Tag Archives: Tours

“Birds on Tap – Roadtrip: Shorebirds and Beers!” Trip report, 8/2/15

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It’s pretty clear that I am not the only birder who loves beer. And based on the success of the “Birds, Books, and Beers” series at Maine Beer Company, the first of hopefully many “Birds on Tap!” lectures at Rising Tide Brewing, and the fact that many of my tours finish the day at a brewery (e.g. Monhegan Brewing), I was looking for a way to build on these events.

Enter the “Birds on Tap – Roadtrip!” series with our friends at the Maine Brew Bus. And the first of what we hope will be a regular schedule of unique birding and beer-ing outings took place on Sunday.

Combining three hours of birding with visits to two of our great local breweries, we strive to showcase some of Maine’s best birding, and best craft brewers. Beginning in August, there’s no better place to bird in southern Maine than Scarborough Marsh.
on the bus

After two convenient pick-ups, one at the store and one in Portland, it was down the marsh, starting at Pine Point on the incoming tide. Common Terns were feeding in the channel, and we took a moment to check out the truly beautiful turquoise eye of a nearby Double-crested Cormorant.
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Out on the mudflats, 150+ Semipalmated Plovers were joined by at least 75 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 30 or so Short-billed Dowitchers, 15 “Eastern” Willets, and a few Black-bellied Plovers. As the ride rolled in, many of these birds flew closer, landing on the last strip of mud and sand right in front of us, offering detailed study of plumage details to complement the “general impression of size and shape” methodology of identifying birds afar.
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Some birds, like this Semipalmated Plover, were incredibly close and offered great studies of plumage detail.

Our next stop, with the tide approaching high, was the Eastern Road Trail. The wide, raised trail crossing the marsh provided convenient access and easy viewing of the many hundreds of shorebirds out in the salt pannes. 300+ Semipalmated Sandpipers, 100-150 Semipalmated Plovers, 100+ Short-billed Dowitchers, 50+ Least Sandpipers, 20+ Greater and 6 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 “Eastern” Willets, 2 White-rumped Sandpipers, and a single Spotted Sandpiper.

Joining the shorebirds in the pannes were a variety of wading birds, with 40+ Snowy and 25 Great Egrets, 8 Glossy Ibis, 4 Great Blue Herons, 3 Little Blue Herons, and “Patches:” the ultra-rare Tricolored Heron x Snowy Egret hybrid that has been frequenting the marsh for at least three summers now.
marsh_birds
There were a lot of birds in the pannes today, with shorebirds covering all of the exposed mud and wading birds standing guard at the edges.

Several singing Nelson’s Sparrows, including a couple of birds that offered unusually prolonged scope-views, a soaring Bald Eagle, and a hunting Northern Harrier added to the diversity of the day.

As we enjoyed some scrumptious vegetable hand-pies, Josh took over the show, and escorted us down to Saco’s Barreled Souls. While several birders got a life bird or two today, everyone in the group had their “life beers” from Barreled Souls. All of Barreled Souls’ beers are fermented in oak barrels using a version of the Burton Union system, a method developed in England in the 1800’s. Unique ingredients coupled with this system that offer subtle flavor additions and changes to the beer, provides a healthy growing environment for the yeast that does the dirty work of making the sugar into alcohol, and allows for the capture the healthiest yeast crops for the next batch of brew.
Barreled_souls

We received a tour of the facility, before being invited in the cozy tasting room. All the while, four unique and very flavorful beers, all very different in taste and body, were sampled, including Half-Nelson, an IPA with 100% Nelson Sauvin hops and Space Gose, a tart German style beer with coriander, Maine sea salt, and lemon zest. Mixing things up a bit, the fruity Eat a Peach and the finale, the malty and nutty – and potent – Quaker State Heavyweight.

Conversations about birds during the first half of the tour rapidly turned to conversations about beer, often spurred on by discussions about the samples, and several people remarked how these beers were outside of their usual comfort zone, broadening their horizons and challenging their pallets. One could say there is a parallel to our discussions about the finer point of “peep” identification while out in the marsh!
Zippys photo_edited-1

It seemed most appropriate that our second brewery of the tour would be Rising Tide Brewing in Portland – our partner in the Birds on Tap! lecture series. Refreshing Daymark, a clean and classic APA; Ishmael, the rich and malty American copper ale; Zephyr, Rising Tide’s hoppy but incredibly well-balanced IPA; and of course, the venerable Maine Island Trail Ale the citrusy, hoppy, and summertime-perfect American Ale that is one of the favorite beers of many a Maine beer drinker, myself included.
Rising_Tide

MITA

While many of the Maine residents in the group – we also had guests from Kansas and folks who share Maine with another home state – were more familiar with the offerings of this favorite brewery, Alex did a great job explaining the philosophy of the brewery and the methods they use to produce so many quality, unique, – and in many cases, exceedingly approachable – brews.

As we wrapped things up and Josh transported us back to our respective drop-offs, the bus was filled with chatter about birds, beers, and more than one question for when the next Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! from Freeport Wild Bird Supply and the Maine Brew Bus will be taking place…stay tuned!

Birding By Schooner Trip Report, 2015

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It’s hard for me to pick my “favorite” tour, but if pressed, I would probably answer our annual “Birding by Schooner” aboard the Lewis R. French tour. It just offers such a unique way to bird, and such unique birding experiences. The scenery, the food, and the good conversation can also not be beat.

Last week was my 6th tour aboard the French. And one of the aspects of the tour that I so very much enjoy is that every tour is different. We often don’t know where we are going even as we depart Camden Harbor on our first morning! Weather (especially wind, or lack there of) dictates the plan. And I must say, it’s a nice bit of respite to not have any control over where we go! All I have to do is point out birds wherever our captain takes us.

Of course, this is a birding-themed trip, so we make our best efforts to get into position for some great birding, especially to visit one or more islands with breeding seabirds. But when I boarded the vessel on Sunday night, I could only guess what a plan might be.

We awoke to fog and calm on Monday morning, departed the harbor on the very lightest of breezes, and pushed our way across a bay with only the minimum of ripples. We found a whole in the fog bank as we rounded Owl’s Head Light…
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(click on photos for larger images)

…but soon we were back in the murk.
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Wilson’s Storm-Petrels began to show up, with at least 50 noted by the time we pulled into Port Clyde. Bald Eagles were conspicuous, as were the common bay denizens such as Black Guillemot…
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…and Common Eider.
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A stroll to Marshall Point Light added to our landbird list, while a Greater Yellowlegs in the harbor was the first migrant shorebird of the trip.

