This juvenile American Golden-Plover was one of three that Jayden Mowry and I saw in Scarborough Marsh during the rain on 9/27. It shared a similar look to all of us birders who were being drenched by the rain while not finding any mega-rarities!
For the first time in 20 years, I cancelled my Monhegan Fall Migration Weekend Tour due to ferry cancellations and forecasted weather. While the precip and the strongest winds held out through most of Saturday, it was the right call. Instead, I took full advantage of the “extra” weekend here on the mainland, including three near-full days of storm-related birding. While the storm overall was a bit of a dud, ornithologically-speaking, it did result in some decent birding and several observations of note over the past seven days, including the following:
Notables in our Durham property this week included 7 species of warblers including 2 Tennessee on 9/26; a Bay-breasted Warbler on 10/1; and daily Lincoln’s Sparrows continue.
1 Marsh Wren, Florida Lake Park, 9/26.
1 Cory’s Shearwater and 35 Northern Gannets in 1.5 hours of seawatching at Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth, between 3:10 and 4:40 on 9/26 as the storm got crankin’
1 pair Gadwall and 1 continuing early drake Ruddy Duck, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 9/27.
4 Sandhill Cranes (3 ad and 1 juv), Mayall Road, Gray/New Gloucester, 9/27.
Jayden Mowry and I then met up for a couple of hours in the afternoon on the Eastern Road Trail in Scarborough Marsh, yielding our best birding of the day: 1 “INTERIOR” NELSON’S SPARROW with 3 Saltmarsh Sparrows, 1 “Atlantic” Nelson’s Sparrow, and 6+ unidentified “sharp-tailed” sparrows; 3 juvenile AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Pectoral Sandpipers, 1+ White-rumped Sandpiper, 15 Dunlin, etc, etc. It was delightfully productive as we once again got soaked.
1 3rd cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull, Pemaquid Point; 1 Common Tern, Pemaquid Beach Park; and 94 Laughing Gulls at Fort Pemaquid, 9/28 while not relocating the Franklin’s Gull seen earlier in the day (with Jeannette).
Highlight from a delightful day of storm birding with Jeannette on 9/29 included a northbound flock of 500-600 Tree Swallows swirling through Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth in the early morning; 1 slighty-truant Yellow Warbler at Crescent Beach State Park; a goodly 48 Pectoral Sandpipers, 4 Saltmarsh Sparrows, 1 “Atlantic” Nelson’s Sparrow, and 8 Unidentified “sharp-tailed sparrows” along Eastern Road; and more, but still no storm-driven rarities.
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/30:
With cloudy skies and virtually no wind, only a light flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning.
6:37-9:00am
59 F, cloudy, calm to a hint of North.
67 Unidentified
65 Blackpoll Warblers
54 Yellow-rumped Warblers
20 Northern Parulas
15 Blue Jays
10 White-throated Sparrows
7 Palm Warblers
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
7 Chipping Sparrows
6 Black-throated Green Warblers
4 American Robins
4 Golden-crowned Kinglets
4 Black-throated Blue Warblers
3 American Pipits
3 Tufted Titmice (all crossed after only 3 false starts)
3 Black-and-white Warblers
2 Swamp Sparrows
2 Red-eyed Vireos
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
1 Rusty Blackbird
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 Merlin
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 Northern Flicker
1 Baltimore Oriole
1 Nashville Warbler
1 Osprey
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 DICKCISSEL
1 Blue-headed Vireo
X Common Yellowthroats
Total= 296
*Family group of 4 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS continue.
Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for eagles, migrant waterfowl, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common resident and migratory water and shoreline birds of the region while keeping an eye out for recently arrived wintering seaducks.
During our previous outings in which we became the first birding groups ever on the island, we found oodles of Yellow-rumped Warblers, other migrants, and learned about the island’s ecology. But we were also captivated by Captain Pete, who guided us through the historic fort, sharing a wealth of historical knowledge and fascinating stories. Once again, 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!
