My observations of note over the last seven days included two light Morning Flights at Sandy Point and a rarity chase.
- Birding our property in Durham this week was once again very productive. Several Lincoln’s Sparrows were in the yard on the 16th and 17th, and the first White-throated Sparrows appeared at the feeders on the 17th. Other highlights include a continuing juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk; a vole- and frog-stalking Great Blue Heron all week; a tarrying immature male Ruby-throated Hummingbird from 9/17 through the 19th; several Lincoln’s Sparrows daily; a Brown Thrasher and Scarlet Tanager on 9/18; and a really nice variety of warblers.
- A light flight over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth on 9/15 (with apologies for all of this superfluous spacing…I’m trying to figure this out!)
6:19-8:50am
55F, mostly clear, NNW 5.3-6.6 to N 6.5-7.2mph
103 Northern Parulas
29 Unidentified
8 Red-eyed Vireos
8 Blue Jays
7 American Redstarts
6 Black-throated Green Warblers
4 Yellow Warblers
4 White-throated Sparrows
3 Purple Finches
3 Red-breasted Nuthatches
3 Blackpoll Warblers
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Palm Warblers
2 American Goldfinches
2 Blue-headed Vireos
2 American Robins
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Indigo Bunting
1 Common Loon
1 Merlin
1 Osprey
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 Baltimore Oriole
1 Cape May Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 American Pipit
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Peregrine Falcon
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Northern Flicker
X Common Yellowthroats
Total = 205
taking to the air yet again.
- 1 continuing NORTHERN WHEATEAR, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/16 (with Jeannette). Present since the morning of the 15th, we successfully visited the bird on the afternoon of the second day of its stay. Photo above.
- A light but rewarding flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth on 9/19.
6:24-9:24am (with Bill Thompson)
55F, mostly clear. NW 4.3-5.2 increasing to 5.1-11.0mph.
99 Northern Parulas
44 unidentified
32 Blackpoll Warblers
18 Black-throated Green Warblers
14 White-throated Sparrows
8 Red-breasted Nuthatch
6 Magnolia Warblers
6 Blue Jays
6 Red-eyed Vireos
4 American Redstarts
4 Purple Finches
4 American Goldfinches
2 Chipping Sparrows
2 Baltimore Orioles
2 Cedar Waxwings
1 American Pipit
1 Palm Warbler
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 American Kestrel
1 Merlin
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker (four “false starts”)
1 CONNECTICUT WARBLER (photo below)
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Scarlet Tanager
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Tufted Titmouse (5 “false starts”)
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
Total = 266
Connecticut Warblers are essentially annual at Sandy Point, but I never get a photo off and am often reticent to pull the trigger on the call without a really good look. Luckily, Bill Thompson joined me in “my office” this morning and was at the ready for the large yellowish warbler with long wings barreling towards us. This stellar photo shows the diagnostic complete eyering, pale throat, and long yellow undertail coverts of this robust warbler.
- 1 dead DICKCISSEL, killed by unprotected windows at the Smith Center at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment. More info here.
Upcoming Tours with Limited Space Available:
A few spaces are now open!
September 26-29, 2025
Join me on Monhegan during the height of migration for 1-4 days searching the island for regular visitors, rarities, and vagrants. If you haven’t experienced Maine’s Migration Mecca, now is the time! And if you’re like many of our regular travelers, you know you can’t wait to get back.
This is a casual outing, with boat and hotel reservations, as well as meals, on your own. Also, you can come and go as you please, based on whatever boat and departure times and locations suit you best. Sign up for 1,2, 3, or 4 days, we will give you the time and place to meet us on the island based on when you arrive.
In the eleven years we have run this trip on this weekend, we have averaged 95 species, including 17 species of warblers!
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.
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 Wabrlers, 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!
Maine Birding Field Notes 