Overnighting in Port Clyde set us up nicely for a short trip to Eastern Egg Rock, which we rounded slowly to enjoy Roseate Terns among the Arctic and Commons, lots of Black Guillemots, and over 100 Atlantic Puffins. The fog lifted enough for us to have great visibility when near the island, but the offshore fog bank and cloudy skies meant a lot of puffins were on the water, and many loafed close to our boat or zipped right by.
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Back into the fog as we trudged offshore, seabirds were few and far between. Or, I should say, we saw few seabirds…I am sure plenty were out there. We encountered some more puffins, and this one Northern Gannet.
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Our destination this afternoon was none other than Monhegan Island…one of my favorite places in the world. It was pretty foggy, so the views were limited…
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…But few complained. Especially those of us who ended up at the Monhegan Brewing Company (Wait, how do so many of my tours end up at breweries?).
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Several common breeding birds were added to our trip list, but no mid-summer vagrants were detected. We had hoped to overnight in the harbor and take a birdwalk in the morning, but a tenuous anchorage and an approaching cold front led Captain Garth to err on the side of caution, and head for the shelter of the mainland, so we said an early farewell to Monhegan.
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We sought shelter up the St. George River, first in Turkey Cove, but then Garth made a last minute decision to anchor on the river’s other bank, in the Pleasant Point Gut. Overnight, the storm cleared, and so did the fog.
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We didn’t have much wind, but what we did have facilitated a trip out to remote Seal Island. We had to motor-sail most of the way, but we had an afternoon date with a punctual local.

On the way, we enjoyed some great birding. While we didn’t have enough wind to take the long way out to Matinicus Rock and deeper water, cutting a straight line around the north end of Metinic produced a whole lot of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels (450+ on the day), 6 Red Phalaropes (along with another 20 phalaropes that were just a little too far to ID), and a Mola Mola that gave us the slip. Most surprising, however, was a pair of American Oystercatchers that were flying around Little Green Island. Whether this is a previously-unknown pair of this slowly-increasing species in Maine, southbound migrants, or Maine breeders undergoing post-breeding dispersal is impossible to know, but it was a new “Schooner Bird” for me: my 116th species seen during our “Birding by Schooner” tours!

It was a bit of work, but we made it to Seal Island on a sunny, fairly calm day at the perfect time. And “Troppy” the Red-billed Tropicbird that has returned to Seal Island for its 9th straight summer (10th overall in the area), made his afternoon appearance for a little bath. This was my fourth visit to Seal aboard the French, and we have seen Troppy three times (the only miss was on a cloudy day with fog the next morning).
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And despite that sign, we dropped anchor for a special evening. One of the unique experiences for participants on this most unique tour is an evening with the Seal Island’s biologists. Not only do the passengers get a break from hearing me talk, the biologists get a break from cooking and their usual routine.
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Yet another unique experience afforded by spending a night out at Seal is to get up and listen for Leach’s Storm-Petrels returning to the island from foraging trips in the middle of the night. While clear skies and a light westerly wind reduced the cacophony, the eerie, sinister chuckling of the petrels rang through the night.

And if a sunrise over Seal isn’t enough…
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…there was what seemed to be the entire tern colony in the air…
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… more puffins, a couple of dozen Razorbills and 1 Common Murre, Great Cormorants, and more Black Guillemots than you could count.
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Migrant shorebirds included a Whimbrel, a flock of small shorebirds that totaled 20 Semipalmated and 2 Least Sandpipers along with 4 Semipalmated Plovers, and unexpectedly, a fly-by Wood Duck! Not to mention another view of the Red-billed Tropicbird!

If your head wasn’t already on a swivel from looking at all of that, looking down offered a mesmerizing ballet of traveling jellies, both Moon and White-cross Jellies(here)…
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…and painful Lion’s Mane Jellies.
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For me, it is always too soon to depart, but we had other fish to fry, or to be exact, lobsters to boil. So we set a course towards Stonington, keeping our eyes open along the way. Two male Razorbills with their chick in tow were nice to see, as was a Minke Whale. A handful of Northern Gannets and about 10 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels were our only other seabirds, however.

As we entered nearshore waters, we kept an eye out on islands, both big and small. You never know what you might see, and while I am on the lookout for something “mega” like a Brown Booby, we did spot a Great Cormorant on tiny Saddleback Ledge.
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Back in the usual domain of the Schooner fleet, we passed The Heritage…
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…and while the water boiled on Russ Island, the Angelique cruised passed us.
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A little bird, plant, and ecology walk further swelled our appetites. Which was good, because we had a few lobsters to eat tonight. Swainson’s Thrushes offered the evening’s musical performance.
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A Sharp-shinned Hawk carrying breakfast over Russ Island was another addition to my Schooner List, and our morning walk around Stonington added several new species to our triplist.
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Rounding North Haven Island, we kept tallying Wilson’s Storm-Petrels (we don’t always see these birds inshore on this tour), spotted a few small groups of southbound swallows and a few shorebirds, and watched the storm clouds build.
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Um, should we have been worried?
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Nah, this crew has got it covered!
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Although we had some good sailing winds ahead of the storm, and some moderate rain during the storm, the skies looked much worse than what we weathered. In fact, by the time we motored into Gilkey Harbor on Islesboro, the rain was ending and the skies showed a few hints of blue. And once again, we ate. Ate real well.
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It’s amazing how fast a week aboard the Schooner French flies by – even without the birds – but it was now time to crank the anchor one last time. A Greater Yellowlegs sounded off and Ospreys circled overhead as we departed the quiet harbor for the bustle of Camden.

Crossing West Penobscot Bay, we encountered yet more Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, and surprisingly (for this far up the bay) another Razorbill father and kid.

