycatcher at dawn behind the Yew (and 1-2 more later), more Tennessee Warblers (6+), an increase in Blackpoll Warblers, an arrival of Swainson’s Thrushes, and a few other species new for the weekend.

*Traditional gratuitous food por*n *photo of the tour. This year’s entry: the coffee-crusted filet*
*at the Monhegan House.*

*2-3 Olive-sided Flycatchers arrived overnight.*

It was a day off, so we dallied at breakfast (I must confess to having a second breakfast sandwich!) and enjoyed a little more coffee. Jeannette was photographing the Eastern Bluebird feeding around the lawn, as I stepped back out of the cabin at 9:40, but I looked up to see a raptor coming right for us. Low. Fast.

“WHAT’S THAT?! THE KITE! LOOK UP! RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD!” And other indecipherable words and perhaps a few colorful ones, too. Incredibly, after a 2.5 day absence, it was back!

The bird proceeds to glide low over our heads and disappears behind the spruce line where we always start our day. Hustling over that way, we are near the “chat causeway” when the kite appears. We watched it for several minutes as it soared, and yes, kited, directly over our heads. Jeannette had to zoom out with her camera. I had never made eye contact with a kite before, but it clearly looked down, directly at me (literally and perhaps figuratively!), cocking its head to analyze. An absolutely crippling view. Yeah, this made up for my dissatisfying view from two days before, to say the least!

We got the word out, and Bill Thompson came jogging in from the other end of town, picking up birders as he went. We saw it over the Wyeth driveway, heading toward Lobster Cove. We were so happy many people had now seen it, too!

Interestingly a short time after our initial sighting, I spotted the adult Broad-winged Hawk, too. While that bird was gaining altitude and apparently departing, it could not be a coincidence. But where were these two raptors hiding for more than two days?

It turned out the kite would be seen all afternoon (and at least through the next two days, too!), by us, and many, many others, including four arriving bird tour groups. It was often kiting over Lighthouse Hill, catching some insects (bees?), and while attentions were often turning elsewhere, I could not stop myself from watching and enjoying it every time one of us saw it. Jess Bishop had arrived just in time, and as Jess, Bill, Jeannette, and I wandered town – often in the opposite direction of the masses – we always paused for kite watching.

What an incredible way to end the weekend! It’s always tough to leave Monhegan, and I expected more notable birds would arrive (they did), but the 1^st island record of Mississippi Kite would be hard to top (it wasn’t), and my second fulfilling experience with it may never be surpassed. I am mad I didn’t get it on the official trip list and share its glory with my group though!

Interestingly, although the weekend was “slow” by May on Monhegan standards, and the numbers of individuals were low (except for Ring-necked Pheasants. My goodness, they have had a productive year!), the weekend’s tour birdlist added up surprisingly nicely! And unlike some tours, where fleeting glimpses seen by half the group were the norm, almost everyone saw almost everything on the list. Here’s the scoreboard.

* = seen from ferry only.

** = seen on Marshall Point Birdwalk only

Species	5/22	5/23	5/24	5/25
Canada Goose	2**	0	0	2
Mallard	x	x	x	x
American Black Duck	1	1	1	1
Common Eider	x	x	x	x
Surf Scoter	1*	0	0	0
Black Scoter	20*	0	0	0
Long-tailed Duck	1	0	1	1
Ring-necked Pheasant	x	x	x	x
Mourning Dove	x	6	10	12
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	3	4	4	4
Chimney Swift	0	0	1	0
Virginia Rail	0	0	1	1
Sora	1	2	3	2
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER	2	0	0	0
Killdeer	1	0	0	0
PURPLE SANDPIPER	10*	0	0	0
Black Guillemot	x	x	x	x
ATLANTIC PUFFIN	4*	0	0	0
Laughing Gull	4*	0	2	1
Herring Gull	x	x	x	x
Great Black-backed Gull	x	x	x	x
Common Tern	2*	0	0	0
ARCTIC TERN	0	0	1	0
Red-throated Loon	0	0	2	0
Common Loon	2*	0	3	0
Northern Gannet	0	0	6	0
Double-crested Cormorant	x	x	x	x
Great Cormorant	1*	0	0	0
Great Blue Heron	0	0	1	0
Green Heron	2	2	2	2
Turkey Vulture	2**	0	0	0
Osprey	0	1	0	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	1	1
BROAD-WINGED HAWK	0	1	0	0
Bald Eagle	2*	2	0	1
Red-bellied Woodpecker	0	1	1	0
Northern Flicker	2**	0	0	0
Merlin	0	3	1	0
Eastern Kingbird	1	1	4	4
Eastern Wood-Pewee	0	0	2	20
“Traill’s” Flycatcher	0	1	0	0
Least Flycatcher	0	0	1	1
Red-eyed Vireo	0	8	4	2
Blue Jay	x	18	10	4
American Crow	x	4	4	4
Common Raven	1	2	2	2
Black-capped Chickadee	x	x	x	x
Barn Swallow	4	4	8	6
Golden-crowned Kinglet	2**	4	0	0
Cedar Waxwing	60	40	60	60
Red-breasted Nuthatch	2	3	1	0
Carolina Wren	2	3	5	5
House Wren	0	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	x	x	x	x
Brown Thrasher	0	0	1	1
Northern Mockingbird	0	1	1	1
European Starling	x	x	x	x
Eastern Bluebird	0	1	1	1
American Robin	x	8	10	10
House Finch	2**	0	0	0
Purple Finch	0	0	0	1
RED CROSSBILL	20-30	20-30	30+	20-30
American Goldfinch	x	10	15	15
LARK SPARROW	1	0	0	0
Chipping Sparrow	4**	0	0	0
Savannah Sparrow	0	1	1	0
Song Sparrow	x	x	x	x
Lincoln’s Sparrow	1	1	0	0
Swamp Sparrow	0	0	1	1
Bobolink	0	4	1	4
Baltimore Oriole	0	2	1	2
Red-winged Blackbird	x	x	x	x
Common Grackle	x	x	x	x
Ovenbird	1**	0	1	1
Northern Waterthrush	0	0	1	0
Black-and-white Warbler	0	2	1	0
Tennessee Warbler	0	2	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	x inc. Marshall Pt.	x	x	x
American Redstart	x inc. Marshall Ot	15	10	10
Cape May Warbler	0	1	0	0
Northern Parula	x inc. Marshall Point	20	12	10
Magnolia Warbler	0	10	6	4
Blackburnian Warbler	0	2	1	3
Yellow Warbler	x inc. Marshall Pt	x	x	x
Blackpoll Warbler	1	8	3	4
PINE WARBLER	0	0	1	1
Yellow-rumped Warbler	0	1	0	0
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER	0	0	0	1
Prairie Warbler	0	0	0	1
Black-throated Green Warbler	x inc. Marshall Pt	10	4	8
Wilson’s Warbler	1	0	0	1
Northern Cardinal	x	x	x	x
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	1	1	1	2
Indigo Bunting	0	1	1	3

Day Total	60 inc Marshall Pt and Ferry,	60	68	64
Warbler Day Total	8	12	13	14

Trip Total	94	Weekend Total inc. Tuesday	107
Warbler Trip Total	18	Warbler total inc, Tuesday	18

The above birds follow the “guide plus one” rule, meaning both me and at least one client need to see the bird for it to go onto the list. In addition to the above, birds that I only saw on my own, before or after hours, or during breaks included:

MISSISSIPPI KITE, 5/23 (with m.obs…see above and below).
1 GLOSSY IBIS, 5/23 (with Mik Oyler; flying past harbor at dusk)
1 Wood Duck, 5/25.
10 Greater Yellowlegs, 5/25 (with Bill Thompson)
1 Alder Flycatcher, 5/25 (with Jeannette)
1 Dark-eyed Junco, 5/25.

New species for the weekend seen with Jeannette included:

2-3 Olive-sided Flycatchers
6 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 Spotted Sandpiper
1 Willow Flycatcher
1 White-crowned Sparrow
3 White-winged Scoters
1 Solitary Sandpiper (with Bill Thompson and Jess Bishop)

This made a very respectable weekend tally of 107 species!

*Their “countability” might be in question, but their photogenic-ess never is!*

This Week’s Highlights 5/22– 5/29/2026.

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A Mississippi Kite was discovered by a group of visiting birders from Rhode Island on Monhegan on Saturday morning. Moments later, it was seen by two other parties, and then the chase was on. I did a wind-sprint up Horn’s Hill and managed to catch a most unsatisfactory view of it as it disappeared behind trees. Unfortunately, my tour group could not relocate it in the afternoon, and it was considered a 1.5 hour-wonder. Then, on Tuesday morning, right after breakfast, I stepped out of our Trailing Yew cabin and started yelling across the lawn to Jeannette, who was looking down, photographing an (uncommon on the island) Eastern Bluebird. It then proceeded to pass right over our heads, and a few minutes later, it was even lower and closer.
*This was most definitely not an unsatisfactory view!*

I spent 5 of the past 8 days on Monhegan, first with a tour from Friday the 22^nd through Monday the 24^th, and remaining with Jeannette through the next day. I’ll have a trip report, chock full of photos, by next week, but for now, here are some of my daily highlights. We had a total of 107 species, but only 18 species of warblers. But the rarities and the overall quality of observations and experiences, really did make up for it.

