Tag Archives: Sandhill Crane

This Week’s Highlights 10/15 – 10/22/2025.

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Swamp Sparrows have been common and conspicuous on our Durham property, and elsewhere this week. I feel this, like most sparrows, is an underappreciated beauty!

My observations of note over a very productive and exciting eight days of birding included the following:

  • Highlights from our Durham property this week included near-daily American Woodcocks and Rusty Blackbirds, and a nice little arrival of more Swamp Sparrows and Purple Finches in particular on 10/21.
  • Sandy Point Morning Flight, 10/15.

A very light flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning.

6:55-8:30 (with Bill Thompson).

48F, mostly cloudy to partly cloudy, NW 1.7-2.5mph diminishing to calm.

51 American Robins

33 Yellow-rumped Warblers

28 Dark-eyed Juncos

17 American Goldfinches

16 Ruby-crowned Kinglets

8 Eastern Bluebirds

7 White-throated Sparrows

6 Chipping Sparrows

5 Palm Warblers

4 Hermit Thrushes

4 Golden-crowned Kinglets

3 Blue-headed Vireos

3 Purple Finches

3 Swamp Sparrows

2 Pine Siskins

2 Rusty Blackbirds

2 Tufted Titmice (4 false-starts and counting)

1 Red-breasted Nuthatch

1 Blackpoll Warbler

1 White-breasted Nuthatch

1 Downy Woodpecker (2+ false-starts)

1 House Finch

1 American Pipit

1 Northern Flicker

1 Magnolia Warbler

1 unidentified

Total  = 203

  • 1 continuing CACKLING GOOSE, Thornhurst Farm, North Yarmouth, 10/15 (with Bill Thompson).
  • 1 Least Sandpiper, 1 White-rumped Sandpipers, and 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 10/15 (with Bill Thompson).
  • Sandy Point Morning Flight, 10/16.

An excellent flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning.

6:55 to 10:40am.

44F, Mostly cloudy, NW 4.3 – 9.0 increasing to 15.1 – 19.7mph with higher gusts.

2186 American Robins (*NEW RECORD! – just barely).

1776 Yellow-rumped Warblers

167 unidentified

127 Dark-eyed Juncos (One was quite likely not a Slate-colored, but my photos of it are not useful)

61 Common Grackles

48 Cedar Waxwings

43 Canada Geese

31 Chipping Sparrows

21 Ruby-crowned Kinglets

19 Rusty Blackbirds

18 White-throated Sparrows

13 Northern Flickers

11 Golden-crowned Kinglets

11 Purple Finches

9 Pine Siskins

7 Palm Warblers

4 Blue-headed Vireos

4 unidentified finches

4 Hermit Thrushes

4 Song Sparrows (crossed together at 8:29. This is only my second or third observation of SOSP engaging in Morning Flight after sunrise here; plenty more in and around the parking lot as usual)

3 Merlins

3 Common Loons

3 Turkey Vultures

2 Red-winged Blackbirds

2 White-crowned Sparrows

2 Eastern Phoebes

1 Northern Parula

1 Blackpoll Warbler

1 Brown Creeper

1 Peregrine Falcon

1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

1 Cooper’s Hawk

1 American Goldfinch

1 Red-shouldered Hawk

1 Cape May Warbler

1 Red-breasted Nuthatch

1 Sharp-shinned Hawk

1 Tennessee Warbler (from Bill Thompson’s photo review)

1 Black-throated Blue Warbler (from Bill Thompson’s photo review).

Total = 4,592

  • Notables from a delightfully birdy morning on Bailey Island, Harpswell on 10/17 included a decent, and relaxingly unquantified, morning flight mostly of Yellow-rumped Warblers; 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and 1 Cape May Warbler among the migrants found here and there around the island.
  • 12 SANDHILL CRANES, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 10/18 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 WILSON’S WARBLER and 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, Eastern Promenade, Portland, 10/18.
  • 1 DICKCISSEL, feeders here at the store, 10/19, continuing through at least 10/21. Was this the same bird seen on 10/4 and then again on 10/13-14?
  • 4 continuing FORSTER’S TERNS, Pine Point, Scarborough, 10/20 (with clients from California and Massachusetts).
  • 2 “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrows, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 10/20 (with clients from California and Massachusetts).

