Tag Archives: Ruff

This Week’s Highlights, 5/10-5/16/2025.

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The 2025 Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch came to a close on Thursday. It did not exactly end with a bang, but we had a great flight for the this late in the season on Monday, including a good movement of immature Broad-winged Hawks and Merlins, such as this one. It, and everything else that has passed over or by the summit for the last two weeks has only added to our record-breaking season.

After last week’s rarity insanity, this was a tamer, more “normal” week for mid-May. While several great songbird flights occurred this week, concentrations were few, but there were “new” birds arriving most every day. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.

  • 1 continuing RUFF (REEVE), Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 5/10 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 ORCHARD ORIOLE (FOY), 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, etc, Green Point WMA, Dresden, 5/13 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 immature male ORCHARD ORIOLE, feeders here at the store, 5/14.
  • 1 continuing hen CANVASBACK, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, Biddeford, 5/15.

My personal “first of years” this week also included:

  • 1 Bobolink, Thornhust Farm, North Yarmouth, 5/10 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Red-eyed Vireo, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 5/12 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 Spotted Sandpipers, Florida Lake Park, 5/12 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Canada Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/12 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 Green Herons, Green Point WMA, Dresden, 5/13 (with Jeannette).
  • 7 Short-billed Dowitchers, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 5/13 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Scarlet Tanager, our property in Durham, 5/14.
  • 1 Blackpoll Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/14.
  • 4 Laughing Gulls, East Point, Biddeford Pool, Biddeford, 5/15.
  • Numerous Common Terns, Biddeford Pool environs, 5/15.
  • 2 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 5/15.
  • 5 Roseate Terns, East Point/Ocean Ave, Biddeford Pool, 5/15.
  • 26 Ruddy Turnstones, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 5/15.
  • 2+ Semipalmated Plovers, The Pool, 5/15.
  • 82 Black-bellied Plovers, The Pool, 5/15.
  • 150 Semipalmated Sandpipers, The Pool, 5/15.
  • 4 Marsh Wrens, Cobboseecontee Lake Causeway, 5/16.

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch

The Week 8 report can be found here. The report for the final week, finishing on Thursday, can be found here.

Upcoming Tours (with space available):

Rangeley Birding Festival, June 5-8

This Week’s Highlights, 5/3-5/9/2025.

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This female Cerulean Warbler at Evergreen Cemetery on 5/6 was the first in Maine for just about every birder who raced to see it! Thanks to Bill for the photo!

Wow! What a week! Although I was out of town for the huge flight Friday night into Saturday morning, my birding with a tour group on an almost-as-productive Sunday morning made up for it. Then, with an upper level low locked into place, migration ground to a halt throughout most of the rest of the week. However, a trickle of new arrivals appeared, and an impressive array of rarities were found around the state. I did a lot more chasing than usual this week (including a personal “state bird”, but a self-found rarity on Friday was a perfect way to put the icing on the cake of a tremendous week of spring birding! My observations of note over the past seven days included the following:

  • 15 species of warblers (FOY) between Evergreen Cemetery and Capsic Pond Park, with Northern Parula the most numerous at both, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 2-3 Louisiana Waterthrushes, Suckfish Brook Conservation Area, Falmouth, 5/5 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 continuing BLACK-NECKED STILT, Spurwink Marsh, Cape Elizabeth, 5/6 (with Bill Thompson). Well, since we were out chasing together, we figured we might as well visit this elegant rarity found by John Lorence on 5/3.
  • The continuing CERULEAN WARBLER at Evergreen Cemetery on 5/8 with my Birds on Tap – Roadtrip: Warblers and Wort! Tour group. I don’t generally take photos while guiding groups, but I took a few of this bird…and completely wiffed on them!
  • After all this “twitching,” I was due to find my own rarity, and did so on 5/9 with an adult breeding plumage female RUFF (REEVE) at Walsh Preserve in Freeport. There are only about 10 previous records for Maine.

My personal “first of years” this week also included:

  • 2 Yellow Warblers, Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 8 Black-throated Blue Warblers, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 2 Wood Thrushes, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 3 Magnolia Warblers, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 4 Chestnut-sided Warblers, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 2 Great-crested Flycatchers, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 2 American Redstarts, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 2 Northern Waterthrushes, Capisic Pond Park, Portland, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 7 Chimney Swifts, Capisic Pond Park, 5/4 (with Down East Adventures Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop group).
  • 1 White-crowned Sparrow, feeders here at the store, 5/4.
  • 2 Lincoln’s Sparrows, Suckfish Brook Conservation Area, Falmouth, 5/5 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Warbling Vireo, our yard in Durham, 5/5.
  • 16 Willets, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 5/6.
  • 18 Least Sandpipers, Eastern Road Trail, 5/6.
  • 1 Eastern Kingbird, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/6 (with Bill Thompson).
  • 1 LITTLE BLUE HERON, Pelreco Marsh, Scarborough Marsh, 5/6 (with Bill Thompson).
  • 1 Blackburnian Warbler, Rte 136 powerline cut, Durham, 5/7.
  • 1 Wilson’s Warbler, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/8 (with Birds on Tap Roadtrip! tour group)
  • 2 House Wrens, Capisic Pond Park, 5/8 (with Birds on Tap Roadtrip! tour group).
  • 2 Blue-winged Teal, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 5/9.

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch

The Week 7 report – in which we broke the all-time season record – can be found here.

Upcoming Tours (with space available):

Rangeley Birding Festival, June 5-8