It’s “uncommon” shorebird season, as evidenced by the scattered Baird’s Sandpipers this week. I found this one at Biddeford Pool Beach during a 21-species shorebird day on 8/30.
Fall was in the air this week, and with it, my first visit to Sandy Point of the season (finally!). It was also a great week for shorebirds, and on our property. Here are my observations of note over the past 10 days.
Highlights from our Durham property this period included 12 species of warblers (led by 5 Cape May and 4 American Redstarts, but also including 2 Bay-breasted, and 1 each of Tennessee, Prairie, and Canada!) on 8/28; 1 Philadelphia Vireo, 3 Scarlet Tanagers, and 11 species of warblers (led by 7 Cape May and 5 Common Yellowthroats but also including 1 Bay-breasted) on 9/2, 7+ Cape May Warblers on 9/5 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group), and up to 4 Cape May Warblers on all other days this week.
5 1st-cycle FORSTER’S TERNS, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30 (with Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth).
1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Hill’s Beach, 8/30.
1 1st-cycle FORSTER’S TERN, Biddeford Pool Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 8/31/2026
A moderate, but good for August, Morning Flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning, thanks to yesterday’s cold front. It must be fall because I am back at “my office!”
55F, clear, NNW 5.3-5.9mph to NW 6.2-9.2mph.
195 American Redstarts
116 Unidentified
105 Northern Parulas
24 Black-throated Green Warblers
18 Yellow Warblers
16 Cape May Warblers
11 Black-and-white Warblers
11 Cedar Waxwings
9 Magnolia Warblers
9 Northern Waterthrushes (*New high count).
6 Tennessee Warblers
6 Nashville Warblers
5 Eastern Wood-Pewees
4 Blackburnian Warblers
3 Red-breasted Nuthatches
2 Black-throated Blue Warblers
2 Baltimore Orioles
2 Least Flycatchers
2 American Robins
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 MOURNING WARBLER
1 Wilson’s Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Indigo Bunting
1 Scarlet Tanager
1 Eastern Kingbird
1 Canada Warbler
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
1 Philadelphia Vireo
1 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
X Common Yellowthroats
T=575
3 Cory’s Shearwaters, etc, off of Boothbay Harbor via Cap’n Fish’s Cruises Whale Watch, 8/31. Cory’s have been relatively sparse this year, likely due to water temperatures below recent averages.
5 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 9/4.
2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Popham Beach State Park, Georgetown, 9/4.
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/5.
I had an abbreviated visit to My Office on Saturday Morning, but with a high flight and few birds landing, I chose not to return with the Birdwalk group. Despite NNW by morning and increasing cloud cover, a moderate flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this am thanks to a really massive flight overnight. Birds were still flying when I departed.
6:08 to 7:40
62 F, mostly cloudy, NNW 10.2-11.8 diminishing to 8.5 to 9.8mph.
179 Northern Parulas
161 Cedar Waxwings
160 American Redstarts
124 Unidentified
9 Magnolia Warblers
9 Black-throated Green Warblers
7 American Robins
5 Red-eyed Vireos
4 Yellow Warblers
3 Black-throated Blue Warblers
3 Blackburnian Warblers
2 Chipping Sparrows
2 Common Loons
2 DICKCISSELS (one by B. Thompson only, the second by both of us).
2 American Goldfinches
1 Northern Flicker
1 Merlin
1 American Kestrel
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 Bobolink
1 Baltimore Oriole
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Cape May Warbler
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Eastern Kingbird
1 Purple Finch
x Common Yellowthroat
T= 684
1 Green Darner
Magnolia WarblerNorthern Parula
3-4 continuting FORSTER’S TERNS and 3 adult Lessert Black-backed Gulls, Pine Point, Scarborough, 9/6.
Here are my shorebird high counts over the past 10 days, led by a productive 21-species of shorebird morning in and around Biddeford Pool on the 30th, for a week’s total of 23.5 species.
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 13, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.
Black-bellied Plover: 203, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/30.