Our Last Tour of 2025 still has some space remaining!

Birds on Tap℠ – Roadtrip! Rarity Roundup

​November 9, 2025; 8:00am – 3:00pm

Cost – $125

​Portland Explorer (formerly Maine Brews Cruise) and Freeport Wild Bird Supply are excited to continue our collaboration for six very special outings in 2025. 

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!

Early November is a fantastic time of year in Maine for vagrants – birds normally seen in far-off places.  Due to a combination of weather patterns, changing seasonal food resources, falling temperatures, and other factors – some of which are not completely understood – birds that may have ended up in Maine by “accident” begin to concentrate at the coast in “migrant traps” and “hotspots.”  In other words, this is the time of year to expect the unexpected.  

​A traditional “Rarity Roundup” involves teams of birders heading out on a given day during rarity prime time, looking for species that are not supposed to be around. And in honor of that tradition, that’s exactly what we are going to do on this unique tour. We may “chase” a rarity (go to see something that has already been found, aka “twitch”) or we might choose a destination known for rare birds in an attempt to find one of our own. Or perhaps, we’ll do both!

Anything between Portland and Kittery is fair game, and we might not even know where we will head until we are on the bus and the latest rare bird alert is received. For those who love adding a bird to your Life or State List, and/or basking in the thrill of discovery, well then this is the tour for you! In between seeing great birds, we’ll discuss the complex factors that are involved in delivering rarities to an area, and how we go about finding them.

​After about 3-4 hours of birding, depending on drive time, we will be transported to two of our great local producers to sample their offerings and learn their styles.

This Week’s (Plus) Highlights and Shorebird High Counts, 8/29 – 9/7/2025

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One of three Little Gulls encountered in Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick via Eastport on the 2nd, this one posed nicely for us as Captain Butch adeptly drifted the stern inshore for a close approach and photo ops.  

A delightful ten days of birding, from Lubec to Biddeford, including the following observations of note:

  • Migrant highlights from our property in Durham included 2 Prairie Warblers on 8/31 and 13 species of warblers including 2-3 Bay-breasted on 9/1.
  • 6 SANDHILL CRANES, 1+ Red Crossbill, 3 Prairie Warblers, etc, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 8/31.
  • 2 continuing COMMON GALLINULES, Essex Marsh, Bangor, 9/1 (with Jeannette).
  • Red Crossbills: scattered 1’s and 2’s throughout coastal Washington County, 9/1-4 (with Jeannette, et al).
  • 1 Snowy Egret with 1 Great Egret, Downeast Sunrise Trail Marsh, Machias, 9/1.
  • 1 continuing juvenile FORSTER’S TERN and 3 LITTLE GULLS, 1 Common Murre, high number of Artic Terns, etc, Head Harbor Passage via Eastport Windjammers, Eastport, 9/2 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Renee Patterson, Cynthia Phinney, Jeannette, et al).
I was pretty excited to pull out this long-staying juvenile Forster’s Tern as it was a new bird
for New Brunswick (and Canada!) for me!
  • 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, 5 White-winged Scoters, etc, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/3 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Cynthia Phinney, and Jeannette).
  • 1 Spruce Grouse and 25 nearshore Razorbills, Great Wass Island, Jonesport, 9/4 (with Jeannette).
  • An great count of 6 FORSTER’S TERNS foraging together in The Pool from the Hill’s Beach side, 9/7.
  • 3 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 9/7.
  • 1 adult and 1 2nd cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull, Biddeford Pool Beach, 9/7.

Recent forays yielded a decent 21 species of shorebirds this period, with my high counts over these past 10 days being the following. With the progressing season and other priorities and destinations, this will be my last shorebird high count report for the year.