5/22: Port Clyde ferry to Monhegan:

10 Purple Sandpipers, Shag Ledge
4 Atlantic Puffins
1 1^st summer Great Cormorant

5/22: Monhegan:

1 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, fly-byoff of Deadman’s Cove. ~7^th Island Record. My 229^th Monhegan species!
1 continuing LARK SPARROW

2 Sora (FOY)
Red Crossbills, including young juveniles, were widespread all five days.
1 drake Long-tailed Duck

5/23:

1 MISSISSIPPI KITE (see story above).
1 adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK (very rare, especially in spring out here).
1 GLOSSY IBIS, fly-by at dusk (with Mik Oyler)

5/24:

1 fly-by Arctic Tern (FOY)
1 continuing Virginia Rail (FOY)
1 continuing female Pine Warbler
1 continuing hen Long-tailed Duck

5/25:

1 YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER (unusually easy twitch with the group, found a short while prior by M. McKnight).
10 Greater Yellowlegs (first spotted from Island Inn window by Bill Thompson).
1 continuing female Pine Warbler

5/26 (with Jeannette):

1 presumed returning MISSISSIPPI KITE (see above).
1 presumed returning BROAD-WINGED HAWK.
1 Arctic Tern
2-3 Olive-sided Flycatchers (FOY)
3 White-winged Scoters
1 1^st summer Great Cormorant
1 continuing female Pine Warbler

Ferry to Port Clyde:

2 Atlantic Puffins

Back here in the real world, my observations of note over the past three days included:

1 Saltmarsh Sparrow (FOY), Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 5/27.
3 Nelson’s Sparrows (FOY), Walsh Preserve, 5/27.

2 Yellow-throated Vireos, 3 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers (FOY), 14 species of warblers including 1 Louisian Waterthrush, etc, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/29.

Upcoming Tours (with space available).

Bicknell’s Thrush Weekend

June 12-14, 2026

The latest incarnation of our Bicknell’s Thrush weekend offers more chances to see the enigmatic Bicknell’s Thrush and even better boreal birding opportunities!

With two full mornings in the area, we’ll have flexibility to offer two visits to the realm of the Bicknell’s. While Bicknell’s Thrush is the primary target, this enhanced itinerary will also give us an even better chance at other boreal species, including Canada Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Woodpecker, Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Palm and Blackpoll Warblers, and especially Philadelphia Vireo and Mourning Warbler. By staying in Colebrook, NH we have the opportunity to look for additional boreal targets anywhere from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom (the famous hotspots are only 30 minutes from Colebrook!) to the Umbagog NWR area.

2026 Workshop Tours with Down East Adventures

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Freeport Wild Bird Supply is proud to once again partner with Down East Magazine’s Down East Adventures for the sixth 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 are honored to be their provider for a series of unique and exclusive birdwatching endeavors. In 2026, we will once again offer four exclusive outings.

For more information on each tour, as well as registration information, visit: https://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/downeast-adventures-tours Trip reports from each will be posted here upon their completion.

Winter Waterbirds Workshop

January 29th, 2026; 9:00am – 4:00pm.

*As usual, Harlequin Ducks were the stars of the show.*

First and foremost, I must commend everyone in the group for being such troopers today! Brutally cold temperatures and a barely broken trail to start the day, with a frigid day barely warming into the low 20’s. But everyone was prepared, everyone was ready to bird, and we all learned a lot.

Between astronomical low tides, days of offshore winds, and recent bitter cold, we encountered many fewer waterbirds overall than expected at this season. We did see some of the stars of the winter show well, such as Harlequin Ducks – always the crowd favorite! – and Great Cormorants. At two sites, we worked our way through learning the various seaducks, while at two other sites we studied dabbling ducks. A short gull workshop was also included. We even finished with another family of waterfowl when a hen Greater Scaup landed in Perkin’s Cove when we returned at the end of the day.

*It was nice of this hen Greater Scaup to join us for one last species to learn about.*

The Ogunquit Rivermouth was one of the most productive destinations today, with an unexpected 4 Northern Pintails pioneering amongst hundreds of Mallards and American Black Ducks, Canada Geese, and really close views of White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Common Loon, plus a Belted Kingfisher – one of our “honorary waterbirds.” Elsewhere, Black Scoters were the dominant species, with large rafts witnessed at multiple locations.

*What is this mess? Impossible to identify, you say? Well, with a little comparative experience, we learned just how quickly we can identify this 2nd cycle Herring Gull.*

As rewarding and educational the birding was, I think most people will end up remembering more about the domestic duck roundup attempt that we witnessed at Abbott’s Pond. We were there to study Mallards, American Black Ducks, and hybrids thereof, learning the differences and nuances in plumage of some of our most commonly seen waterfowl. We did that, and then sat back and enjoyed the show as the pond’s caretakers were bringing some “dumped” domestic hybrids to a better home.

We put special emphasis on learning female ducks as well, especially when in direct comparison to the respective distinctive males and other hens around them. We also took time to appreciate the gorgeous intricacies of
*their plumage, such as on this female Mallard.*

2. Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop

Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop

Portland. May 17, 2026.

This half-day workshop focused on the migrant songbirds, especially warblers, that are passing through Maine’s most famous migrant trap, Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery. At the peak of warbler migration, we learned how to identify these charismatic birds, and discussed their mind-boggling migration and what they’re up to in Maine.

We began with making some predictions of what the morning would produce, and later analyzed the winds and radar images to draw some conclusions about what we did and did not see. And while we expected more than the 13 species of warblers we saw and/or heard, and more “passage migrants” overall, we still had a really enjoyable day, and yeah, 13 species of warblers!

Beginning at Evergreen Cemetery, we were greeted by newly-arrived Red-eyed Vireos, and a nice variety of warblers. More were in the tops of oak trees (we learned why) than down low, but we still enjoyed great views of a variety of species, such as Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and especially Magnolia Warbler. After hearing them all morning, we were finally treated to a stunning view of a Great-crested Flycatcher, and we finished off with an unexpected immature Orchard Oriole! We also had exceptionally good views of two different perched and hunting Cooper’s Hawks – although this was a songbird workshop, I jokingly justified it as songbird-eating raptor identification is more important for a songbird to workshop than songbird identification is for us to workshop!

Moving over to nearby Capisic Pond Park to continue our birding by habitat lessons, we soon added plentiful Yellow Warblers and a migrant female Canada Warbler to our warbler tally, while later enjoying more quality time with American Redstarts. Baltimore Orioles abound here, and we spotted the local male Orchard Oriole here, where they are regular breeders (one of the few places in the state they are found annually), making for a two OROR day. Gray Catbirds were conspicuous, Warbling Vireos were seen, but mostly heard, and we found a nest brimming with soon-to-fledge-already American Robins. As for non-songbirds, we took time to study Red-tailed Hawks in flight and especially soaked in the stunning plumes and high-breeding facial skin of a confiding Great Egret.

With temperatures rising into the 70’s and abundant sunshine, we were all complaining (mildly) about being overdressed for the first time this spring! But also, how it was “too nice out” to have seen a ton of birds, despite what the overnight radar image suggested! But this is the challenge of birding in migration, and thankfully, the weather was delightful and there were plenty of birds to look at all morning!

3. Shorebird Workshop

August 18, 2026; 9:00am – 4:00pm

*A side-by-side comparison of “Eastern” vs “Western” Willets was one of the highlights*
*of the 2025 shorebirds workshop.*

With more than 35 species of shorebirds (a diverse group including plovers and sandpipers) regularly appearing in Maine, this workshop is designed to appreciate the diversity and beauty of this fascinating family.

We will hit some of the marshes, beaches, and rocky roosts that shorebirds prefer at the peak of their migration. The ebbs and flows of the season, daily and recent weather, and other factors could produce more than 20 species of shorebirds in our time together. Our focus will be in comparative experience, learning how to recognize each species both near and far. Starting with the basics, such as plover vs. sandpiper, we’ll work our way up to the identification quandaries such as the “peeps” and the yellowlegs. We will provide you with a “toolkit” to approach shorebird identification on your own, using a combination of habitat, shape, size, structure, behavior, and plumage to identify this wonderfully diverse and attractive group of birds. Migration, conservation, and natural history will also be discussed.

We’ll meet at the public Park & Ride lot between Sea Dog Brewery and Cabela’s, off Payne Road at exit 42 of the Maine Turnpike, at 8 a.m. (please arrive 15 minutes early so we can depart on time) to carpool to the day’s birding destinations, based on tides, weather, and especially the birds themselves! We’ll return by 4 p.m., with an hour break for lunch (not included), likely at a place with multiple nearby options

For an idea of what to expect, see the trip report from our 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2020 outings.

2025 Down East Adventures Tours and Trip Reports

4. Monhegan Birding Workshop

September 11-13, 2026

Join Derek Lovitch for three days of birding at Maine’s famous Migration Mecca. As the summer crowds dwindle, the island becomes a birders’ paradise, with birding opportunities around every corner. This tour will spend three days sampling what the island has to offer during the peak of migration, from warblers to hawks to sparrows to the unexpected. Weather (and sometimes, lack thereof) will dictate how much we do or do not see, but every day is different out there. We’ll learn that fall warblers are rarely if ever “confusing” and why migrants – and vagrants from any direction – drop by this offshore migrant trap.

While finding and seeing birds will be the priority, we will also do a bit of informal workshopping in the afternoons to learn more about the mechanisms and marvels of bird migration. Day one will begin at the dock for the Hardy Boat in New Harbor. We’ll keep an eye out for birds from the top deck of the boat as we make the hour-long crossing to the island. Upon our arrival, we’ll hit the ground running to make the most out of our first morning at this special place. Once we’re on land, we’ll be on foot for the next 2 days, with several walks throughout the day. We’ll mostly be on dirt roads with some steep sections, but we’ll also traverse some narrow trails full of roots and rocks. Expect to spend time on “unimproved surfaces.” You will set a new personal record on your step-counter – especially when the bird we most want to see gets discovered on the opposite end of the island just before mealtime!