Semipalmated Plover: 129, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.
Piping Plover: 5, Hill’s Beach, Biddeford, 8/30.
Hudsonian Whimbrel: 8, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, 9/3.
MARBLED GODWIT: 2 juv, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/30. One bird has been present for a couple of weeks, but this second bird appears to be “new” this morning.
Ruddy Turnstone: 13, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30.
Red Knot: 31, Hill’s Beach, 8/30 (with Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth).
Sanderling: 81, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 9/4.
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER: 1 juv, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30.
Least Sandpiper: 40++, The Pool, Biddeford, 8/30.
White-rumped Sandpiper: 1, several locations.
Pectoral Sandpiper: 1, Hill’s Beach, 8/30 and 1, Walsh Preserve, Freeport, 9/2.
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 490, Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30.
WESTERN SANDPIPER: 1 juv., Biddeford Pool Beach, 8/30
Short-billed Dowitcher: 45, The Pool, Biddeford Pool, 8/30.
Spotted Sandpiper: 2, Great Pond, Biddeford Pool, 8/30.
Solitary Sandpiper: 1, multiple locations this week.
Lesser Yellowlegs: 189 (a new record for here!), Walsh Preserve, 9/2.
(Eastern) Willet: 5 (including continuing leucistic bird), Pine Point, Scarborough, 9/6.
(WESTERN) WILLET (FOY): 2-3, The Pool and Hill’s Beach, 8/30. Noah Gibb and Stacey Huth found two at The Pool, a short time before I found one at Hill’s Beach. The bird had departed Hill’s Beach before I encountered two at The Pool.
Greater Yellowlegs: 8, Walsh Preserve, 9/2.
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE: 1, offshore of Boothbay Harbor vis Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, 8/31. One, just one, lone phalarope spinning away on a mat of seaweed.
It’s been another great week for Cape May Warblers in our yard in Durham, including this 1 (of 7!) on 9/2.
Next, my observations of note over the last seven days included the following:
Highlights from our Durham property this week included 1 Rusty Blackbird 10/8-9 and 3 American Woodcocks on 10/14.
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 10/9: A record-shattering day!
An exceptional Morning Flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning. In fact, it was record-breaking!
6:48-10:48am
41, clear, lt-mod NW (did not take early wind reading) decreasing then increasing back to 7.7-10.5mph before becoming increasingly gusty)
3244 Yellow-rumped Warblers (NEW RECORD!)
1423 American Robins
585 Unidentified (mostly high bunches or too far to north or south)
576 Dark-eyed Juncos (NEW RECORD!)
100+ White-throated Sparrows (Conservative estimate in parking lot area after flight; a handful appeared to cross at dawn).