  • American Oystercatcher: 5, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 9/7.
  • Black-bellied Plover: 179, The Pool, Biddeford, 9/7.
  • AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER: 2, Winding Brook Turf Farm, Lyman, 9/7, plus singles at: Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/5 and Hill’s Beach, 9/7.
  • Killdeer: 13, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 9/7.
  • Semipalmated Plover: 138, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/5.
  • Piping Plover: 8, Hill’s Beach, 9/7.
  • Whimbrel: 4, The Pool, Biddeford, 9/7.
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 15, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 9/7.
  • Red Knot: 2 juveniles, The Pool, 9/7.
  • Sanderling: 112, Biddeford Pool Beach, 9/7.
  • Least Sandpiper: 125, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/3 (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Cynthia Phinney, and Jeannette).
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 26, Biddeford Pool Beach, 9/7.
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 3, Eastern Road Trail, 9/5.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1800-2000, Biddeford Pool Beach, 9/7 with an honorable mention of 1500, Lubec Bar and Flats, 9/3 (with Brandon Baldwin, Shenna Bellows, Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Cynthia Phinney, and Jeannette).
  • WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 juv, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/5.
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 14, The Pool, 9/7.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 8, Sabattus Pond, 8/31.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, multiple locations this week.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 21, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 9/6 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • “WESTERN” WILLET: 2 juveniles, The Pool, 9/7.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 28, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 9/6 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).

This Week’s Highlights, 4/19-4/25/2025.

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Back for yet another year, Jeannette and I refound the/one of the long-returning LITTLE EGRET X SNOWY EGRET HYBRIDS on the 20th at Tidewater Farm in Falmouth. It was nearly to the date that we relocated it here last year for the first time, and it really favors the tidal creek here at low and mid-tides. The long Little Egret-like neck plumes are highly suggestive of a Little, but they are coupled with some short, wispy neck plumes and yellowish lores indicative of Snowy Egret genes.\

The migratory floodgates opened this week, starting with a big flight Friday night into Saturday morning. Then, during the day, a huge hawk flight occurred. Furthermore, the weather of Friday through Saturday resulted in a small “overshoot” even where birds were facilitated further north than usual for the season, or at all. Locally, this resulted in several rather early dates for returning migrants.  Another great hawk flight on the 21st, and good passerine movements on several other nights made for an exciting and productive week of spring birding. A coastal sparrow-heavy fallout for the morning of the 25th yielded another large arrival of birds, with sheer numbers dominated by White-throated Sparrows. Here are my observations of note over the past seven great days, from a returning hybrid heron to a local first Patch record:

  • 35+ Palm Warblers, 30+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 20+ Ruby-crowned Kinglets, etc, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/19 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Saturday was an extraordinary day at the Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch. I was fortunate to be able to catch two hours of it, even if it was as the flight was waning. The record-shattering total of 2,712 migrant raptors crushed the old single-day record of 1,814 (5/3/2020). Today’s total was more than 700 birds more than we had for every previous day combined for this season to date. Not only that, but today’s tally eclipsed our two lowest SEASON totals 2,123 (2007) and 2,321 (2011)! 
  • 1 returning LITTLE EGRET X SNOWY EGRET HYBRID, Tidewater Farm, Falmouth, 4/20 (with Jeannette). Photo and details above.
  • 2 SANDHILL CRANES, Morgan Meadow WMA, Gray/Raymond, 4/21 (with Jeannette).
  • ~125 Palm Warblers, ~75 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 2 Pine Warblers, Florida Lake Park, 4/23.
  • 7 Brant, Wood Island (restricted access), Biddeford, 4/23 (with Bethany Woodworth’s UNE Ornithology class).
  • 1 COMMON GALLINULE (FOY), Florida Lake Park, 4/25 (with Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth). First flushed by Noah and Stacey. Was a real challenge to get a look at, but eventually it came out to an edge for a handful of minutes. My 170th species at Florida Lake!

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

  • 1 Blue-headed Vireo, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/19 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 BANK SWALLOW (quite early), Florida Lake Park, 4/19 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Barn Swallow, Florida Lake Park, 4/19 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, Morgan Meadow WMA, Gray/Raymond, 4/21 (with Jeannette).
  • 3 Black-crowned Night-Herons, Wood Island (restricted access), Biddeford, 4/23 (with Bethany Woodworth and UNE’s Ornithology class).
  • 1 Eastern Towhee Wood Island (restricted access), Biddeford, 4/23 (with Bethany Woodworth and UNE’s Ornithology class).
  • 1 Common Yellowthroat, Florida Lake Park, 4/25.
  • 1 Black-and-white Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 4/25.
Although Black-crowned Night-Herons have likely been around for a few weeks by now, these three at Wood Island in Biddeford on the 23rd were my personal first of the year.