Chimney Swifts twittering over Camden were our 79th and final species of the tour – two over our average. Emails were exchanged, bunks were cleared, and one last photo-op capped off yet another stellar “Birding By Schooner” tour.
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Here’s the complete, annotated checklist for this year’s trip, in order of appearance:

  1. American Crow
  2. House Sparrow
  3. Rock Pigeon
  4. Canada Goose (a couple of family groups in Camden Harbor)
  5. Mallard
  6. Song Sparrow
  7. Double-crested Cormorant
  8. Laughing Gull (common; all days)
  9. Osprey (common, just about every day)
  10. House Finch
  11. Herring Gull
  12. Great Black-backed Gull
  13. Cedar Waxwing
  14. Northern Cardinal
  15. Mourning Dove (all of the above from the boat within Camden Harbor)
  16. Wilson’s Storm-Petrel (daily; high day count of 450+ on 7/22, with 400+ between Little Green Island and Seal Island. Unusually common within Penobscot Bay).
  17. Black Guillemot (Abundant daily; several hundred on multiple days).
  18. Common Eider (very common; all days)
  19. Common Tern (abundant, including thousands at Eastern Egg Rock and Seal Island, but also scattered throughout inshore waters)
  20. Bald Eagle (common and seen daily; high count of 7 on 7/20).
  21. Bonaparte’s Gull (scattered few)
  22. Common Loon (scattered few on several days)
  23. Great Blue Heron
  24. Northern Parula
  25. European Starling
  26. Black-capped Chickadee
  27. Common Grackle
  28. American Robin
  29. Common Yellowthroat
  30. Black-throated Green Warbler
  31. Purple Finch
  32. Common Raven
  33. White-throated Sparrow
  34. Blue Jay
  35. Greater Yellowlegs (scattered singletons)
  36. Least Sandpiper (scattered few)
  37. Northern Flicker
  38. Gray Catbird
  39. Semipalmated Sandpiper (scattered small groups; high of 30 at Seal Island on 7/23)
  40. White-rumped Sandpiper (1 each at Eastern Egg Rock, 7/22 and Seal Island, 7/22)
  41. Spotted Sandpiper
  42. ATLANTIC PUFFIN (100+ at Eastern Egg Rock, 7/22 and hundreds at Seal Island 7/22-23)
  43. ROSEATE TERN (dozens at Eastern Egg Rock, 7/22)
  44. ARCTIC TERN (many hundreds at Eastern Egg Rock, 7/22 and Seal Island, 7/22-23)
  45. Northern Gannet (1 between Eastern Egg and Seal, 7/22; 5 between Seal and Stonington, 7/23)
  46. Tree Swallow (several southbound groups seen offshore and around islands)
  47. Brown-headed Cowbird
  48. Red-winged Blackbird
  49. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  50. Winter Wren
  51. Black-throated Green Warbler
  52. Yellow-rumped Warbler
  53. Barn Swallow (scattered small numbers, many southbound over water)
  54. Blue-headed Vireo
  55. Killdeer
  56. AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER (pair at Little Green Island, 7/22)
  57. RED PHALAROPE (6 between Little Green Island and Seal Island, 7/22, plus 20 unidentified phalaropes)
  58. GREAT CORMORANT (35+ including juveniles at Seal Island, 7/22-23, plus 1 at Saddleback Ledge light, 7/23).
  59. RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD (Troppy! Seal Island, 7/22-23).
  60. RAZORBILL (20+ Seal Island, 7/22-23)
  61. Bank Swallow (6 off of Seal Island, 7/22)
  62. COMMON MURRE (1 at Seal Island, 7/22)
  63. LEACH’S STORM-PETREL (many heard overnight at Seal Island, 7/22-23)
  64. Savannah Sparrow
  65. Whimbrel (one at Seal Island, 7/23)
  66. WOOD DUCK (one unexpected fly-by at Seal Island, 7/23)
  67. Semipalmated Plover (4 at Seal Island, 7/23 and 4 off North Haven, 7/24)
  68. Turkey Vulture
  69. Dark-eyed Junco
  70. Red-breasted Nuthatch
  71. Golden-crowned Kinglet
  72. Sharp-shinned Hawk
  73. Chipping Sparrow
  74. Black-and-white Warbler
  75. Yellow Warbler
  76. Hermit Thrush
  77. Belted Kingfisher
  78. Ring-billed Gull (just a few in and around Camden Harbor)
  79. Chimney Swift

Since every trip is unique, here are links to the trip reports from the previous two tours.

August, 2014.
And July 2013.

And in the not-so-distant future, we’ll be posting dates and information for our 2016 adventure. This trip fills up fast, so don’t dally…sign up soon and we’ll see you aboard next year!

June 2015 Month in Review

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I guide nearly full-time in the month of June, and this year was no different. Add a few days at the store here and there and three days for working on writing projects, it was, needless to say, a very busy month. Please excuse my lack of blogging. I’ll try and make up for it here with a summary of the birds and my birding for the month as I try to catch up here and everywhere else.

After a troublingly-dry spring, rain began to fall in early June, with three inches in the first few days of the month, temporarily alleviating our drought conditions. But unseasonably cool temperatures continued to dominate through much of the month, but at least we started to see rain on a regular basis (but we could still use more) with a more active weather pattern. Unfortunately, it sometime fell at inopportune time for me and my clients!

Early June is often a time for rarities, especially of southern “overshoots” that are often found prospecting for territories – things like Hooded or Worm-eating Warblers, Summer Tanagers, etc. It was rather surprising, actually, that these southern strays weren’t found, considering May ended with several days of southwesterly winds – perfect for facilitating the arrival of late migrants (and kites)!
ADD TO BLOG-wind map, 5-30-15

It’s also a great time for even more exceptional vagrants.  But this year, rarities in early June were limited to a short-staying Franklin’s Gull on Stratton Island on 6/3, and a 1st-summer Little Gull that was hanging out with Bonparte’s Gulls on Pine Point Beach in Scarborough through the first week of the month (following an adult in late May).
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But on June 8th, a Little Egret was found in Falmouth, and was followed into Portland. On the 9th, I spent the afternoon chasing it around with Luke Seitz, eventually relocating it several times and eventually getting some good photos.  Hanging out some of the time with Snowy Egrets, this summertime occurrence is most intriguing. This was the third record for Maine, all of which have occurred in the summer, and all since 2011 – could they all be of the same bird?
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I’m a full-time guide in June, and this summer my private guiding (following a postponement due to the heavy, steady rain on the 1st) kicked of on June 3rd with a two-day tour for a couple who currently reside in Nicaragua. After amazing experiences with Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows in Scarborough Marsh – with the aforementioned Little Gull as a welcomed treat – we headed for the hills for my first of three visits to the mountaintop realm of the Bicknell’s Thrush. Despite a private, after-hours charter up Mount Washington one evening, and an exhaustive search on another mountain the next morning, for the first time in over 30 attempts, I failed to produce satisfactory views of the enigmatic thrush for my clients. No small part of me was frustrated and disappointed that I could no longer claim a perfect score!  I knew it would happen eventually, however.