59 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
50 Palm Warblers
74 Northern Flickers
72 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
44 Rusty Blackbirds (NEW RECORD)
43 Golden-crowned Kinglets
18 Chipping Sparrows
16 Black-throated Green Warblers
15 Northern Parulas
14 Cedar Waxwings
11 Purple Finches
10 unidentified kinglets
9 American Pipits
8 Blue-headed Vireos
6 Blackpoll Warblers
6 Hermit Thrushes (minimum, with two or several repeatedly visiting pasture rose hips at bridge base)
4 Eastern Bluebirds
4 Eastern Phoebes
4 American Goldfinches
3 Red-bellied Woodpeckers (NEW RECORD!)
2 Black-throated Blue Warblers
2 White-crowned Sparrows
2 Brown Creepers
2 Swamp Sparrows
2 Tufted Titmice (several false starts)
2 Merlins
2 Magnolia Warblers
2 Common Loons
1 Swainson’s Thrush (confirmed by Bill Thompson)
1 Yellow Warbler
1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
1 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER (from photo review by Bill Thompson)
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
1 Blue Jay
1 Turkey Vulture
1 unidentified sparrow (probably a Field)
1 Eastern Towhee
1 Cooper’s Hawk
1 Pine Siskin
X Song Sparrows (significant increase in parking lot area but did not count)
***Total = 6,428 *** 2ND HIGHEST ALL-TIME COUNT and HIGHEST OCTOBER COUNT!***
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 10/10:
A good morning flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning. Given the calm winds of much of the night, and the completely calm dawn, it was much more active than I expected. Kinglets were swirling all over, so my counts may be too high or very low. The Ruby-crowned count seems a touch high, while the Golden-crowned count feels low. Meanwhile, the slower and lower flight, with more birds pausing before crossing despite the lack of wind made for excellent viewing and much more relaxing and enjoyable morning!
6:49-9:52am
33F, clear, calm with a developing puff of WNW.
449 Yellow-rumped Warblers
138 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
106 American Robins
52 Golden-crowned Kinglets
37 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
35 Dark-eyed Juncos
25 Cedar Waxwings
16 Northern Flickers
10 Eastern Bluebirds
9 Blue-headed Vireos
8 Palm Warblers
8 Chipping Sparrows
8 White-throated Sparrows
5 Red-breasted Mergansers
5 Nashville Warblers
5 Northern Parulas
4 Brown Creepers
3 Tennessee Warblers
3 Black-throated Blue Warblers
3 Hermit Thrushes
2 Blue Jays
2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers (2nd highest tally after yesterday’s record 3!)
2 American Goldfinches
2 Common Loons
2 Eastern Phoebes
2 Tufted Titmice (numerous “false starts.” Same two as yesterday?)
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.
For 2024, I decided to post my Sandy Point Morning Flight tallies here in one blog entry (instead of only to Facebook and the Maine Birds Google-group), or perhaps one entry per month. If nothing else, it helps me organize them, and my thoughts! Hopefully, you’ll enjoy reading them, too. A busy tour schedule this fall, a little personal travel, and the continued decline in the number of strong, sweeping cold fronts due to climate change are all conspiring to reduce the number of days I begin at “my office.”
The following lists are birds counted passing over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth as part of the “Morning Flight” or Morning Redetermined Migration. For more information about this site, and my counts here, see Site C14 in Birdwatching in Maine: The Complete Site Guide (2024).
September 3rd.
A light flight passed over and through this morning. It was my first visit of the season, as cold fronts have been few and weak so far this fall, so it was great to be back at my office. I was expecting a stronger flight, however. Perhaps the winds were just too westerly overnight, as the northwesterly component is so critical for pushing birds out over the bay and beyond, forcing them to reorient into the wind and concentrating here at the northwest tip of the island.
6:02-8:20am
48F, clear, light W increasing then decreasing.
105 Northern Parulas
88 Cedar Waxwings
56 American Redstarts
41 unidentified
12 Yellow Warblers
10 American Goldfinches
7 Red-eyed Vireos
5 Cape May Warblers
4 Magnolia Warblers
3 Eastern Wood-Pewees
3 Chestnut-sided Warblers
2 Nashville Warblers
2 Red-breasted Nuthatches
2 unidentified flycatchers
2 Black-capped Chickadees
2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Olive-sided Flycatcher
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Baltimore Oriole
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Wilson’s Warbler
1 House Finch
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler
1 unidentified Catharus
1 BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER (4th Sandy Point Morning Flight Record).
Total = 351
2. September 10th Update.
Well, so much for this plan! A week has gone by and there hasn’t been a decent morning to try at Sandy Point. And, with a massive area of high pressure dominating our weather (and most of the Eastern US) for another week, the next possible day looks a long way off! While several nights have featured at least some northerly component, it has been dead calm by dawn. Most other nights have been calm, and while that’s great for migrants to make progress, it’s not so great for a concentration of birds along the coast. For example, a very weak – and mostly dry – cold front that passed on Monday night briefly changed winds, but they were mostly westerly, and were calm by dusk.
Good for the migrants, not great for the migration-watchers! Let’s hope for a change in the forecast; we need the rain, too!