On the first day, after we check in lunch will be on your own, with a variety of options scattered about the town. After a break, we’ll head back out later in the afternoon for some more birding, before assembling again for an evening “cocktail hour” (BYOB; also available on the island) and our migration workshop where we’ll discuss the birds of the day, how and why we saw (and didn’t see) what we did, and more (when time and energy levels permit). The next two mornings we’ll once again maximize our time on the island. Following a short walk shortly after sunrise, we’ll enjoy the famous Monhegan House breakfast before birding for the remainder of the morning. Once again, we’ll break for lunch before reconvening for some afternoon birding: on the second day until we prepare for our evening “cocktail hour and migration review, and on the third day, right up until it’s time to head to the ferry.

For 2026, we’ll be staying at the venerable Island Inn. More details will soon follow. Stay tuned!

See Derek’s blog entry to see how the 2025, 2024, and 2023 trips went.

2025 Down East Adventures Tours and Trip Reports

2025 Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend Tour Report

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An American Bittern sitting in the open in a tree, just a handful of yards away could have easily been the highlight of any birding weekend. But, this stellar start was just the tip of the iceberg of the weekend’s birding excitement.

It has been quite a few years since we had a weekend like this. Lots of birds, “mega” rarities, warm weather, and tons of excitement. It was truly a special weekend. We were honored to have been there for it.

The tour began on Friday, with only one participant joining me on the Hardy Boat. The island greeted us with a Lesser Black-backed Gull, which we scoped from the wharf, and several warblers at the usual spot uphill. But after getting the inside scoop from birders already on the island, we made a bee-line for the Ice Pond where an American Bittern was sitting all morning. Remarkably, however, it was sitting in a bush (see above)!

How’s that for starting a tour off right? We also immediately encountered Dickcissel and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and there were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers here and there.

After lunch, with our group now complete, the surprisingly good birding continued. Despite such a warm afternoon and few birds on the radar overnight on mostly a southwest wind aloft, we enjoyed an excellent introduction to Monhegan birding in the fall: 2 Clay-colored Sparrows with 2 immature White-crowned Sparrows, a Dickcissel, and several White-throated Sparrows in one field of view; a dozing Common Nighthawk trying to stay camouflaged on a wood pile, and another visit to the still-confiding American Bittern at the Ice Pond for those who arrived later. It was a solid afternoon overall, with bird activity continuing right up until dinnertime.

Cape May Warblers in a wide variety of plumages is always one of the highlights
*of any fall weekend on Monhegan*

.Unfortunately, our best bird of the day was almost the one that got away. Almost! While viewing an Indigo Bunting in the Community Garden, a second bunting snuck into view, skulking. It briefly popped out, and I yelled “get photos” and then it popped back into the weeds and was not to be seen again.

“Did I see green?” I exclaimed, but it was so fleeting, and the light was so harsh, and the bird was so, so pale, I couldn’t be sure. I looked at photos on the back of cameras in the sun, and we had a good discussion on why this could have been a Painted Bunting. Unfortunately, I have little experience with first fall female (presumably) Painted Buntings and had no idea they could be this unbelievably drab. So I talked myself out of it.

Overnight, I received photos from Bill Thompson, who, an hour or two after we saw the bunting, also briefly saw and photographed it. “Is this a Painted Bunting?” he asked.

Yup, that really does have green on it, and on more than one side – in other words, not a reflection. Darn it. It counts for us – we all saw it – but in hindsight, we should have gotten the word out about a “possible/probable” Painted Bunting and had more eyes looking. Luckily, Bill was in the right place at the right time once again! But I felt like I had blown this one. I was too quick to dismiss it and so I decided I would have to make up for it over the rest of the weekend. Maybe the dry cold front that passed through on Friday evening and shifted the winds would help.

A very strong flight Friday night into Saturday morning on a diminishing northwesterly wind was idea for bringing birds to Monhegan Island come sunrise. And at first light, it was clear it was on!

The Morning Flight featured tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers with the occasional Palm and Blackpoll Warbler. Between the morning flight and our pre-breakfast stroll, we had a lot of birds: a couple of waves of Dark-eyed Juncos, bunches of Red-breasted Nuthatches, more Golden-crowned Kinglets and Purple Finches, insane views of Peregrine Falcons, 2 Dickcissels, 4 Baltimore Orioles, and lots of great views of lots of common species.

After breakfast, it remained fantastic. Just birds everywhere, and not surprisingly, some notable species began to be turned up. Our first “chase” was a Yellow-throated Warbler, our group arriving just in time before it took off.

Luckily, Dan Gardoqui and I stumbled upon it again while foraging for lunch, and I was able to round up several of the group members for improved views and photographs.

The American Bittern was now in the marsh, there were now three Dickcissels, 8 Baltimore Orioles, and a second, but definitively identified Indigo Bunting. No green one, unfortunately.

Not surprisingly on such a nice day, the afternoon was slower, as birds had departed the island early, or had now sought refuge in the shadows, especially with the continuing activity of Peregrines, Merlins, and Sharp-shinned Hawks. So, we checked some nooks and crannies, turning up a Nelson’s Sparrow at Lobster Cove and enjoying gliding Peregrine Falcons passing right in front of us from Burnt Head. We also took the time to enjoy butterflies, plants, and all other walks of life.

It was a delightful afternoon, but we returned to town to find we had missed out on a Western Kingbird. Luckily, a few of us caught up with it at dusk when it was refound near the Mooring Chain.

So, it was a great day, and given the winds and weather, we expected it to be such. Then, with little to no movement overnight (at least visible on the radar), on a light south to southwest wind, we hoped for some birds to stick around from Saturday and perhaps be augmented by a rarity or two. At the very least, I wanted to show the Yellow-throated Warbler and Western Kingbird to the rest of the group, especially with a big turnover in participants for the second half of the weekend.

What we didn’t expect was to run out of superlatives before breakfast. We certainly did not expect it after viewing the Morning Flight, which consisted of exactly one American Pipit (and the big wandering flock of Cedar Waxwings, of course).

Once again, a bird was identified from photo review (what did we do before Instant Replay?!) and Bill Thompson and Jess Bishop had apparently discovered a Mega rare Bell’s Vireo on Saturday with only 4 accepted previous records for Maine. With such a slow morning flight, I decided to mix things up from my usual routine, head clockwise through my usual dawn loop, and give it a try to find the Bell’s. We stopped near where it was seen on Saturday, and chatted about the rarity, the identification, etc. “Holy shit, there it is!” I tried not to exclaim too loudly as the bird popped out right in front of us.

We observed it for about 10-15 minutes as it popped in and out of a brushy edge, focusing on feeding in young cherry trees with fall webworm clusters. Birders began to arrive from all directions, as the vireo kept coming in and out of view before flying right over our heads and disappearing deep into a dense thicket.

*I’ll steal Bill Thompson*‘s (with permission of course) Bell’s Vireo
from this morning since he was standing next to us.

It was getting too crowded for our tastes, so we moved on and let others have the edge to monitor. We enjoyed Cedar Waxwings, Northern Flickers, and then took a moment to pause at our usual starting spot, at the spruces behind the Yew.

It was slow, and quiet, and so I was making sure we looked at everything, like the one solo warbler flying towards us from across the sky over the Trailing Yew. It then landed a short distance away, and I brought my binoculars up to it, assuming we had a close Yellow-rumped Warbler to talk about.

A Black-throated Gray Warbler, with only 5 previous records from Maine, was there. Right there. We had some great looks and photo ops, called over a friend, and then watched it the herd of birders arrive and head out to follow it. What a lucky find! We were ecstatic. And we still hadn’t had breakfast! (See photos from tomorrow),

Wondering if the day could get any better – and pretty content if it did not – we reconvened after breakfast and headed in the opposite direction from the searching masses, as I am wont to do.

It worked again: we found one Lark Sparrow, and then another. How many Clay-colored Sparrows – 4? 8? More? An Orange-crowned Warbler at the Ice Pond, a fly-over Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Pine Warbler, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on every tree. So much for it being a slow day.

Another warm afternoon sent us into the woods for shade, immersing ourselves in a cacophony of Red-breasted Nuthatches, sprinkled with Golden-crowned Kinglets, and the occasional Red-eyed Vireo or other migrant. We took in the Fringed Gentian, the scenery, and finished strong with the 2 Lark Sparrows and 4 Clay-colored Sparrows together.

Today was a good day.

Monday, the fourth and final day of the tour began with excited anticipation with another strong flight overnight on a diminishing NW to W wind. But today, it was just too nice, and a lot of last night’s birds passed overhead resulting in just a light Morning Flight come sunrise. But there was a turnover of birds, and our morning walk added several things to our list including the Eastern Kingbird we finally caught up with, and another Orange-crowned Warbler. The highlight, however, of our pre-breakfast jaunt was a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew to a spruce, plucked a cone off of an outer branch, and then proceeded to play with it! It would move it from its bill to its talons, and then it dropped it, chasing it down the tree. It then flew back up and grabbed another! What a remarkable insight into how a kid Sharpie gets better at hunting on its own.

After breakfast, the good Merlin show of the day continued, and we took time for a short gull identification workshop. Our first Ring-billed Gull out here was good to practice on, and we conveniently had three Lesser Black-backed Gulls: an adult and 2 first-cycle birds. But mostly, we worked through the difference between each age class of the common Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.

We finally picked up a Northern Waterthrush- our 20^th species of warbler on the weekend! But otherwise, it was pretty slow.

It was slow in the afternoon, too, but the Black-throated Gray Warbler had been refound just before we reconvened after lunch, and eventually we were all treated to much, much better views and photo ops than the morning before.