Was it too early? Especially during such a cold start to the season? Or was it just too nice out both days? Warm temperatures in the low 50’s and very light winds just don’t seem to be as useful for seeing these birds!

We had a great birdwalk outing on 6/6, and local guiding for a visitor from Alabama on the 7th was fruitful: some of our local breeders here in Freeport, followed by a visit to Pine Point Beach (no Little Gull this day, but the continuing raft of “winter” diving ducks: ~40 White-winged, ~30 Black, and 4 Surf Scoters, along with a single Long-tailed Duck) made for a nice morning.

My next overnight trip was on June 8-9, taking me to Rangeley with a client from Massachussetts. We managed all 6 of our target birds, including finding a Black-backed Woodpecker and with the help of a friend, a new spot for Mourning Warbler.

The weekend of the 13-14th was my annual “Bicknell’s Thrush and the White Mountains” tour. Licking my chops from my first whiff earlier in the month, I was excited to get back on the horse and see some Bicknell’s Thrushes. Of course, even more pressure is on when you’re running a two-day trip solely dedicated to one species!  While we do bird our way to and from the mountain thrush locations, this is an all-or-nothing trip for a lot of people. Let’s just say, a new streak has begun – and wow, what a way to do it!

With rare days off, I squeezed in some relaxed birding with Jeannette and Sasha. We didn’t see the Portland area Little Egret on the 15th, but did enjoy a birdy visit to Capisic Pond Park to walk Sasha, including a nice view of the male Orchard Oriole. A Red Crossbill in the afternoon in our Pownal yard was a surprise. The next day, we did our annual march around all of the Kennebunk Plains. At least five Upland Sandpipers (all very well-seen), 10 Grasshopper Sparrows (low), 18 Vesper Sparrows, 38 Prairie Warblers, and all of the other expected barrens denizens. A visit to Peak’s Island on the 18th yielded a very late migrant Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and a sampling of the breeding birds of this lovely island. Willow Flycatchers and Black-crowned Night-Herons were in the marsh by Battery Steele but I did not hear or see a single Carolina Wren – wow, did this bird get hammered by our winter this year. Of course, there were a few morning dogwalks to local patches as well mixed in

The grand finale of my June this year was my 10-day Maine-New Hampshire Tour for WINGS. This biennial tour is exhaustive, and exhausting.  But 5 hotels, 1300 miles, and 159 species later, we all knew it was well worth it: 20 species of warbler (including Bay-breasted), all 9 species of Maine’s flycatchers (including Olive-sided), 7 species of thrush (including Bicknell’s in New Hampshire), 5 species of tern, 5 species of vireo, 4 species of alcids, and so much more.

After seeing Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows, Roseate Tern, American Oystercatchers, etc at Scarborough Marsh, we successfully searched for the Little Egret – a life or ABA-area bird for everyone.  Bicknell’s Thrush played hard to get on Mount Washington, but my secret spot produced crippling views the next day.  It rained – a lot – in Rangeley, but we still managed to get several sought-after species, including Gray Jays and Moose. Messalonskee Lake was its usual awesomeness, and then we headed east, way east, arriving in Machias.
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Machias Seal Island needs no explanation; although landed was thwarted by swells, we couldn’t have asked for more birds up close and personal from the boat.
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Spruce Grouse eluded my group for the first time, but we picked up lifers for many, especially as we rode the whale/puffin watch trip out of Bar Harbor (2 Manx and 14 Great Shearwaters, 3 Leach’s and 350+ Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, Northern Fulmars, and another view of puffins, Razorbills, and Common Murres.  And we finally turned up some Great Cormorants – 7 actually – in Acadia National Park.
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The Great Shearwaters we encountered today had some serious molt going on!

Besides the Little Egret, which obviously stole the show, unexpected treats included an immature male Purple Martin at Pine Point exploring nesting/roosting cavities with 6 White-winged Scoters off the beach and 2 Black-bellied Plovers off the point. A pair of Black Scoters was off of Quoddy Head State Park was another unseasonable addition to the checklist.

We filled in a few holes on the checklist on the tour’s last day, including Barred Owl, and some feeder watching in our backyard. And like all of my tours, we ate well- very, very well; food is always an important part of my tours as it is so important to tell an area’s story.
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With rain falling and clients departing on Sunday the 28th, I slept. A lot. I also slept a lot the next two days, although of course, but I made some time for some casual birding with Jeannette and Sasha, including another chase of the Little Egret – this time resulting in Jeannette’s 600th ABA-area bird!  Then, on Tuesday, we visited Simpson’s Point and spotted the remarkably-unseasonable Pacific Loon that was found there the day before. Joining almost-as-amazing summer records of two Red-throated Loons, a drake Bufflehead, and three Long-tailed Ducks, this amazing bay that has become a real summer oddity hotspot delivers once again.

And with that, my June comes to a close. I have a few tours and private guiding outings coming up, but I look forward to a slightly more relaxed schedule, with perhaps a few minutes on the recliner and wading out to sandbars to enjoy shorebirds!

The 2015 “Bicknell’s Thrush and the White Mountains” Van Trip

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Our annual “Bicknell’s Thrush and the White Mountains” van trip to New Hampshire took place on the weekend of June 13-14 this year. Still licking my wounds from failing to provide satisfactory views for clients (on a private trip earlier in the week) for the first time in over 30 tours to look for this enigmatic, secretive, and range-restricted Northeastern breeding endemic earlier in the week, I was ready to get back in the game and start a new streak.

We departed the store on Saturday morning, and began our drive to the mountains. I always stop somewhere on the way to the Whites, and this year I mixed it up a bit with an easy walk at the pleasantly birdy Jagolinzer Preserve in Limington. Good views of Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeak were highlights.

It was already 11am when we arrived at the Caps Ridge Trail in Jefferson Notch, where we casually birded the road, parking area, and the beginning of the trail. It was not the best time of day, of course, but we heard quite a few Blackpoll Warblers and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, along with spotted a variety of warblers, including a couple of the Blackpolls, Black-throated Greens, and Magnolias.