3. September 11.
I probably should have gone this morning, just based on the huge flight that occurred overnight. But, as with most good nights of migration this season, winds were virtually calm. Maybe there was just enough of a puff from the west to make a count worthwhile, but alas, my schedule didn’t allow for a last-minute change. However, there were A LOT of birds in the air last night.
A huge flight overnight on 9/13-14 resulted in a lot of birds offshore, and while I couldn’t be at Sandy Point, I had an exceptional morning flight on Monhegan – dominated by Cape May Warblers – with my tour group that weekend.
4. September 18th Update.
Yup, another clear and calm night, with migrants passing high overhead. Fog at dawn, too. Another week with no morning flight. Goodness, this blog sucks!
5. September 25th Update.
OK, this is getting ridiculous! Another week with lots of nights of great migration, but with either calm conditions or a light north to northeasterly aloft, not one more was conducive to being on the bridge. Friday and especially Saturday look great though…but alas, I’ll be back on Monhegan. No complaints there. But I’ll go ahead and change this blog title to “September-October” and hope for better conditions next month!
6. October 2nd Update.
Two great flights over the weekend conducive to a good if not great flight at Sandy Point occurred, but my tour group on Monhegan once again reaped the benefits. Next favorable winds might not be until Sunday the 6th. Fingers crossed! Maybe I’ll have some real content for this blog then…and I really need my Sandy Point fix!
6. October 5 – Finally!
I was finally at “my office” on the bridge this morning. Unfortunately, with clouds in the eastern sky and a light northerly wind, only a light flight passed over and through the point this morning. Furthermore, the Caribou radar showed rain into the early night, and likely unsettled weather thereafter, reducing or even eliminating the arrival of birds from the north and northeast (the radar after midnight showed virtually nothing over northern Maine). Nonetheless, it was just good to be back!
6:45-8:45am
45F, partly to mostly cloudy, NNW 5.3-7.0 to N 6.7-8.2mph.
60 Yellow-rumped Warblers
15 Blackpoll Warblers
9 American Robins
7 Palm Warblers
6 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
5 unidentified
4 Golden-crowned Kinglets
4 Red-breasted Nuthatches
4 Chipping Sparrows
3 Northern Flickers
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
3 Common Loons
3 Hermit Thrushes
3 White-throated Sparrows
3 unidentified blackbirds
2 Rusty Blackbirds
2 Blue Jays
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 unidentified kinglet
1 Tufted Titmouse (did not cross after 4+ false starts)
1 Hairy Woodpecker (finally crossed after 7 false starts)
Total = 140
7. October 10.
A moderately-strong flight overnight on variable W to NW winds suggested many more birds departed last night than arrived. With a light W wind by dawn, only a light flight passed through the point.
6:49-9:15
41F, mostly clear, W 3.5 to 5.0 to W 4.4 to 7.7mph.
This Hermit Thrush kept me company at the point, alternating between snacking on Pasture Rose hips and contemplating crossing the channel (with Catharus thrushes rarely do after sunrise)
After a very slow start on a chilly morning, the flight picked up a bit in the second hour, but was still far lighter than I would have expected given the massive flight detected by the radar overnight. Even by 4:00am, the radar image was boomin’
6:59-9:15
31F, clear, NW 2.7-4.9 to W 1.2 TO 2.6mph.
114 Yellow-rumped Warblers
56 American Robins
44 Golden-crowned Kinglets
44 Blue Jays
17 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
14 Dark-eyed Juncos
9 Hermit Thrushes
8 Palm Warblers
7 Black-capped Chickadees (still did not cross after 14 “false starts”)
7 White-throated Sparrows
5 Unidentified
4 Nashville Warblers
4 Blackpoll Warblers
3 Swamp Sparrows
2 Purple Finches
2 Blue-headed Vireos
2 Tufted Titmice (did not cross after 4 false starts)
1 TENNESSEE WARBLER
1 Northern Parula
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 Northern Flicker
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 Common Loon
1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (in parking lot)
T=351
10. October 23rd.
With only a moderate flight overnight and very light winds, I didn’t have high hopes today for much of a flight. However, with the forecast for the next few days followed by a trip, this very well may be my last chance of the season, so off I went. Well, I was correct…there wasn’t much.