We then twitched a rare Common Buckeye butterfly and Lady’s Tresses orchids.

Our last new species of the trip was one of the last birds we observed together: a Yellow-billed Cuckoo eating American Dagger Moth and/or Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillars. Watching it whack the caterpillar on a twig to beat off its irritating hairs, we had another moment of insight into a bird’s world.

With the tour now complete, Jeannete and I enjoyed a delicious sunset and delightful food with friends and spotted an American Woodcock on our walk back.

*And finished with another meal of Monhegan indulgence.*

As usual, Jeannette and I then spent our Tuesday off together on the island. After a light morning flight, but another turnover of birds, we decided to spend most of the morning in the woods, ostensibly looking for a previously reported Black-backed Woodpecker. But mostly, we wanted to take a hike along the island’s less-visited north end. We added Winter Wren and an Ovenbird to our weekend list, enjoyed the silly amount of Red-breasted Nuthatches, and encountered several pockets of White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. Later, after lunch, we ran into a Black-billed Cuckoo, and a Spotted Sandpiper at the dock turned out to be our 100^th and final bird of a truly exceptional weekend on Monhegan. We already cannot wait to return in May!

Species seen without the tour group during the tour:

*Denotes ferry only

	9/26	9/27	9/28	9/29
Canada Goose	0	0	14	0
Blue-winged Teal	1	0	0	0
Mallard	15	20	20	20
American Black Duck	1	1	1	0
Common Eider	x	x	x	x
White-winged Scoter	1*	0	0	0
Ring-necked Pheasant	x	x	x	x
Mourning Dove	12	15	12	6
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO	0	0	0	1
Common Nighthawk	1	0	0	0
Semipalmated Plover	0	1	1	0
Solitary Sandpiper	1	0	0	0
Greater Yellowlegs	0	1	0	1
Black Guillemot	x	2	3	0
Laughing Gull	4*	0	0	0
Ring-billed Gull	0	0	0	1
Herring Gull	x	x	x	x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL	0	0	1	3
Great Black-backed Gull	x	x	x	x
Great Cormorant	1	1	2	1
Double-crested Cormorant	x	x	x	x
AMERICAN BITTERN	1	1	0	0
Osprey	1	3	1	0
Northern Harrier	0	1	0	2
Sharp-shinned Hawk	3	1	2	6
Belted Kingfisher	1	0	1	1
Red-bellied Woodpecker	0	0	1	0
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	8	20	15	20
Downy Woodpecker	0	1	1	1
Northern Flicker	6	10	6	8
American Kestrel	0	0	1	0
Merlin	4	8	6	5
Peregrine Falcon	6	20	3	7
WESTERN KINGBIRD	0	1	0	0
Eastern Kingbird	0	0	0	1
Eastern Wood-Pewee	6	8	1	1
Least Flycatcher	3	2	0	0
Eastern Phoebe	1	3	2	1
BELL’S VIREO	0	0	1	0
Blue-headed Vireo	2	4	3	0
Red-eyed Vireo	12	12	12	12
Blue Jay	8	8	3	3
American Crow	4	2	6	6
Common Raven	0	2	2	1
Black-capped Chickadee	x	x	x	x
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	3	2	2
Golden-crowned Kinglet	0	20	10	6
Cedar Waxwing	80	80	80	80
Red-breasted Nuthatch	10	60	50	40
Brown Creeper	0	2	0	1
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER	1	0	0	1
Carolina Wren	8	6	8	6
Gray Catbird	x	x	x	10
European Starling	14	14	14	13
Swainson’s Thrush	0	2	0	0
American Robin	0	4	1	0
American Pipit	1	6	2	2
Purple Finch	0	10	8	6
Pine Siskin	1	2	1	2
American Goldfinch	8	10	6	6
LARK SPARROW	0	0	2	1
Chipping Sparrow	2	2	10	2
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW	3	3	6	1
Dark-eyed Junco	0	30	2	12
White-crowned Sparrow	2	1	2	0
White-throated Sparrow	12	60	10	20
Nelson’s Sparrow	0	1	0	0
Savannah Sparrow	1	4	4	1
Song Sparrow	x	x	x	x
Lincoln’s Sparrow	1	6	5	1
Swamp Sparrow	2	3	2	1
Bobolink	5	5	5	2
Baltimore Oriole	2	8	7	6
Rusty Blackbird	0	2	0	0
Common Grackle	3	3	3	3
Northern Waterthrush	0	0	0	1
Black-and-white Warbler	1	3	0	0
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER	0	1	2	1
Nashville Warbler	1	1	0	0
Common Yellowthroat	4	8	8	6
American Redstart	3	4	1	1
Cape May Warbler	2	8	2	8
Northern Parula	3	6	1	0
Magnolia Warbler	0	1	0	0
Yellow Warbler	2	4	2	1
Chestnut-sided Warbler	0	1	0	0
Blackpoll Warbler	8	40	4	4
Black-throated Blue Warbler	0	3	0	0
Palm Warbler	20	60	4	4
Pine Warbler	0	0	1	0
Yellow-rumped Warbler	40	600	40	20
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER	0	1	0	0
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER	0	0	1	1
Black-throated Green Warbler	0	6	1	1
Wilson’s Warbler	1	2	0	0
Northern Cardinal	x	8	8	8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	0	1	1	1
Indigo Bunting	1	1	3	2
PAINTED BUNTING	1	0	0	0
DICKCISSEL	2	3	1	1

Day total	67	80	69	68

Species added on Monday evening and Tuesday, with Jeannette:

Common Loon, Spotted Sandpiper, American Woodcock, Black-billed Cuckoo, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Ovenbird (warbler #21!),

Tour total = 100 Total Weekend Total = 107

*This winter wren was one of the last birds Jeannette and I added to the cumulative weekend list as we spent some time on our day off hiking the island’s north end.*

This Week’s (Plus) Highlights 9/22 – 9/30/2025.

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One of the stars of the show during an epic weekend on Monhegan included this Black-throated Gray Warbler that I found with my tour on 9/28. There are only 5-7 previous records of this spiffy western warbler in Maine. It was relocated by others on and off that day, and through much of the day on the 29^th. The best show for everyone was when Doug Hitchcox re-relocated it a few feet from where my group and I first discovered it!
*That’s when Bill Thompson got this crushing photo.*

My observations of note over the last 9 days included 5 remarkable days on Monhegan Island included the following:

Highlights from our Durham property this period included 2 continuing Indigo Buntings and 2 Solitary Sandpipers on 9/22; 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 9/23-24; and 5 Lincoln’s Sparrows on 9/24.

An exceptional day in and around Biddeford Pool on the 23^rd with Jeannette included a number of highlights and excellent counts of uncommon birds. Some of the most notable observations include an astounding 26 FORSTER’S TERNS together at Hill’s Beach (with scattered individuals elsewhere that may or may not have been part of this tally, the shockingly large “irruption” of this tern – especially given the lack of a tropical system to cause it – continues); a juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON at Great Pond, a late juvenile BAIRD’S SANDPIPER on Biddeford Pool Beach, single CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS in Hill’s Beach and East Point, 12 American Oystercatchers off of Ocean Avenue, a goodly 41 Red Knots in The Pool; 7 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Hill’s Beach, and an arrival of fresh juvenile (technically 1^st winter as most showed a couple of replaced feathers by now as expected) Dunlin in various locations (high of 30+ on Biddeford Pool Beach).

2 Marsh Wrens, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 9/24.

2 Ruddy Ducks (First of fall), 1 Dunlin, 1 Pectoral Sandpipers, etc, Sabattus Pond, 9/25.

It was like the good ol’ days on Monhegan for my tour group this weekend. I was on the island with the tour 9/26-9/29, and then enjoyed a day off with Jeannette on 9/30. I’ll have a complete tour report posted next week (including rarity photos), but for now, the mind-blowing list of rarities and excitement for my group and I included the following:

1 BELL’S VIREO, 9/28 (refound by my group after being discovered by Jess Bishop and Bill Thompson on 9/28).

1 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, 9/28-29 (Found by my group, on 9/28 and refound by m.obs on 9/29).

1 immature female PAINTED BUNTING, 9/26 (independently identified – eventually – by my group and Bill Thompson).

1 YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, 9/27

1 WESTERN KINGBIRD, 9/27.

21 total species of warblers.

Up to 2 Lark Sparrows daily beginning 9/28.

Up to 6+ Clay-colored Sparrows daily.

Up to 3 Dickcissels daily

Up to 2 Orange-crowned Warblers daily beginning 9/27.

1 American Bittern, 9/26-9/27.

Up to 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls daily.

1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 9/26.

1 Red-bellied Woodpecker, 9/28.

1 Nelson’s Sparrow, 9/27.

1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo on 9/29 (with my group) and 1 Black-billed Cuckoo on 9/30 (with Evan Obercian and Jeannette).

Upcoming Tours with Limited Space Available:

Boothbay Harbor “Mini-Pelagic” with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises.

October 5, 2025 – 9:00am

Join us on a special cruise dedicated to off-shore birding: a collaboration with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises offering half-day “mini-pelagics!” We’ll seek out the rare and common seabirds that occur in our nearshore waters, but we will always have the hope for something unexpected. Derek will team up with the boat’s expert naturalists to spot, identify, and point out pelagic seabirds. Chumming efforts will provide opportunities to attract the birds in for better photo ops and viewing. While we’ll stop to look at any whales and whatever other interesting sea life we encounter along the way, it is the feathered wildlife we’re searching for, and will be focused on.