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After a little r&r, we had a fantastic early dinner at Saalt Pub, a lovely little gastropub run by a James Beard Award semifinalist who worked for the legend, Julia Child. It’s not what one expects to find in little Gorham. Luckily, with our regular, casual eatery now open only for breakfast and lunch, they were able to squeeze us in. Rest assured this will likely be a regular feature of this tour from now on.
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Fueled up and ready to go, we made the short trip to the base of the Mount Washington Auto Road for our private, after-hours charter up to the realm of the thrush.
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The view from the summit was magnificent, with amazingly clear views in all directions…thanks to winds now gusting over 60mph!  It was a challenge to walk around, and especially to open the doors of our van!

Escaping the gale before any of were blown away, we dropped down to the Cow Pasture to enjoy some flowers, like this glowing Lapland Rosebay and dainty white Diapensia.
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With dusk finally approaching, we dropped down into the krummholz to get to work.
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Unfortunately, the winds were increasing, and they were whipping around the mountain. My favorite spots were just too windy to hear or see the thrush, or much of anything else. One sheltered stretch of road did host several thrushes, and we did glimpse a few birds crossing the road, and especially one that flew overhead providing unusually decent looks in flight.  We had one close bird that seemed to be having a negative interaction with a Swainson’s Thrush – was the Swainson’s chasing it?  Swainson’s are marching up the mountain, residing higher and higher each year – are they displacing Bicknell’s?  It was a really interesting auditory show, but we couldn’t get a good look at either bird.

Unfortunately, a thrush that froze in our headlights as it was time to go was a Swainson’s, not our quarry.  Another miss – was I entering a slump?

But this tour gives us two chances to see the bird, and the next morning – another lovely day – we went to a different mountain to try our luck there.
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We worked hard for the bird, and although some were close, and some quick glimpses were to be had, we were running out of time, and running out of chances to really see the bird.  Then, this happened:
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These are arguably my best photos ever of this reclusive bird, and we were all ecstatic. With everyone happy now, and with these new photos, I even took a moment to enjoy the view.
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2014 MonhegZEN Birding Fall Migration Weekend Trip Report

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harbor,K

PHVI,ScottHarvell_edited-1Philadelphia Vireo wrasslin’ a Fall Webworm.

Ninety-seven species of birds, including 16 species of warblers. Yellow-headed Blackbird, Lark and Clay-colored Sparrows, and Dickcissel from the mid-west. Blue Grosbeak from the south. Kettles of Peregrine Falcons, clouds of Yellow-rumped Warblers, good food, great beer, and fantastic camaraderie. Yup, it’s another installment of our annual “MonhegZEN Birding Fall Migration Weekend.”

There are few places in the entire Northeast that I would rather be in fall, especially during the peak of migrant diversity. Our annual tour takes places to coincide with the last waves of warblers, first waves of sparrows, peak of raptors, and the beginning of “Rarity Season.” Check, check, check, and check…and it was hot! In fact, I believe I received the first ever complaint of a room at the Trailing Yew being “too warm in the morning.” Of course, “complaint” is used loosely here, for the record. But it was an unusually warm weekend, and although the birding was not epic by Monhegan standards, great diversity was thoroughly enjoyed – as was the weather (well, at least until the boat ride home a day after the tour ended!).

Two Red-necked Grebes just outside of the harbor were a nice way to start the trip on Friday, as were plenty of Northern Gannets, several Common Loons, and glass-calm seas on our way across. Arriving at 10am via the Hardy Boat from New Harbor, we hit the ground running, and after dropping our bags off to be taken to our inn, we immediately began to bird. Two vocal, dogfighting Peregrine Falcons got us started, and we soon spotted the single continuing Dickcissel. That’s how I like to get things started!
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Although we did find a Yellow-breasted Chat (frustrating as usual, although at least everyone saw twigs moving), the bird of the day was definitely Peregrine Falcon. A bona fide kettle of 8 were soaring overhead at lunch time, and a steady parade of birds was passing overhead throughout the day. There was a lot of swirling as well, however, which made tabulating an actual count of Peregrines impossible. We know we had at least a dozen birds, but likely multiple times that. Some birds were clearly hunting, but most were probably rising high on the thermals and then soaring off to the south, using the light headwind to efficiently move out to sea, and likely not making landfall until Cape Cod!

Unexpectedly, very light southwesterly winds shifted to west overnight, and as a result, we had a very good arrival of birds to the island. Yellow-rumped Warblers – as expected for the date – dominated, with a conservative estimate of 250 birds observed, with many dozens in the air over the Trailing Yew at sunrise. Three Cape May Warblers, including a couple at the edge of the Yew were the highlight of dozen species of warblers we recorded today. The immature male Dickcissel continued in his favorite seed pile, and we had a fly-by Yellow-billed Cuckoo over the Ice Pond. Unfortunately, a short time later, it was found dead below a nearby window, not just sobering our sighting, but punctuating the fact that up to a billion birds a year meet their death at windows each year – and that’s just in the US!

Good diversity and good (but not, by Monhegan standards, great) numbers made for a fun day of birding, but it was definitely a lot more relaxing once we finally caught up with the Yellow-headed Blackbird! This immature male (a lot of folks were calling it a female, but the blackish body, extent of yellow, face pattern, and every-so-slight touch of white on the wing point to this as being a male) had been present for about 4 days, but since it was a “State Bird” for me, and a “Life Bird” for several, it was obviously a priority.

But on Monhegan, you can only do so much to chase most rarities. In fact, more often than not, you have to simply relax and let the rarities come to you! I call this my “MonhegZEN Migration Birding Weekend” not for any existential reasons – or mandatory meditation or yoga – but simply because we (try) to kick back, focus on the bird(s) in front of us, and let good things happen.

But yeah, we wanted to see this bird, and after missing it by about 5 minutes on a brisk, pre-breakfast (but don’t worry, post-coffee!) walk, the MonhegZEN kicked in. A friend spotted the bird as it flew overhead, alighting nearby in the center of town. Good looks were had by all (I apparently said, “Oh, thank God,” in response to the bird’s arrival, feeling as much relief as joy, apparently!) but about a half hour later, we had even better views as it perched atop a spruce along Dock Road.
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We were then able to more thoroughly enjoy the unseasonably warm day, watching Peregrines, and sorting through migrants. Oh, and a relative abundance of Monarch butterflies was heartening.
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gentian,ScottHarvell

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The largest Fringed Gentians I have seen.

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Bald Eagle on the Outer Ducks as some of the participants took the short afternoon cruise around the island.

