This Tropical Kingbird, a long-overdue third state record, was discovered at the Skelton Dam Boat Launch in Dayton. Many of us saw it on the morning of 7/18, but it may have been present for nearly three weeks before being identified!

It’s been a busy 12 days, with a weekend in Quebec City and summertime human visitors. Of course, the last day in Quebec City was when the Ferruginous Hawk was 20 minutes from our home. Oh well…brunch was absolutely fantastic. Sadly, life and work minimized my birding during this period, despite a suite of rarities now appearing around the Northeast.  Luckily, I did have a couple of good mornings in the field before we head out on our summer vacation, including hours of quality time with a Tropical Kingbird in Dayton that was happily identified while I was around and somehow free of responsibilities for the morning!  I wonder what will show up while we are gone this time!?

• Both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos have been calling on our Durham property all week.

• 1+ WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, Moore’s Pond, Bradstreet Twp, 7/12 (with Jeannette).

• 2-3 Grasshopper Sparrows, Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport, Auburn, 7/15 (with Doug Hitchcox et all).

• 1 continuing TROPICAL KINGBIRD, Skelton Dam Boat Launch, Dayton, 7/18 (with m’obs). Third state record, first chase-able. Long overdue state bird for me! After years of expecting, predicting, and looking for one, in my frustration, I pulled it off my “Next 25 Predictions List” and so I don’t get any credit for this one. I still enjoyed it though. Photo above, and video here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/4qyGf1VSmw1wpSon/

• The salt pannes along the Eastern Road Trail in Scarborough Marsh are exceptional right now due to low water levels. On the morning of the 19^th, a few of the tallies included 125+ Snowy and 50+ Great Egrets; 50+ Glossy Ibis; and 20+ Great Blue Herons. Shorebird numbers included a nice number of Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers; 50+ Greater and 30+ Lesser Yellowlegs; 16 Short-billed Dowitchers; and 2 Pectoral Sandpipers (FOF). Of course the highlight for me, however, was “Patches Jr, Jr” – the proposed HYBRID TRICOLORED HERON x SMALL WHITE EGRET(S) SPP back for another year. In fact, it’s already year 12 of this complex here. Unfortunately, it was too far for photos today.  For more information, see: North American Birds, Volume 72: No 2, pp 28-40.

• 1 Yellow-throated Vireo, our property in Durham, 7/21. Yard Bird #153!

Tours and Events:

• There will not be a Saturday Morning Birdwalk on 7/27.

• Birds of Casco Bay with our partners Seacoast Tours here in Freeport next departs on Sunday, August 4^th with a focus on migrant shorebirds.

• A few spaces remain on our next Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! With our partners the Maine Brews Cruise. We’ll be looking at shorebirds at Scarborough Marsh on Sunday, August 11^th.