7:10-8:30
43F, mostly clear, NNW 2.7-3.2 to calm.
10 Dark-eyed Juncos
10 Yellow-rumped Warblers
4 Golden-crowned Kinglets
4 Hermit Thrushes
3 Savannah Sparrows
2 Palm Warblers
1 American Rpbin
1 Purple Finch
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 Blackpoll Warbler
Total = 42
11. November 6th.
I had every intention of trying one more morning at the bridge after we returned from vacation. Sunday the 3rd may have been the day. But, avoiding the painful early wake-up call of the end of Daylight Savings Time, I decided to twitch the Common Gull in Rockland instead. I feel a little guilty, but ya know, every now and then I like a little chase, and besides, it was kind enough to stick around until we returned, so I felt I owed it.
It wasn’t a great season for me at “my office,” as this was certainly a record low number of visits. And to not catch any big flights is of course disappointing. But it was a good fall for birding – and an especially good fall for birds with little to impede their migration – and I enjoy every chance I can get to be at Sandy Point. And with a lot less pain this year than last year when I was still recovering from complications following shoulder surgery.
So with that, the 2024 Sandy Point Morning Flight season is officially closed. Still plenty of migration left, but it’s mostly diurnal migrants now. There will be a Dark-eyed Junco flight or two, some great flights of American Robins, and likely one last little push of Yellow-rumped Warblers. However, Rarity Season is now in full swing, so it’s time to focus on other birding locations. See you in August! (If there are any real cold fronts).
(And now it’s time to see what Yarmouth’s plans are for the walkway repair and improvement. I’ll need to make sure birding opportunities are improved and vegetation is protecting. Stay tuned…I might need your help)
The long-staying hen American Wigeon offered a good, close study as part of the Winter Waterbird Workshop with Down East Adventures tour that I conducted on the 14th.
While I didn’t get as far afield as last week, I enjoyed a productive six days of birding, especially for early January! Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.
Our feeders in Durham have been incredible, led by a growing flock of Dark-eyed Juncos that peaked at 41 on 1/8 and 40+ continuing American Goldfinches. There was a big movement of sparrows after the weekend snow storm, with flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows common and widespread in the area, along with an increase in American Tree Sparrows. During Tuesday’s snowfall, a careful inventory during the snowfall on the 16th yielded 127 individuals of 16 species, led by 41 American Goldfinches and 37 Dark-eyed Juncos.
At least one Turkey Vulture still continues in the I-295 corridor between Cumberland and Freeport.
1 DOVEKIE, Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, 1/13. Patch Bird #198! Healthy fly-by apparently turning around upon seeing the bridge, then turning northeast and following the Cousin’s Island shoreline. I lost it in the fog, but presumably rounding the island to return to sea. A Black Guillemot to the south of the bridge was one of my few ever from this location.
1 continuing female American Wigeon, York Duck Pond (Abbott’s Pond), York, 1/14 (with Down East Adventures Winter Waterbirds Workshop tour group).
Small number of Red Crossbills, Bear Mountain, Hartford, 1/15 (with Jeannette). Mostly single fly-overs and one small heard-only group, so quantification was impossible.
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).
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.
There are some Morning Flights at Sandy Point that deserve their own blog. This was one of those. (I also haven’t finished my Monhegan Tour report blog yet, either).
Let’s start with the 1:00am reflectivity and velocity images from the Gray NEXRAD station. I was very happy that the station was back online in time for this incredible large flight. In fact, it was one of the densest flights I have seen in the area, and you can see how much biomass was offshore.
For an explanation of just what this means, see the “Birding at Night” chapter in my first book, How to be a Better Birder. Furthermore, see previous Sandy Point posts on the topic – you can use the search box in the upper right-hand corner of this blog page, and search “Sandy Point” or “Morning Flight.”