This annual fall excursion gives a chance at some very sought after pelagic species, such as Great and South Polar Skua. More likely species include Northern Fulmar; Black-legged Kittiwake; Pomarine and Parasitic Jaeger; shearwaters – Great, Sooty, Cory’s, and possibly even Manx; Leach’s Storm-Petrel; Razorbill and Atlantic Puffin; Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, and much more. With the later departure date this year, we hope for more jaegers and a better chance at Great Skua, along with the chance at more early-arriving alcids.

Each of our four October trips have been very different, with each year providing some unexpected highlights. Once again, we will be chumming at at least one hotspot, and we’ll have an additional spotter who will keep dedicated eBird lists for those who so desire and want it shared with them.

Birds of Casco Bay – Boat Tour

October 6, 2025; 9:00 – 12:00

THREE SPACES JUST OPENED WITH A CANCELLATION.

Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for eagles, migrant waterfowl, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common resident and migratory water and shoreline birds of the region, including photographic opportunities whenever we can.

Conditions and tide permitting, we’ll poke around the mouth of Maquoit Bay and especially up into Middle Bay, two of the richest areas for waterfowl concentrations. If we can find a mass of American Black Ducks, we’ll scour them for a variety of other dabblers, such as Green-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers. Some of our wintering and migratory bayducks, such as Surf and White-winged Scoters will just be arriving, and Common Loons begin to build in for the winter.

Birds on Tap℠ – The Boat Trip! Rare Birds and Island Exploration with Portland Explorer.

October 19, 2025; 9:00am – 2:00pm

These unique, relaxed birding and beer-ing adventures that you have come to love combine great local birding at seasonal hotspots with visits to sample the delicious creations of some of our favorite local breweries. These tours are a perfect introduction to birding and/or craft beer, and a great opportunity to travel with significant others, friends, and family that have interest in one topic, while your interest is primarily in the other (for now!). But this time we’re leaving the van in the garage, and hitting the water! That’s right, we’re taking a cruise, and we’re returning to the private House Island in Porland Harbor twice in 2025.

During last year’s wildly successful outing in which we became the first birding group ever on the island, we found oodles of Yellow-rumped Warblers, an uncommon Field Sparrow, and other migrants. But we were truly captivated by Captain Pete, who guided us through the historic fort, sharing a wealth of historical knowledge and fascinating stories. The beer was pretty darn good too, as we sampled the history of Maine’s craft beer scene.

Building on that success, we’re visiting the private House Island in Portland Harbor twice in 2025. We’ve been granted special permission to come ashore and scour the island here in the peak of fall migration. We’ll follow well-maintained trails through the island’s mosaic of open habitats, scrub, and young woods. These are great habitats to search for a variety of migrants, and perhaps even a rarity!

Returning in late October, once again rarities will be on our mind. While rare birds are rare, we are still going to expect the unexpected. But more likely are regular migrants of the season such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, a variety of sparrows, and a growing diversity of waterbirds. At the very least, we’ll have resident waterbirds and several species of gulls to sort through. We are having daydreams of a rare flycatcher!

As we motor back across the harbor, we’ll continue to familiarize ourselves with some of the common waterbirds, such as Common Eiders, Common Loons, and the vanguard of our winter diving ducks while enjoying a local craft beverage produced in the city of Portland. While the exact plan is subject to change, we’ll be sure to come up with a plan to adequately celebrate our discoveries – or the one that got away!

This Week’s Highlights 9/8 – 9/14/2025.

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To “count it” or “not to count it,” that is the question. Regardless, what’s more iconic about birding on Monhegan Island than a Ring-necked Pheasant?

My observations of note over the last seven days included my first two Morning Flights of the season at Sandy Point and 3 days on Monhegan included the following:

A light flight over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth on 9/8:

6:12 to 8:00am.

50F, mostly clear, calm.

57 Northern Parulas
31 American Redstarts
17 unidentified
8 Cedar Waxwings
6 Magnolia Warblers
5 Black-throated Green Warblers
4 Red-breasted Nuthatches
3 Yellow Warblers
3 American Goldfinches
2 Swainson’s Thrushes
2 Bobolinks
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Purple Finch
1 Cooper’s Hawk
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Northern Flicker
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Osprey
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Total = 147

1 DICKCISSEL, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/9.

2-3 Red Knots, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/10.

A very good flight over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth on 9/11 featured over 1,000 migrants and 16 species of warblers.

6:13-10:20

46F, mostly clear. NW 1.8-2.8 increasing to 6.1-8.8mph.

312 Northern Parulas
272 American Redstarts
144 unidentified
81 Cedar Waxwings
34 Red-eyed Vireos
25 Red-breasted Nuthatches
25 Black-throated Green Warblers
24 Magnolia Warblers
23 Yellow Warblers
16 Blue Jays
11 American Goldfinches
10 Black-throated Blue Warblers
9 Canada Geese
8 Swainson’s Thrushes
7 Northern Flickers
7 American Kestrels
7 Black-and-white Warblers
5 Yellow-rumped Warblers
4 Eastern Wood-Pewees
4 Purple Finches
4 Ospreys
3 Bay-breasted Warblers
3 Wilson’s Warblers
3 Blackpoll Warblers
3 Mourning Doves
2 Blackburnian Warblers
2 Common Loons
2 Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warblers
2 Blue-headed Vireos
2 Philadelphia Vireos
1 Palm Warbler
1 Pileated Woodpecker
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 “Traill’s” Flycatcher
1 House Finch
1 Hairy Woodpecker (6 “false starts”)
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Pine Warbler
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 unidentified Empid
1 unidentified flycatcher
1 Turkey Vulture
1 unidentified vireo
1 Merlin
1 Cape May Warbler
1 White-throated Sparrow

Total = 1,069

Monarch 1
Green Darner 2

Monhegan Island 9/12-14 (with Down East Adventures tour group):

Very slow by Monhegan standards, only Merlins and especially Red-breasted Nuthatches and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were above average (significantly so for the hummingbird) for the date. Island notable species for us were limited to 2 DICKCISSELS all three days; 1 ORCHARD ORIOLE, 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and 1 Marsh Wren on 9/13; and 1 Mourning Warbler on 9/14. Great insect-watching though.

Upcoming Tours:

Birds on Tap℠ – The Boat Trip! Migrant Birds and Island Exploration

September 21, 2025; 9:00am to 2:00pm

These unique, relaxed birding and beer-ing adventures that you have come to love combine great local birding at seasonal hotspots with visits to sample the delicious creations of some of our favorite local breweries. These tours are a perfect introduction to birding and/or craft beer, and a great opportunity to travel with significant others, friends, and family that have interest in one topic, while your interest is primarily in the other (for now!). But this time we’re leaving the van in the garage and hitting the water! That’s right, we’re taking a cruise, and we’re returning to the private House Island in Porland Harbor twice in 2025.

Building on that success of last year’s tours, we’re visiting the private House Island in Portland Harbor twice in 2025! Once again, we’ve been granted special permission to come ashore and scour the island here in the peak of fall migration. We’ll follow well-maintained trails through the island’s mosaic of open habitats, scrub, and young woods. These are great habitats to search for a variety of migrants, and perhaps even a rarity!

https://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/birds-on-tap

2025 Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Trip Report

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*It was a great weekend for warblers, with a tour total of 19 species and a 5-day total of 22 species, including quite a lot of Wilson’s Warblers for the end of May. With 10-20 estimated per day,*
*we were regularly treated to exceptional views, such as this adult male.*

The 2025 Monhegan Migration Spring Weekend was a shocking success. We went from having a weather forecast that made me worry if there would be any migrants to see at all, to an exceptional weekend that was by far the best Memorial Day weekend of birding out here in quite a few years.

Technically, our tour was to begin on Friday with a little morning birding in Port Clyde before boarding our ferry. But it was raining. A lot. Wisely, most folks held out until the ferry meeting time. Unfortunately, that meeting time was delayed by 5 hours when the first two boats of the day were cancelled due to the storm. It was a bona fide late season Nor’Easter and it was raging out there.

We were lucky enough to get spaces on the 3:00 boat, but even luckier that the seas were dropping dramatically. OK, it was far from calm, and while I might not have thought it was “too bad,” others disagreed. But we made it! And the rain had stopped. And we went from 10-14 foot seas to a few waves that may have approached 8 feet. Not pleasant, but more than manageable. Of course, I have to admit that the “worst ferry ride” bar is pretty high for me.

By the time our luggage was organized, we didn’t have a lot of time, but we decided to try and catch up with the continuing truant Harlequin Ducks that had been seen in and around the harbor. Up to 8 had been reported, but when we arrived at the recommended spot, we found 12! While common in winter, “Harlies” are usually long gone by now, so this was a treat (it was also an island bird for me!). We also picked up a 2^nd/3^rd cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull for our troubles. There was even a short break of sunshine!

*Noteworthy for the date, 12 lingering Harlequin Ducks diminished to just one by the end of the weekend*.

By dusk, winds were light northwest and it was still cloudy. Overnight there were some scattered showers, with winds shifting to the west and then going calm. The fog and showers made the radar hard to decipher, but the wind map for offshore offered some hope.

Note how birds who were offshore of southern New England would be pushed out to sea, but then find a tailwind that could theoretically take them right to the Mid-coast of Maine? The Boston radar was very busy, and suggested birds were indeed well offshore to our south come dawn. We had hope.

But our pre-breakfast walk was not very productive. Uh-oh. Scattered showers had returned, and there were very, very few migrants around. We did see the 12 Harlequin Ducks again, but passage migrants were limited to a handful of Blackpoll Warblers and a Wilson’s Warbler. Was this going to be a very slow weekend?

We returned for breakfast at our respective lodges, and the showers stopped. We met at 9:00 and began our next outing. I was concerned. But then, it happened. All of it.