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch

The Week 5 report can be found here.

Upcoming Tours (with Space Available):

  1. Birds on Tap Roadtrip – Warbler and Wort. Thursday, May 8.

Evergreen Cemetery, Capisic Pond Park, Orange Bike Brewing and TBA with our partners Portland Explorer (formerly Maine Brews Cruise).

Recent Highlights, 4/20– 4/26/2024

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 Although it had moved further away by the time I arrived, I managed a few phone-scoped photos of the Loggerhead Shrike that graced Chandler Brook Preserve and nearby yards in North Yarmouth on 4/21.

It was a great week of birding, with an impressive fallout on Saturday morning, a local mega rarity, and more new spring arrivals. My highlight of the week was catching an incredible early-season fallout at Florida Lake Park in Freeport on 4/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). I eventually settled on a guestimate of 400 Palm Warblers and 125 Yellow-rumped Warblers. The full report can be found here.  75+ Palm Warblers and 50+ Yellow-rumped Warblers were present on the 24th, but on both dates the only other warbler – as expected for the date – were Pine (3 each day).

My other observations of note over the past seven days included:

  • 1 Fish Crow, over our property in Durham, 4/20 (Yard Bird #150!)
  • 1 LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, Chandler Brook Preserve, North Yarmouth, 4/21. Found earlier in the afternoon and seen by several of us in the evening. I don’t chase very often, but when I do, I prefer it to be only 15 minutes out of the way on my way home from the store!  It was only my second in Maine.
  • 6 Red Crossbills (1 male, 2 female, 3-4 juvenile. Type 12 as per Matt Young), here at the store, 4/24.

Additional personal first-of-years this week also included:

  • *1+ CLIFF SWALLOW, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 4/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Florida Lake Park, 4/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Blue-headed Vireo, Morgan Meadow WMA, Raymond, 4/21.
  • *1 NORTHERN PARULA, Morgan Meadow WMA, 4/21.
  • 2 SANDHILL CRANES, Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 4/21.
  • 1 Rusty Blackbird, Florida Lake Park, 4/24.
  • 1 adult LITTLE BLUE HERON, Cousin’s River Marsh, Freeport/Yarmouth, 4/24 (as viewed from Freeport Café’s parking lot).
  • 1 Eastern Towhee, feeders here at the store, 4/24.
  • 1 LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, Papermill Trail, Lisbon, 4/26.
  • 1 Black-throated Green Warbler, Papermill Trail, 4/26.

*Numerous very early arrivals of regular migrants are likely also tied to the overshoot event that brought southern vagrants to locations up and down the state’s coast.

TOURS AND EVENTS:

Feathers Over Freeport This Weekend!

Saturday, April 27th at Bradbury Mountains State Park and Sunday, April 28th at Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park. All events FREE with park entry!

From birdwalks and a hawkwatch workshop to kids’ arts and crafts and a food truck, join us for two activity filled days in the 13th year of Feathers Over Freeport!  A full schedule of events can be found here.

Note our regularly scheduled Saturday Morning Birdwalk meets at Bradbury on the 27th.

This Week’s Highlights, 9/9-9/14, 2023

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This presumed first fall female DICKCISSEL graced our feeders here at the store all week long.

An abbreviated, busy week nonetheless yielded a few observations of note.

  • 11-12 SANDHILL CRANES, Mayall Road, Gray, 9/9 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 2 truant Glossy Ibis, 9 Northern Pintails, 1-2 American Wigeon (first of fall locally), 4 Pectoral Sandpipers, etc, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 9/9 (with Lindsay Strout).
  • 1 first fall female DICKCISSEL, feeders here at the store 9/10 (pm through at least the afternoon of 9/13. See photo above.
  • 1 Red Crossbill, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/13 (Type 12 fide Matt Young).
  • 2 Red-necked Grebes and 1 Red-breasted Merganser (both first migrants of fall), Simpson’s Point, Brunswick, 9/13.
  • 2 ad. with 1 juv Common Tern, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 9/14. Late and unusual here, especially with dependent juvenile in tow.

