Tag Archives: Orono

This Week’s Highlights 4/4– 4/9/2026.

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Jeannette and I had a great weekend of Bohemian Waxwing quality time, including this photo session at University of Maine – Orono’s Littlefield Garden on 4/6.

Apparently, Jeannette and I weren’t ready for spring yet, as we used a few days off to go further north, back into (on those days) winter and winter birds!  Nonetheless, new arrivals are showing up regularly, and the radar on the night of 4/8-4/9 showed the first substantial migration of the season. These are my observations of note over the past 6 days.

  • 1 Rusty Blackbird, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were the bird of the trip for Jeannette and I as we spent two nights in Bangor over our weekend. We started with 35 on Rte 9 in Lisbon on our drive north on 4/5 followed by a flock of 15-20 that flew by the window of Timber Kitchen and Bar in Bangor as we enjoyed a scrumptious brunch. On 4/6, we had 23 at the Littlefield Gardens on the University of Maine – Orono campus, a total of 30 at Saxl Park in Bangor, and then 38 at Essex Marsh. We were sad to not keep the streak alive as we worked our way back home the next day!
  • 3 Evening Grosbeaks, Littlefield Gardens, University of Maine – Orono, 4/6 (with Jeannette).
  • Searched the Corrina-Newport area for the Pink-footed Goose that hadn’t been reported for a few days on 4/7 and found a mere 28 Canada Geese. Plenty of migrant waterfowl on lakes and ponds, however, the highlight of which was 533 Ring-necked Ducks, etc, on Corinna Marsh (with Jeannette).

My other personal “first of years” (aka “FOYs”) this week included:

  • 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Pied-billed Grebe, Florida Lake Park, 4/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Swamp Sparrow, Stud Mill Road, Penobscot County, 4/6 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Winter Wren, Northeast Penjajawoc Preserve, Bangor, 4/7 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 Hermit Thrush (FOS), Florida Lake Park, 4/8.
  • 1 Palm Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 4/8 (with Jayden Mowry).
  • 2 Chipping Sparrows, our feeders in Durham, 4/9.
  • 1 Wilson’s Snipe, Jordan School Road, Auburn, 4/9.
  • 1 Pine Warbler, Jordan School Road, 4/9.

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch is Underway!

The 20th year of the project began on March 15th. The quickest and clearest way to view daily reports is by clicking on the Hawkcount link contained here. Meanwhile, we will continue to post weekly summaries on the News Page of our website. Here’s the Week 3 report.

Upcoming Tours.

April 19, 2026; 9:00am – 3:00pm

Portland Explorer (formerly Maine Brew Bus) and Freeport Wild Bird Supply are excited to continue our collaboration for 3 very special outings in 2026. 

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!). Seasonal birding hotspots and great local beer – a perfect combination, and we’ll even do all of the driving!

This brand-new itinerary takes us to the Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal in the peak of northbound raptor migration. Now in its 20th year, this research project by Freeport Wild Bird Supply tallies an average of 4,180 migrating birds of prey each spring from the summit!

After a gentle 1-mile climb through the woods, looking and listening for migrant and resident songbirds, we’ll arrive at the summit and join the project’s Official Counter. Derek will discuss the history and methodology of the project, as the counter points out migrating raptors. Derek will lead us through the basics of hawk identification to give us a hawkwatch primer, and then if the migration action allows, we’ll sit back and enjoy the show until it is time to depart (the walk down is a steep ¼ of a mile on a wide, well-worn trail with rocks and roots and some steps; hiking sticks are suggested if you use them). This is the only Hawkwatch Workshop program that FWBS will be offering this year, so this is a tour you won’t want to miss!

After about 3 hours of birding, we will be transported to two of our great local producers to sample their offerings and learn their styles. Our brewery destinations are subject to change, but the current plan is to visit Maine Beer Company and Goodfire Brewing.

This Week’s Highlights, 11/30– 12/6/2024

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There were very few birds along the Stud Mill Road east of Old Town on the 4th, but happily, one of them was this Northern Shrike.

A wintery week produced a very wintery slate of highlights, thanks in part to our trip north on our annual last-weekend-before-store-chaos overnight in Bangor. A push of facultative migrants with the arrival of snowcover was very evident this week as well. Here are my observations of note over the past 7 days:

  • 1 adult male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Broad Cove Preserve, Cumberland, 11/30 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 192 Ruddy Ducks, 40 Green-winged Teal, 2 American Wigeon, 1 Northern Pintail, 1 Northern Flicker, 2 Belted Kingfishers, etc, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 12/1. A distant raft may have been scaup.
  • 1 female Red-winged Blackbirds, feeders here at the store, 12/1.
  • 1 Merlin, Wyman Road, Benton, 12/2 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, Shamut Dam, Benton, 12/2 (with Jeannette).
  • 1+ Lapland Longspur, 86 Horned Larks, and 24+ Snow Buntings, River Road, Benton, 12/2 (with Jeannette). Another distant flock of 75+ Snow Buntings appeared to contain several more Lapland Longspurs.
  • 1 female Greater Scaup, Sebasticook Lake, Newport, 12/2 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Barrow’s Goldeneye (FOS), Stillwater River at University of Maine-Orono, 12/2 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 Canada Jays and 2 Evening Grosbeaks, Sunkhaze NWR, 12/3 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Northern Shrike, Stud Mill Road, Penobscot County, 12/3 (with Jeannette).
  • Amazingly devoid of birds, 5 hours of birding Sunkhaze-Stud Mill (walking trails plus driving) yielded only 9 species. The only finch were the two grosbeaks, and not surprisingly, the cone crop of spruce, fir, and Eastern White Pine was non-existent. 
  • 2 female Red-winged Blackbirds, our feeders in Durham, 12/4.
  • 3 Fox Sparrows, feeders at the store on 12/3 and continued through the end of the week. Jayden had 2 on Monday the 2nd here, with the third arriving the next day.
  • 20 Snow Buntings, Hunter Road Fields, Freeport, 12/5.
  • 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Saco Riverwalk, 12/6.

This Week’s Highlights, 3/5-11, 2022.

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The photo of the week was this cute and cuddly Porcupine from Stud Mill Road on 3/6.

It was another busy week of birding for me! And it was another great week of birding, with the vanguard of spring migration coupled with lots of winter specialties still around – and a lot more finches! Turkey Vulture, Red-winged Blackbird, and Common Grackle numbers were slowly increasing by week’s end.  Scattered Pine Siskins are now reaching the coastal plain (from the north, west, or south?). My observations of note over the past seven days were as follows:

  • 1 drake Northern Pintail, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 3/5 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 3+ Lapland Longspurs with 100+ Snow Buntings and 40+ Horned Larks, Flood Farm, Clinton, 3/6 (with clients from Texas).
  • ~35 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, Stillwater Avenue, Orono, 3/7 (with clients from Texas).
  • Sunkhaze NWR/Stud Mill Road finch report (from a few hours in the pm on 3/6 and two hours in the early morning on 3/7 (with clients from Texas):

Pine Siskins: many hundreds, including numerous flocks of 50-75+

Purple Finches and American Goldfinch: scattered small numbers; groups up to 10-12.

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS: Scattered individuals and small groups including one cluster of 4+ singing males.

Red Crossbills: Scattered individuals and one small group of 8. No recordings were successfully obtained.

Common Redpoll: One flock of 60-75; a few singles with other finches.

  • 1 first-winter Iceland Gull and 1 drake Lesser Scaup, Auburn Riverwalk, 3/10.

This Week’s Highlights, 11/27-12/3, 2021.

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Four of the five dapper drake Barrow’s Goldeneyes that Jeannette and I saw in the Penobscot River from the University of Maine-Orono campus on 11/30. This was the largest group that I have seen
in several years in the state, sadly.

My observations of note over the past seven days were as follows:

  • 6 Dunlin, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 3 1st-cycle Iceland Gulls, Shawmut Dam from River Road, Fairfield, 11/29 (with Jeannette).
  • 5 Green-winged Teal, 8 Lesser Scaup, etc, Sebasticook Lake, 11/29 (with Jeannette).
  • 5 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Penobscot River at University of Maine campus, 11/29 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 Red Crossbills, Sunkhaze NWR, 11/30 (with Jeannette)
  • 4 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and 2 Red Crossbills, Stud Mill Road, 11/30 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 hen American Wigeon, random lone flyover over Saxl Park, Bangor, 11/30 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 drake Northern Pintail, Androscoggin River from Rte. 136, Durham, 12/3.