First, a Lark Sparrow was found – very rare in spring – and while I was going to meet the group, I relocated it in the lawn of the Trailing Yew. It wasn’t there when we returned as a group, but we elected to repeat the southern loop in the hopes of encountering it. And encounter it we did, several times, actually, as it worked its way around the lawns feeding on fresh dandelion seeds.

Meanwhile, something else was happening. Suddenly, birds were everywhere! Pocket after pocket of warbler activity was encountered, and every apple tree had birds in it! Small batches of birds giving flight calls overhead were suggestive of birds only now, at mid-morning, arriving on the island. As these birds were a very different mix of species from the last “birdy” day four days ago, according to a fellow guide, these were in fact “new birds” only now, and rather unexpectedly, arriving en masse.

As the afternoon went on, it only got better! There were warblers in every cluster of trees, with lots of Magnolia Warblers and American Redstarts, but overall good diversity. Birds must have been arriving throughout the day and therefore remained active into the evening. Birds were often low, easy to observe, and the repetition allowed for reinforcing study and comparisons.

Not only was today not the forecast wash-out (just a few brief periods of drizzle and a couple of very light showers), but it was simply amazing! While warblers stole the show as expected, and the Lark Sparrow was a harbinger of things to come, our afternoon at Lobster Cove was rather exceptional, too, with two continuing “Eastern” Willets, a close pair of Harlequin Ducks, and 3 feeding Atlantic Puffins. What a way to end a spectacular day! It was like the good ol’ days out here.

By Sunday, the Low was dissipating over New Brunswick, and while the radar showed what may have been a light migration overnight, there wasn’t much happening in the “morning flight” once again. But as we began our birding day, it was actually quite good! While a lot of birds were left over from yesterday’s flight, they were augmented by some new arrivals, or at the very least, new detections. Once again, the birding was better than expected, and by late morning we already had some partial sunshine.

Unlike Saturday, activity slowly died down as the morning went on as usual, but it was just a downright delightful morning in the field. Lots of pockets of activity were still dominated by American Redstarts and Magnolia Warblers, but there were a lot more Blackpoll Warblers and fewer Wilson’s Warblers today. 8-10 Harlequin Ducks continued, and spiffy Bay-breasted Warblers were particularly cooperative. And we had three irregularly fantastic views of Lincoln’s Sparrows throughout the day.

Bay-breasted Warblers were really conspicuous this trip, and we enjoyed great looks at both males and females daily.

*Lincoln’s Sparrows were unusually cooperative.*

A longer walk out to Burnt Head and a check of the island’s interior in the afternoon found some of the birds that had melted away from the edges, while an uncharacteristically skulky Great-crested Flycatcher gave us a jolt of excitement until finally revealing itself.

With the storm pulling away, light northwesterly winds and mostly cloudy skies dominated the overnight Sunday into Monday, and therefore there was little or no migration overnight, and therefore almost nothing in the Morning Flight. However, it also meant that most birds didn’t leave. And while slower than the last two days, it was still decent, good views of fun species were to be had, and the sun came out for good.

Magnolia Warblers, American Redstarts, and Blackpoll Warblers continued to dominate, along with the ubiquitous Yellow Warblers. Flycatchers were up, offering ample opportunity for instruction – and for eyes to glaze over. Morning highlights ranged from a particularly good tutelage from a Willow Flycatcher, a raft of 50 Surf Scoters offshore, and a really amazing Common Nighthawk repeatedly flying low over our heads and foraging over the island as noon approached.

It was warm and sunny, and with a sea breeze pushing birds out of the edges and deeper into cover, we decided to enjoy more of the island with a visit to the lighthouse grounds and a stroll deep into the spruce woods. In addition to building our list with island residents like Golden-crowned Kinglet and breeding species such as more Black-throated Green Warblers on territory, we enjoyed the plantlife of the Acadian habitat and a healthy dose of phytoncides. And in between, the occasional pocket of migrant warbler activity to bring us back to birding.

Our tour concluded with an impressive 91 total species, but I admit to being a little frustrated by having to give up with 19 species of warblers…20 sounds so much better! But given the unexpected big arrival on Saturday, and the minimal rain and wind after Friday, the tour was truly an incredibly success, far exceeded expectations, and did live up to what Monhegan birding legends are made of.

*Last birders standing on the last afternoon of the tour.*

*Staring at Eastern Egg Rock, attempting to will THE Tufted Puffin over to us.*

Then, as per usual, Jeannette – who joined us late on Sunday – and I enjoyed a day off together on the island on Tuesday. Unlike the magically-appearing flight on Saturday, this was a more predictable great morning. A moderate to strong flight overnight lit up the radar on light southwesterly to west winds. That put a lot of birds in the Gulf of Maine come dawn, and the morning flight was hoppin!

Consisting mostly of Blackpoll Warblers, American Redstarts, and Magnolia Warblers, it was quite diverse overall. A few “new” species included a Pine Siskin and a Wood Duck, and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers were a fun Morning Flight fly-by.

Before and after breakfast, the birding was excellent. It was the best day by far in volume, but a lot of the birds were “on the move” and departing the island throughout the morning. But there was more of pretty much every migrant species, save for Wilson’s Warblers in particular. Birds weren’t held low by clouds and drizzle, or exhaustion, so it wasn’t as mind-blowing as Saturday, even with more birds around overall.

*There were a lot more flycatchers around today, including quite a few Eastern Wood-Pewees.*

It was also getting warm on a perfectly sunny sky, and birds took to the shadows earlier than in days past; the hotspots got much quieter by late morning with the increasing seabreeze. Nonetheless, pockets of activity continued right up through lunchtime.

*The veggie burger bahn mi from The Bait Bag.*

We rapidly added to our collective weekend list (which do not count for our tour total, of course), including finally reaching 20 species of warblers with an uncommon-out-here Pine Warbler. We then eclipsed it with a stunning male Mourning Warbler, and finally in the afternoon, picked up an Ovenbird for our 22^nd and final species of warbler. Locally-rare Hairy Woodpecker, a truant Long-tailed Duck, at least one continuing Harlequin Duck, and we found my first Nelson’s Sparrow of the year at Lobster Cove. We even got a little hike in to try and burn a few of the extra calories we consumed from all of the islands’ scrumptious meals. And, anytime we stopped at a favorable looking patch of vegetation, migrants would appear, everywhere we went. It’s always tough to leave, but we at least went out with a bang!

So back here in the Real World now, we can reflect on this past weekend as one that we will most surely always remember!

Here is the trip list four the five-day tour. I didn’t bother including the first day though, but it did net us a Lesser Black-backed Gull that we didn’t see any other day.

* = seen from ferry only.

Species	5/24	5/25	5/26	5/27 (with Jeannette) *ferry ride only
Canada Goose	0	2	4	2
Wood Duck	0	0	0	1
Mallard	15	15	x	x
Common Eider	x	x	x	x
HARLEQUIN DUCK	12	10	0	1
White-winged Scoter	0	0	0	2
Surf Scoter	0	0	50	1
Black Scoter	0	0	0	30*
Long-tailed Duck	2	0	0	1
Red-breasted Merganser	0	0	0	3
Ring-necked Pheasant	x	x	x	x
Mourning Dove	6	8	10	8
Common Nighthawk	0	0	1	0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	3	4	5	4
Virginia Rail	0	1	1	1
WILLET	2	0	0	0
Spotted Sandpiper	0	0	0	2
Black Guillemot	x	x	x	x
ATLANTIC PUFFIN	3	0	0	0
Laughing Gull	5	6	10	6
Herring Gull	x	x	x	x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL	1 (5/23)	0	0	0
Great Black-backed Gull	x	x	x	x
Common Tern	0	0	0	5*
Common Loon	2	3	3	1
Red-throated Loon	0	0	0	1
Northern Gannet	6	2	1	2*
Double-crested Cormorant	x	x	x	x
Great Cormorant	0	0	0	1*
SNOWY EGRET	0	1	0	1
Great Blue Heron	0	0	1	0
Osprey	0	1	2	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	0	0	0
Bald Eagle	2	2	3	3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	0	0	1	0
Downy Woodpecker	1	0	0	0
HAIRY WOODPECKER	0	0	0	1
Northern Flicker	1	2	2	1
American Kestrel	0	0	0	1
Merlin	1	1	0	0
GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER	0	1	0	0
Eastern Kingbird	3	1	2	2
Eastern Wood-Pewee	4	2	4	20
Alder Flycatcher	0	2	2	2
“Traill’s” Flycatcher	0	0	1	3
Willow Flycatcher	0	0	2	2
Least Flycatcher	2	2	10	12
Philadelphia Vireo	1	0	0	0
Red-eyed Vireo	6	5	4	30
Blue Jay	4	2	1	1
American Crow	2	2	4	4
Common Raven	2	2	2	2
Black-capped Chickadee	x	x	x	x
Tree Swallow	1	1	2	2
Barn Swallow	1	1	3	6
Golden-crowned Kinglet	0	2	2	1
Cedar Waxwing	80	60	60	150
Red-breasted Nuthatch	1	2	4	6
Carolina Wren	2	4	3	3
House Wren	2	2	1	2
Gray Catbird	x	x	x	x
Brown Thrasher	0	1	1	1
European Starling	x	x	x	x
Eastern Bluebird	0	2	0	1
Swainson’s Thrush	1	3	3	8
American Robin	10	10	x	8
Purple Finch	1	1	0	1
Pine Siskin	0	0	0	1
American Goldfinch	10	10	12	10
LARK SPARROW	1	0	0	0
Chipping Sparrow	2	0	0	0
White-crowned Sparrow	0	1	1	1
White-throated Sparrow	1	2	1	1
NELSON’S SPARROW	0	0	0	1
Savannah Sparrow	4	4	3	2
Song Sparrow	x	X	x	x
Lincoln’s Sparrow	0	3	3	10
Bobolink	3	4	1	3
Baltimore Oriole	2	2	3	2
Red-winged Blackbird	x	x	x	x
Common Grackle	x	x	x	x
Ovenbird	0	0	0	1
Northern Waterthrush	1	1	1	10
Black-and-white Warbler	12	10	8	15
Tennessee Warbler	2	2	6	10
Nashville Warbler	0	1	1	4
MOURNING WARBLER	0	0	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	20	20	x	x
American Redstart	55	45	40	80
Cape May Warbler	3	4	2	6
Northern Parula	15	15	45	40
Magnolia Warbler	50	45	40	70
Bay-breasted Warbler	8	10	3	15
Blackburnian Warbler	4	4	3	4
Yellow Warbler	35	30	25	x
Chestnut-sided Warbler	6	6	10	20
Blackpoll Warbler	15	35	55	100
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	1	2	6
Pine Warbler	0	0	0	1
Yellow-rumped Warbler	3	2	0	1
Black-throated Green Warbler	10	15	20	15
Canada Warbler	1	0	0	0
Wilson’s Warbler	20	15	10	10
Scarlet Tanager	1	1	1	1
Northern Cardinal	6	10	8	6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	3	3	3	2