That got my pretty darn excited for the morning. And, well, it was a lot of fun! OK, mostly…at times I was overwhelmed and early on, I just felt beat! For the first 30 minutes, I often just clicked waves of “unidentified” as I tried to keep pace. Luckily, after the massive early rush, the flight became more manageable, although bursts of activity were barely quantifiable.
20 species of warblers, a very rare Blue Grosbeak, and my 195th all-time Sandy Point birds: 2 Little Blue Herons! It was quite a day.
Thanks to Evan Obercian, I learned a ton and had some great species tallies. I have no doubt that some of the records set (e.g. 2nd-highest tally for Cape May Warbler) came from his exceptional auditory skills – some of those birds would have just went unidentified or not even detected by me! Of course, the more eyes (and ears) the better, and Reed Robinson and Weston Barker – splitting time on the “flicker clicker” and pointing out birds landing below – helped immensely as well. Assistance was critical today.
When Evan and I finally departed for desperately needed bagels and coffee at 11:45, there were still a few birds on the move. With some raptors in the air, I am sure that if we didn’t leave then, I would be there all day. I wish I could have been, because this morning was simply awesome. Here’s the scoreboard:
6:36 to 11:45am
With Evan Obercian, Reed Robinson, and Weston Barker.
50F, mostly clear, WNW 4.5-5.1 to NW 13.3-16.1
2,389 unidentified
1,036 Yellow-rumped Warblers (*2nd highest)
449 Northern Parulas
374 Ruby-crowned Kinglets (*3rd highest)
286 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (*new record)
251 Northern Flickers
155 Blackpoll Warblers
138 Eastern Phoebes (*new record. Previous high of 26! And this was very conservative as many were swirling, too. But at times, steady pulses of 2-6 were clearly crossing)>
105 Black-throated Green Warblers
93 American Robins
75 White-throated Sparrows
71 Black-and-white Warblers (*new record)
65 Red-eyed Vireos (*new record)
64 Red-breasted Nuthatches (*new record)
58 Magnolia Warblers
57 Cedar Waxwings
44 Blue Jays
41 Dark-eyed Juncos
33 American Goldfinches
31 Blue-headed Vireos (*2nd highest)
26 American Redstarts
25 Cape May Warblers (*2nd highest)
25 Black-throated Blue Warblers
25 Purple Finches
23 Chipping Sparrows
22 Rusty Blackbirds
22 Nashville Warbler (*2nd highest)
22 Broad-winged Hawks
18 Tennessee Warblers (*3rd highest)
18 Golden-crowned Kinglets
16 Palm Warblers
12 Scarlet Tanagers
9 Yellow Warblers
8 Savannah Sparrows
7 Swainson’s Thrushes
7 American Kestrels
7 Turkey Vultures
6 White-breasted Nuthatches (*tied highest)
5 Baltimore Orioles
4 Ospreys
4 Philadelphia Vireos
4 Bay-breasted Warblers
4 Black-capped Chickadees
3 Brown Creepers
2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
2 Chestnut-sided Warblers
2 Orange-crowned/Tennessee Warbler
2 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Eastern Wood-Pewees
2 Sharp-shinned Hawks
2 juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERONS (**high fly-overs. My first record for Sandy Point and Patch Bird #195.)
2 Lincoln’s Sparrows
2 White-crowned Sparrows
1 Pine Warbler
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Northern Harrier
1 Tufted Titmouse (did not cross after a few false starts)
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker (crossed after three false starts)
1 Common Loon
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 Hairy Woodpecker (crossed after 8 false starts)
1 BLUE GROSBEAK (**My 3rd-ever at Sandy Point. Spotted by Evan, photographed by Weston Barker; photo below).
1 Common Grackle
1 Wilson’s Warbler
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 American Pipit
1 Blackburnian Warbler
1 unidentified Empid
1 Downy Woodpecker (did not cross after 2 false starts)
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Ovenbird (in the woods; warbler #20!)