Of course, we go out of town just before the potential for the birding storm of the century!

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).

This Week’s Highlights, 8/26-9/1,2023

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Our Durham yard has been incredibly birdy this week. The most unexpected migrant was this American Bittern that dropped into our new pond for the morning of the 28th.

I didn’t get out to shorebird hotspots as much this week, but still ended up with 17.5 species and some solid high counts. However, much of my best birding this week was from our yard, which apparently is a fantastic fall migration hotspot. And my first visit of the season to Sandy Point on 8/31 produced a new August record!

  • Black-bellied Plover: 142, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 9/1.
  • Killdeer: 3, United Ag and Turf, Auburn, 8/31 (with Jeannette).
  • Semipalmated Plover: 150+, The Pool, 9/1.
  • Piping Plover: 1, The Pool, 9/1.
  • Whimbrel: 4, The Pool, 9/1.
  • RED KNOT: 16 juv, The Pool, 9/1.
  • Sanderling: 1, The Pool, 9/1.
  • Least Sandpiper: 32, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/31.
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 11, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/28 (with Jeannette).
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 2, Eastern Road Trail, 8/31.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 450-500, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/28 (with Jeannette).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 14, The Pool. 9/1.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 1, Walsh Preserve, 8/26 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, Walsh Preserve, 8/26 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 34, Eastern Road Trail, 8/31.
  • “Eastern” Willet: 6, The Pool, 9/1.
  • “WESTERN” WILLET: 1-2 juv, The Pool, 9/1.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 28, Walsh Preserve, 8/26 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).

A handful of non-shorebird highlights this week also included:

  • A productive week of birding on our Durham property produced a number of highlights. In fact, most mornings, it was hard to pull myself away from the yard. At least 11 species of warblers have been in our yard daily this week, with a high count of 12 on the 28th. A female MOURNING WARBLER was present 8/27-8/29. A Phildelphia Vireo on the 28th-29th was our 144th yard bird, followed moments later by the arrival of #145: An American Bittern (photo above). A DICKCISSEL (FOF) briefly paused in the yard on the morning of the 1st for our 146th yard bird! 32-38 Common Nighthawks were feeding over the yard late in the day on 9/1 as well.
  • 12 adult SANDHILL CRANES, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 8/30 (site high count and noteworthy that no juveniles were present – failed breeding season due to high water and flooding?)
  • Sandy Point Morning Flight, 8/31 (FOY):
    • 6:00-9:15am
    • 57F, mostly clear, NE 4.7-7.6 increasing to 7.3-9.8 and gusty.
Unidentified633Scarlet Tanager2
American Redstart439Ruby-throated Hummingbird2
Northern Parula195Black-throated Blue Warbler2
Yellow Warbler51Rose-breasted Grosbeak1
Magnolia Warbler35Eastern Phoebe1
Cape May Warbler20Chestnut-sided Warbler1
Black-and-white Warbler17Merlin 1
Black-throated Green Warbler16Northern Waterthrush1
Red-eyed Vireo11Swainson’s Thrush1
Bay-breasted Warbler10Unidentified vireo1
Tennessee Warbler5Olive-sided Flycatcher1
Nashville Warbler4Common YellowthroatX
Least Flycatcher4
Blackburnian Warbler3TOTAL1,463*
Canada Warbler3*New August High Count!
American Goldfinch3
Red-winged Blackbird3

This Week’s Highlights, 8/19-25,2023

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This juvenile Marbled Godwit continues at Hill’s Beach in Biddeford, making a nice addition to my “Shorebird Big Day” effort on Tuesday.