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Great Cormorant and Harbor Seal.

A moderate-strong flight developed on clear and calm skies overnight, but come sunrise, the morning flight over the Yew was a little less busy than Saturday. Nonetheless, there were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Pine Siskins, and noticeable increases in Cedar Waxwings overhead and White-throated Sparrows in the woods and brush. Although overall numbers of birds were lower today, diversity was fantastic, and our trip list grew with the likes of Tennessee Warblers, a Warbling Vireo (I always wonder if these late Warblings out here are all “180-degree misoriented vagrants” as opposed to simply “lingering/late” birds – the local breeders on the mainland are long gone by now afterall), and we finally caught up with the Lark Sparrow that was visiting the seed with the Dickcissel.
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Lark Sparrow with Dickcissel – a classic Monhegan juxtaposition.

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Tennessee Warbler

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Red-eyed Vireo coughing up a cherry stone; phone-scoped image.

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We found a female Blue Grosbeak in the marsh behind the grocery store, and we enjoyed another short visit from the Yellow-headed Blackbird (minutes after Jeannette, arriving on the mid-day boat with Sasha, walked away of course).
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The eagle was present and accounted for on the way in.

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Trap day is coming!

Due to my schedule, the official weekend tour was only three days this year (instead of the usual four), so most of the group departed on the 3:15 ferry back to New Harbor. Al stayed until the 4:30 Port Clyde boat, and his bonus time (three leaders: me, Jeannette, and Kristen Lindquist who assisted me throughout the weekend as I added a second leader when I added a 9th participant – I, and my clients, prefer a small group, especially on Monhegan!) was partially spent watching a few of us struggle with the identity of a dull warbler who really did not want to give us a good look. It was eventually determined to be an immature female Pine Warbler (actually, quite a good warbler out here), and when Jeannette, Kristen, and I saw it later that afternoon in good light, its ID was much more readily apparent.

The always-successful “MonhegZEN Birding Fall Migration Weekend” had officially come to a close, but the birding continued for Kristen, Jeannette, and I. Another hot (80-degrees on the last weekend of September on Monhegan!) and somewhat quiet afternoon relegated our birding to the porch of the Monhegan Brewing Company. Their new delectable DIPA and Pale Ale was thoroughly enjoyed, as was “Brewery Pewee” (a single lingering Eastern Wood-Pewee that was a daily feature of our Brewery List…OK, we didn’t actually keep a brewery list this time, but if we did…and no, this was not my first visit to the brewery on the weekend – it is an important destination for the full MonhegZEN Birding experience) capped the end to a fine and productive day.

After dinner, the three of us walked to and from the dock (a big school of fish, presumably Herring (?) attracted by the lights provided the post-dinner entertainment), but the mere four migrant call notes heard overhead foreshadowed the very light flight overnight that saw many more birds depart than arrive on a diminishing southwesterly wind.

In fact, the skies were nearly devoid of birds undergoing “morning redetermined migration” or “morning flight” come Monday morning, and although there were still plenty of Pine Siskins and Cedar Waxwings overhead, the skies were the quietest that they had been all weekend. But there was little doubt more White-throated Sparrows arrived overnight, and there was not a shortage of Yellow-rumped Warblers.
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Rusty Blackbird.

We slowly added a few species to the checklist, including the Clay-colored Sparrow that we had spent all weekend trying to catch up with. The Dickcissel and Blue Grosbeak were present and accounted for as well, and a Prairie Warbler was a nice addition. But as northeast winds began to pick up, we decided to head into the woods. Cathedral Woods offered scattered Golden-crowned Kinglets and more White-throated Sparrows, but our primary destination was this “Fairy House,” or more accurately, palace, that was not to be missed.
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It was definitely worth the walk, and made even more so by how strong easterly winds were blowing (hmm, that water is looking a little choppy) upon our return to town. It was simply too windy to bird – and rather chilly – after lunch, so we relaxed with a coffee, and then later – just because we “had to” have one more DIPA… err, check of the Brewery Pewee.

The day’s birding was slow, and we had not been able to relocate the Yellow-headed Blackbird…until the literal last minute. The boat was loaded, and we were hustling to the dock, when we asked two birders what they were looking at in the yard of one of the first houses uphill on Dock Rd. “The Yellow-headed Blackbird.” Of course.

And it was, let’s say, confiding, as it walked around the lawn and in some weedy patches a mere 10-15 feet from the gawkers. Sasha even saw it (I would have had a great photo over her head, with her ears up and her face focused on the bird had my phone not just run out of power) – her 127th life bird! It was an exciting way to finish the trip, but the excitement was actually yet to come.
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“How high are the seas running?” I asked as we boarded the boat. “6-8 feet or so, they’ah sure comin’ up fast today. It’s gonna be a wet ride.” Uh-oh; was that last beer a good idea? While Sasha has only been on a boat a few times, she has never been “tested,” but we thought it was best to keep her outside. Plus, a hot and stuffy cabin was the last place any of us wanted to be in high seas, so we donned our raingear and moved outside. We were amply warned about splash-over, but none of the four of us wanted to head inside.

Unfortunately, Sasha was not happy with the vibration on the stern, so we headed upstairs to the exposed top deck. 6-8ft seas? No, they were still growing; more in the 8-10ft range now…by far (actually, well more than double) the highest seas I have ever experienced on a Monhegan crossing. But it was surface chop, and not a deep, rolling swell, so it was actually kind of fun. Except for Sasha and except when a series of waves crashed over the boat and smacked into the four of us. I have never seen our tough dog look so miserable, and frankly, soaked to the bone, none of us were all that comfortable anymore. If any of my group had regrets about leaving on Sunday, I can assure you: be glad! It seemed like forever (OK, it was about an hour) before we passed into the lee of the outermost islands. But don’t worry, in between troughs and huddling over Sasha, I kept my eyes open as much as possible for skuas!

That was a wild ride, and very un-MonhegZEN! But once in the sheltered bay and harbor of Port Clyde, we couldn’t help but laugh with the crew. Seas like this are rare – and rarely do they come up so darn quickly – so please do not think that this is part of a Monhegan birding experience! In fact, glass-calm seas were enjoyed by every member of the group on their return trip on Sunday. I guess we might have stayed just one day too long this time.

Actually, no, we just regretted not staying just one day longer!