X Common Yellowthroat (I don’t try and count them in the brush here, but there were a lot around this morning and many more than there have been. None even attempted a crossing as usual).
Jeannette and I spent some quality time with “sharp-tailed sparrows” in Scarborough Marsh on Tuesday. It’s even more of a challenge this time of year with some birds still molting (such as the Saltmarsh Sparrow on the left) and other birds in fresh plumage, such as this apparent Nelson’s Sparrow on the right (although a hybrid may be impossible to rule out).
Unlike last week, I was out birding plenty this week, including some of my favorite fall activities: Sandy Point and sorting through shorebirds. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days:
Morning flight over our Pownal yard, 9/10: 6:15-7:30am: 250+ warblers of at least 10 species, led by 40++ Northern Parulas and including 1 Bay-breasted and 2++ Cape May Warbler.
“Zeiss Day” Hakwatch right here at the store, 9/10 (with Rich Moncrief): 95 individuals of 11 species of raptors led by 21 Ospreys and 18 Broad-winged Hawks. Full count here.
20-25 Common Nighthawks, over our yard in Pownal at dusk, 9/10, and 5-10 on 9/11.
6 Northern Waterthrushes, 6 Swainson’s Thrushes, etc, Capisic Pond Park, Portland, 9/11 (with Down East Adventures Fall Songbird Workshop group).
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)…
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.
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.
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.
I don’t usually post my Sandy Point Morning Flight totals here, but today was more than worthy of a little something extra. After 8 nights with little or virtually migration (well, at least not a big flight on ideal winds), clearing skies and a light northwesterly breeze finally opened the floodgates. Here are the 1:00am reflectivity and velocity images, for example.
I am sure Monhegan – where I just spent 5 glorious days (despite the lack of a huge flight; more on that soon!) – was great, Sandy Point was just outstanding. In fact, it was my 3rd highest all-time flight!
Early on, clouds made everything into little black shapes as the intense flight proceeded at all levels. Wind, a cacophony of kinglets ringing in my ears, and the two loudest and most vociferous Tufted Titmice who just stayed screaming in the magic birch all conspired to further reduce my ability to identify birds. But mostly, waves of dozens at a time were simply clicked as “unidentified” as I tried to keep pace with quantifying the flight. Furthermore, there were at least 3-4 hunting Merling, a Cooper’s Hawk, and a Peregrine Falcon, which added to the swirling chaos. It was a challenge, that’s for sure. “I do this for fun?” I asked Matthew.
Here’s the scorecard from the Morning Flight of birds that passed over and through Sandy Point, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this am:
3 Swainson’s Thrushes – including two observed crossing.
3 Tufted Titmice
2 Scarlet Tanagers
2 unidentified vireos
2 Yellow Warblers
2 Red-breasted Nuthatches
2 Tennessee Warblers
2 American Goldfinches
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
1 Pine Warbler
1 White-crowned Sparrow
1 Broad-winged Hawk
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Hermit Thrush
1 unidentified Catharus
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Osprey
X Common Yellowthroats
1 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO – my 7th all-time here. Made 4 “false starts” before crossing at 10:04am.
Cuckoos are such shape-shifters in flight that I feel like I could have counted each pass from the one bird as a different species each time it passed!
For a grand total of 5,487 birds, my *3rd highest all-time count. So yes indeed, birds have very much been backed up.
Meanwhile, adding to the excitement (and chaos) this morning was a massive feeding frenzy of Double-crested Cormorants and gulls. While I am sure a few migrants snuck by overhead, I couldn’t help but take a few moments to enjoy it…and make sure there were no rarities among the gulls! 15-20 Laughing Gulls and 4 Bonaparte’s Gulls joined 75-100 Ring-billed Gulls in snatching the baitfish that the Double-crested Cormorants had pushed right up onto the sandbar as it slowly emerged from the tide. It was quite a show!