Day Total	72	75	73	92
Warbler Day Total	18	18	17	21

Trip Total	91	Weekend Total inc. Tuesday	106
Warbler Trip Total	19	Warbler total inc, Tuesday	22

The above birds follow the “guide plus one” rule, meaning both me and at least one client need to see the bird for it to go onto the list. This year, the only two birds I saw without the group that we didn’t later encounter was a fly-by Belted Kingfisher and an American Woodcock at dusk, both on the the 24th, for a total of 91 with the group and a 5-day tally of a respectable 106 species.

In other words, it was a great weekend!

This Week’s Highlights, 5/23-5/30/2025

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*This Lark Sparrow – always a treat in spiffy spring plumage – was among the notable birds form a*
*stellar weekend on Monhegan.*

Five days on Monhegan Friday the 23^rd through Tuesday 5/27 yielded a total of 106 species, including 22 species of warblers. It was the best Memorial Day Weekend on the island in several years, and at times, it really felt like “the good ol’ days” with a flock of warblers in every tree. Back in the real world, I was mostly guiding for local breeding specialties, but did have a few observations of note. But mostly, of course, my highlights were from my time on the island.

3 Blue-winged Teal, Weskeag Marsh, 5/23 (with Evan Obercian).

Monhegan Daily Highlights (full report coming soon).

5/23, with Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Tour group:

12 HARLEQUIN DUCKS
1 2^nd/3^rd Cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull

5/24, with Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Tour group:

12 HARLEQUIN DUCKS continued
1 LARK SPARROW (photo above)
2 continuing “Eastern” Willets
3 Atlantic Puffins
1 Philadelphia Vireo (FOY)
3 Cape May Warblers (FOY)
18 species of warblers led by 55 American Redstarts, 50 Magnolia Warblers, and 25 Yellow Warblers

5/25, with Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Tour group:

1 continuing SNOWY EGRET
8-10 continuing HARLEQUIN DUCKS
2 Alder Flycatchers (FOY)
18 species of warblers led by 45 American Redstarts, 45 Magnolia Warblers, and 35 Blackpoll Warblers, but also including at least 10 Bay-breasted and 4 Cape May Warblers

5/26, with Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend Tour group:

2 Willow Flycatchers (FOY)
1 Common Nighthawk
17 species of warblers led by 55 Blackpoll Warblers, 45 Northern Parulas, and 40 each of Magnolia and American Redstart.

5/27, with Jeannette:

1 continuing HARLEQUIN DUCK
1 Mourning Warbler (FOY)
1 Nelson’s Sparrow (FOY)
1 Pine Warbler
1 Long-tailed Duck
1 Ovenbird (my 22^nd species of warbler on the weekend)
21 species of warblers led by 100 Blackpoll Warblers, 80 American Redstarts, and 70 Magnolia Warblers, but also including at least 15 Bay-breasted, 10 Tennessee, and 6 Cape May Warblers.

1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (FOY), our property in Durham, 5/28.

1 continuing male Lesser Scaup, Pine Point, Scarborough, 5/29 (with clients from Arkansas).

Upcoming Tours (with space available):

Rangeley Birding Festival, June 5-8.

2025 Down East Adventures Tours and Trip Reports

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Freeport Wild Bird Supply is very excited to partner with Down East Magazine’s Down East Adventures for the fifth 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 are honored to be their provider for a series of unique and exclusive birdwatching endeavors. In 2025, we will have four outings once again.

1. Winter Waterbirds Workshop

~~February 9, 2025; 9:00am – 4:00pm~~ Cancelled due to multiple snowstorms!

Winter is a wonderful time for birding in Maine – at least when you are dressed appropriately! Colorful seaducks that breed in the high Arctic grace our shorelines – including all three scoter species and dapper Long-tailed Ducks, along with everyone’s favorite: striking Harlequin Ducks. Purple Sandpipers and Great Cormorants replace our summertime shoreline denizens. And if the winds are right, very sought-after alcids – including Dovekies and Thick-billed Murres – join our regular Black Guillemots and Razorbills. Black-legged Kittiwakes, Northern Gannets, and “white-winged” gulls add to the mix. In this workshop, we’ll hit a few of the prime viewing locations along Maine’s southern coast. But we won’t just be working on the checklist today. Instead, we’ll be focused on learning how to search for these birds – the how, when, and why – and how to identify them. We’ll learn about microhabitats, weather considerations, and seasonal timing to aid our search today and in the future. By visiting several seasonally-productive sites, we’ll compare similar species while taking time to savor the splashes of color offered by winter seaducks in an otherwise gray and white landscape.

To get an idea of what you may see when the tour returns in the winter of 2026, see the 2024 and 2023 trip reports.

2024 Down East Adventures Birding Tour Reports

2. Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop

May 4, 2025; 7:00 – 11:00am

*This Northern Parula was one of many ultra-cooperative warblers today. This was one of 10 parulas in a single cluster of willows on the shoreline of Capsic Pond Park during our 20205 workshop.*

Spirits seemed low when we met in such dense fog, but I was even more excited to explore the environs of Portland migrant traps, beginning with Evergreen Cemetery. After a slow start, with few warblers overhead in the Morning Flight, we encountered several very productive pockets of activity, including a great diversity of warblers. Many were down low, too, with just fantastic looks at species such as Yellow, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Nashville, and Black-and-white Warblers, along with great looks at Veeries and Least Flycatchers. A “herd” of about 75-100 White-throated Sparrows marched through the forest understory, and we stalked a Black-crowned Night-Heron and spotted a Merlin among many other species today.

Evergreen was good, but nearby Capisic Pond Park was just great! While there were fewer warblers in both quantity and diversity, the cool, drippy morning conditions kept everyone even lower here. We began with 10 Northern Parulas at eye level all around us in a blooming willow (photo above), had great looks at a Prairie Warbler, listened to Northern Waterthrushes, and marveled at Baltimore Orioles.

We then discussed the overnight migration and how the radar images suggested what we would see and not see today, and how the “poor” weather produced such great birding. In the end, we tallied a very respectable-for-the-date 15 species of warblers! Although the list was not the priority as usual in these workshops, it’s hard not to get excited about the diversity of warblers now arriving. While Northern Parula was our most abundant warbler today, the total warbler list – in very rough order of abundance- also included Black-and-white,Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Blue, Ovenbird, Magnolia, Chesnut-sided, Yellow, Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Green, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, Pine, and the aforementioned Prairie. More importantly, perhaps, we worked on building our skills of recognizing each species and family so that our birding will be better and more successful on our own next time.

3. Shorebird Workshop

August 18, 2025; 8:00am – 4:00pm

*This juvenile Piping Plover was one of 12 species of shorebirds we had the chance to really study on our*
*Shorebird Workshop tour.*

Could we have had more of a perfect day? Temperatures topping out in the mid-70’s, a light breeze in the afternoon, and clear skies – considering the rain of early summer and the recent extreme heat, we could not have asked for better. And then we saw thousands of shorebirds!

With more than 35 species of shorebirds regularly appearing in Maine, this workshop was designed to appreciate the diversity and beauty of this fascinating family. We hit some of the marshes, beaches, and rocky roosts that shorebirds prefer at the peak of their migration. We focused on comparative experience, learning how to recognize each species both near and far. Starting with the basics, such as plover vs. sandpiper, we’ll work our way up to the identification quandaries such as the “peeps” and lone yellowlegs. We worked through species by species as we developed a “toolkit” to approach shorebird identification on your own, using a combination of habitat, shape, size, structure, behavior, and plumage to identify this wonderfully diverse and attractive group of birds.

By day’s end we tallied a decent 12 (and a half!) species of shorebirds, a little short of our unofficial goal of 15. We did see a couple of rarities but were also dogged by Peregrine Falcons and Para-gliders causing birds to disperse and/or take cover. But we had plenty of chances to study a nice array of species, often side-by side.

Beginning at Biddeford Pool Beach, we started with the basics and enjoyed watching Ruddy Turnstones bulldoze their way into the wrack line and picking out White-rumped Sandpipers from a mass of Semipalmated Sandpipers. A Baird’s Sandpiper at Great Pond was one of our most notable birds of the day, and not where we expected it.