Kristen and I tabulated the final day’s checklist on the drive to dinner, bringing my four-day total to 99 species, including this final non-tour day. My 4-day weekend tour averages 102 species of birds, so this was just a little below average (this year’s tour officially ended on Sunday with 93 species, which is just below my 3-day average of 95 species).

Here’s the complete, daily checklist. These numbers only represent what our group observed, making no attempt to actually judge the number of birds (at least the common ones) on the island, or summarize the sightings of others and does not include birds tallied on the boat ride across either way.

Species: 9/26,9/27,9/28,9/29

Wood Duck: 1,0,3,2
Mallard: 4,15,15,15
Mallard x American Black Duck: 0,1,0,0
American Black Duck:0,2,0,0
Common Eider: x,x,x,x
White-winged Scoter: 1,0,0,0
Ring-necked Pheasant: 4,1,3,2
Double-crested Cormorant: x,x,x,x
Great Cormorant: 0,2,2,2
Red-necked Grebe: 2,0,0,0
Common Loon: 3,0,0,0
Northern Gannet: 15,50,20,50
Great Blue Heron: 1,1,1,1
Osprey: 1,8,5,2
Bald Eagle: 1,1,2,2
Northern Harrier: 1,0,0,2
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1,4,6,3
American Kestrel: 0,2,2,1
Merlin: 4+,6+,10,6
Peregrine Falcon: 12++,10+,10+,8
Semipalmated Plover: 0,1,0,0
Greater Yellowlegs: 0,0,0,1
Ring-billed Gull: 0,0,0,2
Herring Gull: x,x,x,x
Great Black-backed Gull: x,x,x,x
Black Guillemot: x,x,x,x,
Mourning Dove: 4,4,4,3
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO: 0,1,0,0
Belted Kingfisher: 0,0,1,1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 0,2,0,0
Unidentified Hummingbird:0,0,0,1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 2,12,15,4
Downy Woodpecker: 0,1,2,2
Northern Flicker: 10,12,10,20
Eastern Wood-Pewee: 0,3,1,1
Least Flycatcher: 1,2,1,0
Eastern Phoebe: 0,0,3,5
Blue-headed Vireo: 0,0,0,3
Warbling Vireo: 0,0,1,0
Philadelphia Vireo: 1,0,3,3
Red-eyed Vireo: 12,25,30,30
Blue Jay: 4,11,11,6
American Crow: 4,4,4,4
Common Raven: 0,2,2,3
Black-capped Chickadee: x,x,x,4
Red-breasted Nuthatch: 4,12,15,35
White-breasted Nuthatch: 1,0,0,0
Brown Creeper: 0,1,1,2
Carolina Wren: 5,6,8,7
Winter Wren: 0,0,1,3
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 6,8,12,25
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 3,20,20,6
Swainson’s Thrush: 0,2,1,0
American Robin: 1,5,4,1
Gray Catbird: x,x,4,5
Northern Mockingbird: 1,0,1,0
European Starling: 10,12,12,8
American Pipit: 0,6,2,1
Cedar Waxwing: 40,40,80,50
Black-and-white Warbler: 1,1,1,3
Tennessee Warbler: 0,0,3,0
Nashville Warbler: 2,0,2,1
Common Yellowthroat: 10,6,x,x
American Redstart: 3,3,2,0
Cape May Warbler: 0,2,1,0
Northern Parula: 1,2,3,2
Magnolia Warbler: 0,3,1,1
Yellow Warbler: 0,1,1,1
Blackpoll Warbler: 1,6,5,4
Black-throated Blue Warbler: 0,0,1,1
Palm Warbler: 0,6,3,7
PINE WARBLER: 0,0,1,0
Yellow-rumped Warbler: 40,250,200,175
Prairie Warbler: 0,0,0,1
Black-throated Green Warbler: 4,10,3,1
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT: 1,0,0,0
Scarlet Tanager: 1,0,0,0
Eastern Towhee: 1,0,0,0
Chipping Sparrow: 7,9,8,9
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW: 0,0,0,1
LARK SPARROW: 0,1,0,0
Savannah Sparrow: 0,9,6,2
Song Sparrow: x,x,x,x
Lincoln’s Sparrow: 1,0,2,1
Swamp Sparrow: 0,1,3,3
White-throated Sparrow: 8,20,100,100
White-crowned Sparrow: 0,3,4,3
Dark-eyed Junco: 0,10,6,10
Northern Cardinal: 2,3,4,4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 0,2,3,1
BLUE GROSBEAK: 0,0,1,1
Indigo Bunting: 2,1,1,1
DICKCISSEL: 1,1,1,2
Bobolink: 0,1,0,1
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD:0,1,1,1
Rusty Blackbird: 0,4,4,4
Common Grackle: 0,6,6,8
Baltimore Oriole: 1,2,3,1
Purple Finch: 0,2,8,6
Pine Siskin: 0,80,50,40
American Goldfinch: 2,2,4,4

Daily Total: 58,72,81,79 Total: 97

RINP,ScottHarvell
Ring-necked Pheasants – the only “countable” ones in Maine!

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Cedar Waxwings.

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Beautiful nightly sunsets free with price of admission.

Birding By Schooner 2014!

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There are no promises when you lead birding trips by sailboats, but the 2014 Birding By Schooner Aboard the Lewis R. French Tour once again delivered!  This is a very unique trip – not just unique in terms of the tours I lead, but unique for Maine, and as far as we know, everywhere else.

While last week found us plagued by beautiful weather – yup, plagued, we need wind! – great birding, great food, and good company were thoroughly enjoyed.  While our total trip list of 78 species of birds (plus 5 mammals: Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Gray Seal, Minke Whale, Red Squirrel, one amphibian: Red-backed Salamander, several dragonflies, and 6 species of butterflies) was below our average, we had a few real treats…one in particular.

The wind direction and intensity (or, as in this week, lack there of) dictates where we can and cannot go over the course of our 6 days at sea. Luckily, the first day found conditions acceptable for heading to our number one goal: Seal Island.  Departing Camden Harbor, we set sail directly to this remote seabird island.

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Perhaps our only true “schedule” of the week, our goal was to arrive at a very specific time, for a very specific bird. Captain Garth Wells adeptly navigated our way to arrive about 10 minutes before show time.

“Troppy,” the famous Red-billed Tropicbird that has called Seal Island and vicinity its home for the past 10 summers arrived right on queue. I first spotted it flying around the island in the distance.

