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).

1. September 3^rd.

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.

• 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.

• 116 Yellow-rumped Warblers
• 39 Blackpoll Warblers
• 24 White-throated Sparrows
• 21 American Robins
• 14 Palm Warbles
• 13 unidentified
• 8 Dark-eyed Juncos
• 8 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
• 8 Golden-crowned Kinglets
• 5 Black-capped Chickadees
• 3 Rusty Blackbirds
• 3 Hermit Thrushes
• 2 American Pipits
• 2 Common Loons
• 2 Nashville Warblers
• 2 Chipping Sparrows
• 2 Blue-headed Vireo
• 2 Eastern Phoebes
• 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
• 2 Blue Jays
• 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
• 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
• 1 Northern Flicker
• 1 Northern Parula
• 1 Baltimore Oriole

• Total = 285

8. October 11th.

With only a light to moderate flight overnight in southern Maine and little being picked up on the Caribou radar with continued unsettled weather, it was not surprising that such a light flight passed through Sandy Point. Or so I thought. But then I found this article…yes, the absolutely amazing and awesome Aurora Borealis this night before may have indeed minimized the number of migrants taking flight. An increasing number of diurnal migrants helped make up for it, however.

• 204 American Robins
• 54 Yellow-rumped Warblers
• 28 Blackpoll Warblers
• 18 Blue Jays
• 15 Eastern Bluebirds
• 9 White-throated Sparrows
• 8 Chipping Sparrows
• 8 Cedar Waxwings
• 8 unidentified
• 5 Palm Warblers
• 5 Golden-crowned Kinglets
• 4 Nashville Warblers
• 3 Northern Parulas
• 3 Black-capped Chickadees
• 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
• 2 Tufted Titmice
• 2 Dark-eyed Juncos
• 2 Hermit Thrushes
• 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
• 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
• 1 HOUSE FINCH (rare migrant high overhead)
• 1 Black-throated Green Warbler

• T=  385

9. October 17.

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 6^th.

I had every intention of trying one more morning at the bridge after we returned from vacation. Sunday the 3^rd 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)