At Hill’s Beach, there was a lot of disturbance today, but we had some good opportunities to study Piping vs Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderlings, spiffy Short-billed Dowitchers, and more. We then shifted to the Pool, where we studied silhouettes and practiced distant shorebird using mostly general impression of size and shape. It was here that we had our largest numbers of the day, with an estimate of 1600 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 300 Semipalmated Plovers, and 163 Black-bellied Plovers leading the way.

*Near or far, good light or bad, the general impression of size and shape, behavior, and more can be applied to identify shorebirds more readily than little nuances in some color or pattern.*

After our lunch break, we returned north to Scarborough Marsh, where I would usually start the workshop, but with very low water in the upper salt pannes due to the drought, we shifted the itinerary. But the incoming tide at Pine Point did not disappoint! We had some close studies of more Short-billed Dowitchers and better views of Black-bellied Plovers, and about 1200 Semipalmated Sandpipers were present. However, as they moved close and concentrated, a Peregrine Falcon came tearing in, flushing most of the birds. Then, it made a sudden burst of speed and a hard turn and before we knew it, there was one less Semipalmated Plover on the mudflat. While it was poor timing for our shorebirds workshop (let alone for that one particular plover!), it was an awesome show (well, for us anyway) and one that will not soon be forgotten.

Some birds finally returned to the mudflat, when a large (for the date) flock of Willets flew in, making their usual grand entrance. We were able to put our advanced shorebirds ID skills to work with the bigger, lankier, grayer one that we soon identified as a rare in Maine “Western” subspecies of Willet. It might have been beyond today’s goals, but it was a great lesson in using comparative tools.

A couple of upper marsh stops finally gave us a good, close comparison between Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a Lesser Yellowlegs that was close enough to study and enjoy, bringing a productive and successful day to a close.

4. Monhegan Birding Workshop

September 12-14, 2025

Our final Downeast Adventures birding workshop tour of 2025 spent 3 delightful days on Monhegan Island. Weather, geography, habitat, and migration ecology all combine to produce some remarkable birding opportunities at this special place. And even when it’s “slow” by lofty Monhegan standards, lots of learning experiences and workshopping opportunities would be at hand, often right out the front door of our hotel. Oh yeah, the food is sooo good, too!

As per the plan, we hit the ground running shortly after our arrival on the island. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to walk the ½ mile or so to our hotel as we encountered quite a few migrants, especially at my favorite starting spot along Wharf Road. We jumped head-first into aging and sexing fall warblers thanks to 3 different plumages exemplified by a trio of Cape May Warblers. American Redstarts, Northern Parulas, Yellow Warbler, and more introduced us to what birding Monhegan in the fall is all about.

By the time we reconvened after a lunch break, the insanely gorgeous weather with bright sun and very little breeze encouraged birds to take to the shadows. A sky constantly abuzz with Merlins didn’t help either, although we enjoyed it. While passerine activity had slowed dramatically, we enjoyed a light hawk migration with a couple of Northern Harriers and a few American Kestrels, while the Merlins and 1-2 Sharp-shinned Hawks further diminished the activity in the trees and shrubs. We took the time to visit the east side of the island, sample the different habitat types of the island, and discuss food plants for birds and native insects. The butterfly, dragonfly, and insect-watching was excellent on this unseasonably warm afternoon, and we worked on learning the connection between birding and bird habitat.

On Saturday morning, we learned why there were so many birds around Friday morning, but few in the air at sunrise. But there were definitely “new” birds around, suggesting at least a light arrival of birds overnight had occurred, including two vociferous Dickcissels. I made the decision to try and track down a Blue Grosbeak that had just been reported, but unfortunately, it did not wait for us. We did have an immature male Orchard Oriole, however, which was a treat, and we spent more time studying Cape May Warbler plumages.

On such gorgeous days, a lot of newly-arrived migrants simply depart the island as part of their morning redetermined migration flights (yes, we discussed this more thoroughly among many topics of avian and general ecology discussed throughout the weekend). In fact, the second half of our morning was very slow, but we did enjoy a couple of adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls and we kicked up a very uncommon Marsh Wren. But warblers were few, and Merlins remained a’plenty. Red-breasted Nuthatches were very abundant however – demonstrating what an irruption looks like, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were unusually widespread for the date.

*We filled the time between birds looking at all other walks of life. American Dagger Moths caterpillars were particularly plentiful.*

The afternoon was spent with a couple of impromptu workshops, such as an introduction to gull identification as I attempted to enlighten the group about how manageable it is to understand the basics of this group of fascinating species. The avian highlight, however, was the thrilling chase of a Solitary Sandpiper by two Merlins right over our heads! The Merlins would gain some height, dive, and close the distance, only for the sandpiper to take another evasive maneuver. The sandpiper tried to gain elevation to stay above the diving Merlins, but they were getting closer! Then, the sandpiper made one quick turn, ascended, and took off to the north, leaving the hungry Merlins to mosey back down to the treeline to see if the marsh had something much slower to offer. We bid the sandpiper farewell and good luck as we thanked the Merlins for a most entertaining performance!

It was another very light migration overnight Saturday into Sunday, but unlike the previous day, we hit a wonderful early-morning wave. One sunny edge captivated us until it was time to hustle back for breakfast: Several American Redstarts, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, Common Yellowthroats, and Norther Parulas had joined together, punctuated by repeated views of a most cooperative Least Flycatcher. Every time we tried to move long, a new species appeared. A fly-over Greater Yellowlegs. A flycatching Eastern Wood-Pewee. And finally, a Brown Thrasher that popped out right in front of us.

I was thrilled to have this sample of “what Monhegan can be like” at this season for those who fought the urge to stay in bed. Post-breakfast was once again much slower, but we hit a few pockets of birds, as well a finding a Mourning Warbler which is always fun – and challenging – in fall migration. We watched and listened to territorial Carolina Wrens in a double-duet song battle, encountered a flock of 4-6 Red-eyed Vireos working on Fall Webworms, and spent more quality time with the island’s once-again-ubiquitous Ring-necked Pheasants. And of course, we made time to sample the stunning Acadian Forest habitat of the island’s interior and to take in the view from the lighthouse.

Another delicious lunch and then a slow meander to the ferry brought our visit to a close. On the ferry ride back, a few more Northern Gannets were seen, and plans to return to this extraordinary island were already in the works!

(2026 Birding Tours with Down East Adventures will be posted soon!)

Recent Highlights, 10/3– 10/9/24

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One of at least 15 Cory’s Shearwaters observed from a Cap’n Fish’s Cruises Whale Watch last week, showing the dark outer primaries on the underwing, making for a rounded end to the white of the underwing coverts, separating it from the recently-split Scopoli’s Shearwater.

October is my favorite month of birding in Maine, and this past week showed why. A great diversity of birds are on the move, and my past seven days featured everything from pelagics to yard birds. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.

Pelagic highlights from a Cap’n Fish’s Cruises Whale Watch out of Boothbay Harbor on 10/4: 4 NORTHERN FULMARS (including one dark morph), 4 ATLANTIC PUFFINS, 14-15 Cory’s Shearwaters (most seen and/or photographed well enough to see full dark outer primaries on the underwing; see above), 6 Red-necked Phalaropes, and one BROWN CREEPER landing on a person on the top deck about 14 miles off of Damariscove Island (photo below). My complete list is posted here.

1 Baltimore Oriole and 1 Nashville Warbler, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 10/5 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).

Sandy Point Morning Flight, 10/6: 140 birds of 18 species led by 60 Yellow-rumped Warblers. Total tally here.

1 Rusty Blackbird, 1 Nashville Warbler, and 1 Pied-billed Grebe, Capisic Pond Park, Portland, 10/9 (with clients from New York).

20-30+ Cory’s Shearwaters off East Point and Ocean Ave, Biddeford Pool, 10/9. Some just beyond Beach Island in good afternoon light to see dark outer primaries. 15 minutes of counting produced 18 individuals from East Point, all moving north, with 1-3 in view with almost every quick scan thereafter. Good sign for Monday’s pelagic! (with clients from New York).

7 American Oystercatchers and 1 Horned Grebe (first of fall), Ocean Avenue, 10/9 (with clients from New York).

1 American Redstart, Elphis Pond, Biddeford Pool, 10/9 (with clients from New York).

Highlights from our Durham property this week included the arrival of the first few Dark-eyed Juncos, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on 10/4, continuing multiple Lincoln’s Sparrows, Nashville Warbler on 10/8, and another or the same Indigo Bunting on 10/9.

And here’s my complete trip report from my Monhegan tour and visit on September 27 through October 1^st.

2024 Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend Trip Report

UPCOMING TOURS:

Our annual half-day pelagic with our partners Cap’n Fish’s Cruises out of Boothbay Harbor is on Sunday, October 14^th – a nice, late date that should put us more in the season of things like Great Skua, and you can be sure we’ll be studying Cory’s Shearwaters hard to find a Scopoli’s! More info and link to registration is here. See notes above from my 10/4 outing.

A few spaces remain on our Birds on Tap! – The Boat Trip! To House Island in Casco Bay on Sunday, October 20^th. More info here.

	Derek on This Week’s Highlights 5/2–…
	Eunice Miller on This Week’s Highlights 5/2–…
	Brian and Linda Frie… on This Week’s Highlights 4/10–…
	Derek on This Week’s Highlights 3/21–…
	Eunice Miller on This Week’s Highlights 3/21–…

Maine Birding Field Notes

Trip Reports, Essays, Rare Bird Reports, and More from Derek Lovitch's and Freeport Wild Bird Supply's birding in Maine and beyond.

Tag Archives: Monhegan

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Recent Highlights, 10/3– 10/9/24

UPCOMING TOURS: