Tag Archives: Popham Beach State Park

Recent Highlights, 9/19– 9/25/24

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This molting juvenile (into 1st winter) Stilt Sandpiper was one of a goodly 8 that were in the salt pannes along the Eastern Road Trail through Scarborough Marsh on the 19th.

With numerous nights of clear and calm conditions, or northerly winds, migration continued in earnest almost every night this week. Meanwhile, a couple of days of onshore winds have helped push record numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls to the Maine coast. My observations of note over the last week were as follows:

  • It was a big week of sparrow migration as well. For example, we had an estimated 100 each of Song and Savannah Sparrows, 25 Swamp Sparrows, etc, at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport on our Saturday Morning Birdwalk on the 21st.
  • 8 juvenile/1st winter STILT SANDPIPERS and 1 juvenile AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/19.
  • An incredible 42 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (all but 4 were adults);1 adult presumptive LESSER BLACK-BACKED X HERRING GULL HYBRID (perfectly intermediate in all characteristics); 1 ad with 1 juvenile CASPIAN TERN; and 1 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/20.
  • 1 Snowy Egret, Auburn Riverwalk, 9/22.
  • Highlights from morning birding on our Durham property this week included near-daily Philadelphia Vireo, continuing Indigo Buntings, multiple Lincoln’s Sparrows daily beginning on 9/19, the arrival of Palm Warblers on the 21st, a late YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO on 9/22, a bog arrival of Swamp Sparrows on 9/24, and late-ish Scarlet Tanager and Magnolia Warbler on 9/25.

Five of the 38 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Popham Beach on the 20th.

UPCOMING TOURS:

Our annual half-day pelagic with our partners Cap’n Fish’s Cruises out of Boothbay Harbor is only 2 ½ weeks away! Join us on this annual favorite on October 14th – a nice, late date that should put us more in the season of things like Great Skua. More info and link to registration is here.

This Week’s Highlights, 9/2-9/8, 2023

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It was a good week for Caspian Terns, and it’s always a treat to see one sitting still. This adult was on the Lubec Flats on the 4th.

A busy week of birding included our annual late summer/early fall trip to Washington County and a bunch of guiding, producing the following observations of note:

  • 25-30 Common Nighthawks, over Chebeague Island in the mid-morning, 9/3 (with The Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust birdwalk group).
  • 1 juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERON, 1 CASPIAN TERN, 1 Great Egret, 5 Surf Scoters, etc, Lubec Flats, Lubec, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • A relatively slow morning in Head Harbor Passage from Eastport on 9/5 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends) was most noteworthy for the continuing large numbers of COMMON MURRES. I tallied 109, but that seems very conservative. We only had 4 Razorbills and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Quiet time with just us and a Fin Whale more than made up for it though.
  • The afternoon whale watch on Eastport Windjammers to the same waters that day (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, and Jeannette) yielded an adult LITTLE GULL, 3 CASPIAN TERNS, 1 late ARCTIC TERN, 2 Great Shearwaters, etc. Incredibly experience with 2 Fin Whales, 1 Humpback Whale, and 1 Minke Whale though.

We always enjoy our quality time with Black-legged Kittiwakes in the Head Harbor Passage area at this time of year.

  • 2 American Pipits (FOF), Sanborn Cove, Machiasport, 9/6 (with Jeannette). Interestingly, we had pipits at a number of places throughout the day, with a high count of 22 at Addison Marsh, Addison.
  • 1 Great Egret, Addison Marsh, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Great Egret, Essex Marsh, Bangor, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • 3 SANDHILL CRANES, Plymouth Pond, Plymouth, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • High count for warbler species in our Durham backyard this week was 11 on 9/7 (with Angela Woodside).
  • 3 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/8 (with clients from Texas).
  • Great whale-watching trumped the bird-watching again this week with 3 lunge-feeding Fin Whales off of Boothbay Harbor aboard Cap’n Fish’s Cruises on 9/8 (with clients from Texas). 3 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, 1 Great Shearwater, 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, 10 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels and making it back to shore before the violent thunderstorms add to the success of the trip!

Meanwhile, my shorebird high counts this week were as follows. While reduced in diversity by a lack of visitation to southern Maine shorebird hotspots, Downeast yielded some excellent numbers and I found some uncommon species in unexpected places for a goodly total of 18 species (“shorebird season” is far from over!):

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 1, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/8 (with clients from Texas).
  • Black-bellied Plover: 75, Lubec Flats, Lubec, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • Killdeer: 56, Mayall Road, Gray, 9/6 (with Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 600, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 1, flying 10 miles off of Boothbay Harbor, 9/8 (with clients from Texas). Odd sighting of a single juvenile bird circling the boat repeatedly in hazy conditions where the mainland was not visible.
  • Sanderling: 24, Popham Beach State Park, 9/8 (with clients from Texas)
  • BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 1, Yarmouth Town Landing, 9/2 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Least Sandpiper: 25+ Sanborn Cove, Machiasport, 9/5 (with Jeannette).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 125!, Lubec Flats, 9/4.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 2500-3000!, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 juv, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 4, Lubec Flats, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • American Woodcock: 1, over Rte 1, Pembroke, at dusk on 9/5 (with Jeannette).
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 1, multiple locations.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, over our yard in Durham, 9/2.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 9, Yarmouth Town Landing, 9/2 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 2, Red Point Nature Preserve, Lubec, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: 7, Passamaquoddy Bay, Eastport-New Brunswick, 9/5 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Jeannette, and friends).

Derek’s Birding This Week: 9/4-10, 2021

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I enjoyed three spiffy juvenile Baird’s Sandpipers this week, including this one that landed in front of my scope at Popham Beach State Park on the 10th.

In addition to the Sandy Point Morning Flight tallies posted to our store’s Facebook page – and elsewhere, my observations of note over the past seven – exceptionally productive and birdy –  days also included the following:

  • 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette).
  • Pelagic from Eastport through Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick, 9/7 (with Allison Anholt, Chris Bartlett, Cameron Cox, Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Andy Patterson, Erin Walter, and Jeannette): 1 Pomarine Jaeger, 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 30-35 Common Murres, 210 Razorbills, 1 Great Shearwater, 3000 Bonaparte’s Gulls, etc.
Bonaparte’s Gull
  • Whale Watch from Eastport through Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick, 8/7 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Erin Walter, and Jeannette): 1 Pomarine Jaeger, 1 ARCTIC TERN, 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, similar number of alcids but perhaps even more Common Murres, etc.
  • 1 Great Egret, Machias Causeway, 9/8.
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Roque Bluffs State Park, 9/8 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 adult SANDHILL CRANES and 1 DICKCISSEL, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 9/10.
A pair of Sandhill Cranes have become annual visitors in the fall to the fields along Mayall Road in Gray/New Gloucester, and I saw them for the first time on the 10th. No colt this year, unfortunately.
  • 2 female Lesser Scaup (FOF), Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 9/10.
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/10.

And although shorebird season is winding down, a trip downeast bumped up a few of my shorebird high counts this week:

  • Black-bellied Plover: 55, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 53, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/10.
  • Piping Plover: 2 late juveniles, Popham Beach State Park,  9/10.
  • Sanderling: 45, Popham Beach State Park, 9/10.
  • BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 3 total!  1 juv, Sanford Cove, Machiasport, 9/5 (with Jeannette); 1 juv, Mowry Beach, Lubec, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette); 1 juv, Popham Beach State Park, 9/10.
  • Least Sandpiper: 26, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/6 (with Allison Anholt, Cameron Cox, and Jeannette).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 1, several locations.
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 2, Popham Beach State Park, 9/10.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 900-1000+, Sanborn Cove, Machiasport, 9/8 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Erin Walter, and Jeannette).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 10, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 2, Walsh Preserve, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group) and 2, Highland Road, Brunswick, 9/10.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 60+, Walsh Preserve, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 6, Walsh Preserve, 9/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group)

This Week in Shorebirds: 8/22-28/2015

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Two juvenile Baird’s Sandpipers at Popham Beach State Park on Friday morning, “rare-but-regular” fall migrants.

August is for shorebirds. Although the “fall” southbound migration started in late June (when the first non-breeders begin to turn around to mosey back south) and continues into November when Purple Sandpipers are still filling in, August is the month of peak numbers and diversity in Maine.
Most weeks from mid-July into September of recent years, I post a weekly “shorebird high counts this week” summary to my weekly “Additional Highlights This Week” summary posts to the Maine-birds listserve. While I do hope this is interesting and of value to folks, I also do it to organize my own notes, allowing me to quickly reference the peaks and valleys of particular species with ease should I need to.

I generally only post this when I have hit at least two “primary” and at least one “secondary” site each week, to make the numbers meaningful. And I prefer at least one prime high tide location (Eastern Road Trail in Scarborough Marsh, Biddeford Pool Beach/Ocean Avenue, or Popham Beach State Park in some years) with one low or mid-tide hotspot (Pine Point, Hill’s Beach/The Pool, or Popham and nearby environs).

This week was a particularly productive week for my own shorebirding, so this week’s summary is a helpful future reference for me. I also thought it was worth going into a little more detail, since it yielded a goodly 21 species (plus one subspecies) and some excellent totals.

The inclement weather of the weekend into the middle of the week (regular rain, lots of fog, easterly or southerly winds) was perfecting for “grounding” shorebirds and allowing numbers to build. I think my only surprise was my lack of a real rarity – like Western Sandpiper (although I worked pretty hard for one!)

I hit the low-tide hotspot of Pine Point on Monday with Jeannette, followed by the Eastern Road Trail at high tide later that afternoon. Jeannette and I spent the incoming to high tide at Biddeford Pool Beach on Tuesday, and on Friday, Serena Doose and I visited Popham on the incoming to high tide. Additionally, Jeannette and I checked one of the “secondary” sites, Brunswick’s Wharton Point on Tuesday and on Thursday I visited Wells Harbor before the evening’s Scott Weidensaul talk that we co-sponsored with Birds and Beans coffee and York County Audubon.