After being thwarted by weather on a couple of days recently, I conducted a “Shorebird Big Day” on Tuesday the 22nd. I birded between Sanford and Brunswick, seeking shorebirds from near-dawn to dusk. My goal was “at least 20” species of shorebirds, so I was happy to finish my day with 22 species.  Needless to say, that day dedicated to shorebirding produced the majority of my high counts this week:

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 6 adults, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • Black-bellied Plover: 126, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/22.
  • Killdeer: 17, Winding Brook Turf Farm, Alfred, 8/22.
  • Semipalmated Plover: 220, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/20.
  • Piping Plover: 3, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • Whimbrel: 3, Hill’s Beach/The Pool, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • Ruddy Turnstone: 6, Ocean Avenue, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz). One at Sanford Lagoons on 8/22 was quite out of place inland.
  • RED KNOT: 1 juv, Hill’s Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • STILT SANDPIPER: 4 (2 ad, 2 juv), Sanford Lagoons, Sanford, 8/22.
  • Sanderling: 22, Hill’s Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 1-2, Hill’s Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • Least Sandpiper: 36, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/20.
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 8, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 3, Sanford Lagoons, 8/22.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 600, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 51, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/20.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 4, Ocean Avenue, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 8, Sanford Lagoons, 8/22.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 83, Walsh Preserve, Yarmouth, 8/22.
  • “Eastern” Willet: 19, Pine Point, 8/20.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 24, Walsh Preserve, 8/22.

A nice list of non-shorebird highlights this week also included:

  • At least 12 species of warblers have been in our yard daily this week, with a high count of 15 on the 24th. A Tennessee Warbler that I spotted while conducting our Bird Safe Open House birdwalk on the 19th was our 141st yard species.
  • Common Nighthawks have been on the move all week, with nightly sightings. My high counts included 16 over the Bates Mill in Lewiston on the 19th (with Dan and Renee Klem) and 244 in an hour over Wharton Point in Brunswick on the 23rd.
  • 1 continuing proposed TRICOLORED HERON X SNOWY EGRET X SMALL WHITE EGRET SP(P) HYBRID, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough marsh, 8/20.
  • 3 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, Green Point WMA, Dresden, 8/21 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 ad. Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz)
  • Continuing mid-summer scoter Hat Trick off Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz): 2 White-winged Scoter, 2+ Surf Scoters, 75-100 Black Scoters.
  • 2 continuing adult RED-NECKED GREBES, Ocean Avenue, Biddeford Pool, 8/22 (with Luke Seitz).
  • 2 adult SANDHILL CRANES, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 8/22.
  • 3 Great Egrets, southbound over the store on 8/24 during our Paul Doiron & Ron Joseph Maine Authors event. Yard Bird #134!

This Week’s Highlights, 5/13– 5/19, 2023

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I haven’t been carrying my camera much, and with only one working arm still, my photography has not been very successful. But this Gray Catbird posed nicely for me at Hinckley Park on the 19th.

I had a very busy week of programming, with two tours and some private guiding. With limited free time in between, I made the most of it with some excellent morning outings. Highlights included lots of migrants and more new arrivals, as well as uncommon local breeding birds.

My observations of note over the past seven days included:

  • 16 species of warblers led by 15+ American Redstarts and 10+ Black-and-white Warblers, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/14 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group).
  • Unknown number in a small group of calling Red Crossbills, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/14 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group).
  • 1 pair SANDHILL CRANES, 3 YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS, 1 LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, and 1 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, Morgan Meadow WMA, 5/15 (with Jeannette.  That was a great morning!)
  • 30-40 Long-tailed Ducks, Stover’s Cove Preserve, Harpswell, 5/18 (with Harpswell Heritage Land Trust tour group).
  • 19 species of warblers, led by 14 American Redstarts and 9 Black-and-white Warblers, but also including 5+ Tennessee Warblers, etc, Hinckley Park, South Portland, 5/19. My best warbler morning of the season so far.
  • 4 Red Crossbills, Hinckley Park, 5/19.

My personal FOY’s this week once again included a mix of “they’ve been around for a while but I haven’t been in the habitat,” regular and on-time arrivals, a few species that have been slow to arrive given our abnormal spring weather pattern, and even an oddly early arrival or two.

