Tag Archives: Southern York County CBC

This Week’s Highlights 12/13– 12/19/2025.

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These tarrying drake Green-winged Teal were snoozing in the Mallard flock along the Auburn Riverwalk on the 16th (above) and at Mill Creek Cove in South Portland on the 18th (below).  I don’t like to disturb birds, so I have lots of sleeping duck photos! I enjoy the calmness of it, and one can really take in the intricacies of the rest of the plumage that way.

A frigid start to the week yielded to a warming trend by week’s end. Will we see a “stirring of the pot” with the warm-up and upcoming storm system? My observations of note from the past seven days included concentrating waterfowl and a brutal, but productive day on the Southern York County CBC. Here are the highlights:

  • 1 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE (first of season locally), Broad Cove Preserve, Cumberland, 12/13 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Southern York County CBC, 12/15: Moody Sector with Jeannette:

2,168 individuals of 54 species, led by 440 Mallards, 272 Canada Geese, and 258 European Starlings. Landbirds – especially resident “yard birds” – and oceanfront waterbirds were insanely low, even given challenges of a bitter cold day with strong winds. Almost all landbirds besides starlings, Rock Pigeon, House Sparrow, and Song Sparrow were very low for us. Exceptions include a very high count of 23 Yellow-rumped Warblers (Ogunquit Beach dunes) and a total of 28 Horned Larks. Nonetheless, our roster of notable birds was above recent average, with highlights including:

_2_ ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS (been a long time for us in this territory! Only 2nd time there was been more than on on this CBC!) one dark morph (probable immature) and 1 light morph immature, both seen soaring and hunting late in the afternoon from the north end of the Footbridge parking lot. Dark-morph spotted around 2:30pm, and seen again at about 3:30pm when the light morph appeared. We lost the dark morph, but the light bird eventually glided overhead and disappeared over the treeline, heading south.

1 KILLDEER, Ogunquit River Marsh from Bourne Ave

2 hen and 1 drake NORTHERN PINTAIL, Ogunquit Rivermouth

2+ Red Crossbills, flying over Bourne Ave.

1 Savannah Sparrow, Furbish Ave.

13 Sanderlings, Ogunquit Beach.

  • 2+ Fish Crows, Anniversary Park, Auburn, and 2-3 along Auburn Riverwalk, 12/16 (see last week’s Highlights for a FICR discussion).
  • 1 drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL, Auburn Riverwalk, 12/16. Photo above.
  • 16 Snow Buntings, North River Road (in parking lot next to boat launch), Auburn, 12/16.
  • 1 Swamp Sparrow, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 12/17
  • 1 Evening Grosbeak, here at the store, 12/17.
  • 2 drake GADWALLS, 1 continuing pair Green-winged Teal, and 1 1st-cycle Iceland Gull, Mill Creek Cove, South Portland, 12/18 (photos above and below).

This hen Green-winged Teal, her plumage no less detailed and intricate than the male’s, was also dozing at Mill Creek Cove on the 18th. She woke up and took a swim though!

This Week’s Highlights, 12/18-24, 2021

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After receiving photos of what appeared to be an all-dark Euphagus blackbird reported as being “glossy” at times- and without the bill visible – a few of us went out to get better looks in the freezing rain on the 22nd. It wasn’t until the bird showed up at a feeder and we were able to photograph it at close range that we confirmed it was just a truant, exceptionally dark-for-the-season Rusty Blackbird (note the very subtle rufous fringes
on the head and breast and the thin, slightly downcurved bill).

Southern York County CBC, “Moody Sector” of Wells and Ogunquit, 12/20 (with Jeannette).

As usual, our incredibly productive territory produced a number of “good birds” and a decent 57 total species:

  • 144 Canada Geese
  • 232 Mallards
  • 2 Mallards x American Black Duck hybrid
  • 81 American Black Ducks
  • 3 NORTHERN PINTAIL (Beach Plum Farm)
  • 4 GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Furbush Avenue)
  • 64 Common Eider
  • 46 Surf Scoter
  • 31 White-winged Scoter
  • 287 Black Scoter
  • 39 Long-tailed Duck
  • 22 Bufflehead
  • 9 Common Goldeneye
  • 22 Red-breasted Merganser
  • 3 Red-throated Loon
  • 5 Common Loon
  • 9 Horned Grebe
  • 26 Red-necked Grebe
  • 1 Northern Gannet
  • 1 Great Blue Heron
  • 1 Bald Eagle
  • 78 American Crow
  • 1 Northern Harrier
  • 1 Cooper’s Hawk
  • 2 Red-tailed Hawks
  • 1 WILSON’S SNIPE (Wells sewerage. 5th count record.)
  • 22 Ring-billed Gull
  • 161 Herring Gull
  • 1 Great Black-backed Gull
  • 2 Razorbill
  • 67 Rock Pigeon
  • 2 Mourning Dove
  • 1 SNOWY OWL (Bourne Ave)
  • 1 Belted Kingfisher
  • 12 Downy Woodpecker
  • 6 Blue Jay
  • 19 Horned Lark
  • 65 Black-capped Chickadee
  • 16 Tufted Titmice
  • 11 White-breasted Nuthatch
  • 1 Brown Creeper
  • 4 Carolina Wren
  • 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet
  • 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (Seaview Street).
  • 12 Eastern Bluebird
  • 1 HERMIT THRUSH (Wells sewerage)
  • 3 Northern Mockingbird
  • 97 European Starling
  • 1 AMERICAN PIPIT (Bourne Avenue)
  • 16 American Tree Sparrow
  • 1 CHIPPING SPARROW (Wells sewerage)
  • 17 Song Sparrow
  • 48 Dark-eyed Junco
  • 5 White-throated Sparrow
  • 25 Northern Cardinal
  • 48 House Finch
  • 22 American Goldfinch
  • 137 House Sparrow

8 hours: 13.3 miles by car; 9.5 miles by foot.

  • No Steller’s Sea-Eagle in Massachusetts, 12/21 (with Weston Barker, Michael Boardman, and Matthew Gilbert)…but we had to try!
  • 1 RUSTY BLACKBIRD, Cathance River Preserve, Topsham, 12/22 (with Weston Barker and John Berry. Photos above and below).
  • 1 continuing drake NORTHERN PINTAIL, Androscoggin River along Rte 136, Durham, 12/23.