It’s always good to hit a freshwater location for diversity and high counts of pond-preferring-migrants, so when my Poplar Hut Tour Group with Maine Huts & Trails visited the Carrabassett Valley Snowfluent Ponds on Sunday, my high counts of Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers were acquired, along with my only Wilson’s Snipe of the week.

And, as if often the case during the peak of shorebird migration, there is some other “incidental sighting” of a migrant in some weird place – but not as weird as the Whimbrel (my only of the week) foraging at 4,200 feet atop Sugarloaf Mountain that Paul Doiron, Kristen Lindquist, and I observed on Sunday afternoon. While I knew they forage on mossberry during migration, such as in the bogs Downeast, I was most definitely not expecting one up here!

Therefore, with a total of 7 shorebirding locations – plus that mountaintop Whimbrel! – “this week’s shorebird high counts” scoreboard looks like this:

AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER: 1 ad, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
Black-bellied Plover: 160, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
Semipalmated Plover: 350, Pine Point, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
Killdeer: 3, Pine Point, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 5, Pine Point, 8/11 (with Jeannette).
Greater Yellowlegs: 12, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/25 (with Jeannette).
Lesser Yellowlegs: 38, Eastern Road Trail, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
“Eastern” Willet: 8 juvs, Pine Point, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
“WESTERN” WILLET: 1 juv. (FOY), Pine Point, 8/24 (with Fyn Kind, Gary Roberts, and Jeannette).
Solitary Sandpiper: 4, Carrabassett Valley Snowfluent Ponds, 8/23 (with Poplar Hut Tour group).
Spotted Sandpiper: 5, Carrabassett Valley Snowfluent Ponds, 8/23 (with Poplar Hut Tour group).
Whimbrel: 8, Wells Harbor, 8/27.
Ruddy Turnstone: 8, Pine Point, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
Sanderling: 40, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/25 (with Jeannette).
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1000, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/25 (with Jeannette)..
Least Sandpiper: 75 mostly juv, Eastern Road Trail, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
White-rumped Sandpiper: 80-100 adults, Eastern Road Trail, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 2 juveniles, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 8/28 (with Serena Doose).
Pectoral Sandpiper: 6, Pine Point, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
STILT SANDPIPER: 4 ads, Eastern Road Trail, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
Short-billed Dowitcher: 19 juveniles, Pine Point, 8/24 (with Jeannette).
Wilson’s Snipe: 1, Carrabassett Valley Snowfluent Ponds, 8/23 (with Poplar Hut Tour group).

Furthermore, writing this blog gives me a chance to show off some of Jeannette’s photography! These are just a few of the shots she got during our visit to Scarborough on Monday.
IMG_2024_edited-2Adult Black-bellied Plover, Pine Point, 8/24.

IMG_2069_edited-2Juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher, Pine Point, 8/24.

IMG_2092_edited-2Adult Semipalmated Plover, Pine Point, 8/24.

IMG_2148_edited-2Adult and juvenile Semipalmated Sandpipers with one juvenile Semipalmated Plover, Pine Point, 8/24.

IMG_2256_edited-2Adult Pectoral Sandpiper and juvenile Least Sandpiper, Eastern Road Trail, 8/24.

IMG_2295_edited-2Adult White-rumped Sandpiper, Eastern Road Trail, 8/24.

IMG_2331_edited-2Semipalmated Sandpipers with one adult Semipalmated Plover and one adult Sanderling, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/25.

Jeannette in Marsh_edited-1

Of course, it’s not just shorebirds that are on the move – there are plenty of passerines as well! A migrant Wilson’s Warbler and a whopping 14 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were at Old Town House Park on Saturday morning when I visited it with my Saturday Morning Birdwalk group. My tour group to the Poplar Hut encountered mixed-species foraging flocks as we hiked to and from the hut, highlighted by an immature female Cape May Warbler in a little wave around the hut itself on Sunday morning.
Poplar Falls_edited-1

Other highlights this week included 14 Wood Ducks and a bumper crop of juvenile Common Yellowthroats at Florida Lake Park (8/24), the whiter of the two Tricolored Heron x Snowy Egret hybrids (“Splotchy”) in the Rte 1/9 salt pannes in Scarborough Marsh with Jeannette on the same day and a drake White-winged Scoter off of Biddeford Pool Beach on 8/25.

While a diversity of shorebirds will continue for several more weeks (and there’s a better chance for Western, Baird’s, and Buff-breasted Sandpipers), I tend to spend less time focusing on them (and therefore not enough time at enough prime locations over the course of the week), and therefore only occasionally post summary totals. In fact, if the much-reduced numbers at Popham today are any indication, a lot of shorebirds departed with the passage of this recent cold front.

Instead, I spend most of my free mornings now at “my office,” the bridge at Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, observing and obsessively counting migrant passerines in the “Morning Flight.” In fact, my first visit of the season there on Thursday morning yielded 438 migrants, including 17 species of warblers, 1 early Dickcissel, 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (my 3rd-ever here), and 5 Prairie Warblers – my 2nd highest count.

(Much) more on that soon.