  • 4 Magnolia Warblers, Florida Lake Park, 5/13 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, Florida Lake Park, 5/13 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group. Exceptionally early; likely my earliest record by at least several days if not over a week).
  • 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow, Florida Lake Park, 5/13 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Blackburnian Warbler, Florida Lake Park, 5/13 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 3 Red-eyed Vireos, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/14 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group).
  • 2 Tennessee Warblers, Evergreen Cemetery, 5/14 (with Down East Adventures Spring Songbird Workshop tour group).
  • 1 Cape May Warbler, Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch, 5/14.
  • 1 House Wren, Hidden Pond Preserve, Freeport, 5/16 (with clients from Maine).
  • 1 male Indigo Bunting, our feeders in Durham, 5/17.
  • 10+ Bobolinks, Old Brunswick Road, Durham, 5/18.
  • 8 Blackpoll Warblers, Hinckley Park, 5/19.
  • 3 Swainson’s Thrushes, Hinckley Park, 5/19.
  • 1 Black-billed Cuckoo, Hinckley Park, 5/19.

TOURS AND EVENTS:

This Week’s Highlights, August 24-September 2, 2022

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The amazing run of ultra-rare raptors in Maine continued with the all-too-short visit of a Eurasian (Western) Marsh Harrier last week. First found on North Haven on 8/25, it was then relocated the next day in Weskeag Marsh. I finished a tour that morning and raced eastward to South Thomaston. After waiting only 20 minutes (others had been waiting nearly 5 hours), it appeared and put on a show for about 30-45 minutes.  After a reappearance the next morning, it has disappeared up birders up and down the East Coast are on high alert!

After returning from our summer vacation to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (see link)…

New Brunswick – PEI Roadtrip Bird Photo Journal, 8/2022.

…my observations of note over the past seven days included:

  • EURASIAN (WESTERN) MARSH HARRIER, Weskeag Marsh, South Thomaston, 8/26 (with Evan Obercian and m.obs). Photo above.
  • 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher, Highland Road, Brunswick, 8/27 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 154 Snowy Egrets, 106 Green-winged Teal, etc, etc, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/28.
  • 1 continuing proposed TRICOLORED HERON X SNOWY EGRET X SNOWY EGRET hybrid, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/28.
  • 7 continuing WHITE IBIS in non-exhaustive search, Harbor Road, Wells, 8/30 (with Jeannette).
  • 6 SANDHILL CRANES (two pairs with one juvenile each), Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 9/1.
  • SANDY POINT MORNING FLIGHT (FOY), 9/2: 482 total individuals including 2 DICKCISSELS and 20 species of warblers.  Complete tally here.

And my shorebird high counts over these past ten days included some fine tallies but much reduced diversity, mostly due to recent heavy rains filling the best high-marsh salt pannes:

  • AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 2 ad, Pine Point, Scarborough, 8/28.
  • Black-bellied Plover: 118, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 8/27 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Killdeer: 14, Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 8/25.
  • Semipalmated Plover: 179, Pine Point, 8/28.
  • Sanderling: 2, Sebago Lake State Park (rare inland), 8/25.
  • Least Sandpiper: 66, Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 8/28.
  • White-rumped Sandpiper: 8, Pine Point, 8/28.
  • Pectoral Sandpiper: 1, Eastern Road Trail, 8/28 and Walsh Preserve, Yarmouth, 8/30.
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1,000++, Weskeag Marsh, South Thomaston, 8/26. Honorary mention of 45-500 at Wharton Point on 8/27 – my highest tally here in years (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Short-billed Dowitcher: 24, Pine Point, 8/28.
  • Spotted Sandpiper: 2, Sebago Lake State Park, 8/25.
  • Solitary Sandpiper: 1, several locations this week.
  • Lesser Yellowlegs: 48, Walsh Preserve, Yarmouth, 8/30.
  • “Eastern” Willet: 16, Pine Point, 8/28.
  • Greater Yellowlegs: 15, Weskeag Marsh, South Thomaston, 8/26.
Just a very small part of an impressive feeding frenzy of Double-crested Cormorants and
Snowy Egrets that were at Pine Point in Scarborough on the 25th.