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Then, he made a sharp turn towards us…

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…and proceeded to circle our boat several times at an increasingly close proximity…

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…Before turning away and heading back to the island, often escorted by Arctic Terns.

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Oh yeah, there were several hundred Atlantic Puffins in the water too, and later, as we hosted the Seal Island biologist crew aboard for dinner and conversation, a Parasitic Jaeger.

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As the sun set, fog rolled in, and by 10:30, we began to hear the cackles and chatters of Leach’s Storm-Petrels as they commuted to and from the island in the cover of darkness. Several of us awoke in the middle of the night to listen, and we were rewarded with a constant cacophony of this intriguing, and a bit disconcerting, sound. Since we have the luxury of anchoring off of Seal – weather permitting of course – we not only have a great success rate with Troppy, but we also have the rare opportunity to listen to the nocturnal chorus of this pelagic specialty.

Come sunrise…

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…we enjoyed countless puffins, Black Guillemots, and Arctic Terns, along with at least a dozen Great Cormorants from the local breeding colony, a couple of re-orienting migrant Yellow Warblers at dawn, and several singing Song and Savannah Sparrows.  Surprisingly, we tallied 9 species of shorebirds (plus Sanderling the day before): the locally-breeding Spotted Sandpipers, but also 40+ Semipalmated Sandpipers (plus another 50 unidentified peeps), 9 Ruddy Turnstones, 9 Short-billed Dowitchers,  3 Black-bellied Plovers, 3 Semipalmated Plovers, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Least Sandpipers, and my first White-rumped Sandpiper of the fall (and a pretty good bird out here).  A single Red-winged Blackbird dropped in from high above, and we spotted another Parasitic Jaeger.

Shorebirds – a continued theme throughout the trip – were one of the benefits of conducting this tour two weeks later than usual. We also had high hopes for pelagic shearwaters, but our doldrums had set in. Little wind was present as we traveled from Seal to Matinicus Island, and therefore any shearwaters in the vicinity were likely sitting tight, conserving their energy. Two unidentified jaegers, 5 Red Phalaropes, and 28 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, along with several more Atlantic Puffins and a few Northern Gannets kept our interest however.

Arriving at Matinicus Rock…

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…we saw plenty of puffins and more Arctic and Common Terns, but our late departure date cost us: Common Murres and Razorbills were nowhere to be found (don’t worry; we resume our usual third week of July itinerary next year!). But, we did have a treat with a single cooperative Manx Shearwater!

As we made a pass around Matinicus Rock, it was time to read the winds (or once again, the lack there of) and make a choice. We had hoped to turn towards Monhegan Island for birds (and the brewery!), but that would have been a very long, perhaps even uncomfortable slog. So instead, we turned inland, and set a course of Port Clyde.

We traveled through some relatively deep and open waters, but shearwaters were nowhere to be found. Another Parasitic Jaeger, 100+ Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, 21 Northern Gannets, 4 migrant Short-billed Dowitchers, a Minke Whale, and two Mola Molas were enjoyed, as were the numerous Harbor Porpoise that were constant companions throughout the tour, easily seen in the often glass-calm waters.

Rounding Metinic Green and passed Marshall Point Light, we dropped anchor in the quintessential mid-coast harbor of Port Clyde.  In the morning, we hopped ashore, and took a bird/plant/sightseeing walk to the lighthouse, slowly but steadily building our trip list. A Broad-winged Hawk being mobbed by a half-dozen or so American Robins was the avian highlight.

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Once again, our goal was Monhegan, but once again, barely a puff of breeze was available. Even if we pushed our way out there with our yawl boat, we would have had a hard time making it back the next day – no wind was forecasted, and we only carry so much fuel!  We also have to plan one step in advance, and set ourselves up for where we needed to be the next day. Mutiny was considered, but the difficult decision to turn east was made.

Heading towards North Haven, another 16 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels were added to the tally, but our chumming attempt in these inshore waters was expectedly futile (but we had to try as we had picked up bait in the morning.  Unfortunately, the deepest water that we were to pass through was traversed in the middle of a rather heavy thunderstorm, which we were not able to outrun sailing at a mere 3 knots (well, until the storm itself was upon us!).

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We entered the Fox Island Thoroughfare and dropped anchor in a little bay off of Amesbury Point on North Haven Island. Another delectable dinner was then served by Chef Scott – who is not your average schooner cook!

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The storm clouds cleared by dusk…

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…and we heard several shorebirds calling from up the bay, and two Snowy Egrets passed by overhead.  Therefore, we decided to mix things up a little with a pre-breakfast row to check things out.

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I took the helm, and somehow guided us successfully to and from the boat.

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I was just happy to not run into anything, but a nice mix of shorebirds included 8 Least and 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, and one each of Killdeer and Greater Yellowlegs.

A short sail (again, little wind) through the Thoroughfare yielded the first Bonaparte’s Gulls of the trip, some Common Loons, and plentiful Ospreys.  Dropping anchor off of the Calderwood Island Preserve, much of the boat hit the water, including our Captain.

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Then, it was time to row ashore for one of everyone’s trip highlights: the lobster bake!  While things got cooking, I led a walk around the preserve, adding a few landbirds to the list. Song Sparrows and Common Yellowthroats were especially conspicuous, but I couldn’t help but wonder what migrants the extensive raspberry-gooseberry-juniper thickets that covered much of the island would hold…and rarities?

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Storm clouds built up once again…

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…But the lobster bake went off without a hitch…

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…perhaps with the exception of Nihls, who bit off a little more than he could chew.

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Returning to the boat, we adjusted our position for the night, and scoped a small rocky islet that as the tide rolled in, amassed 64 Bonaparte’s Gulls and several families of Common Terns – adults were commuting to and from the island with fish for their hungry fledglings.

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It was clear and calm once again at sunrise (we joined the Mary Day at anchorage last night), but a Winter Wren serenaded us from the island. We rounded the southeast corner of North Haven Island, and headed for Islesboro.

The waters of Penobscot Bay are not overly birdy at this time of year – other than plentiful Black Guillemots, Ospreys, Bald Eagles, gulls (mostly Herring and Great Black-backed with smaller numbers of Laughing, Bonaparte’s, and scattered Ring-billed), Common Eiders, scattered Common Loons, Double-crested Cormorants, and so on. But as we passed various little islands, our triplist slowly grew with the likes of a migrant group of Tree Swallows, a single Barn Swallow, a hunting American Kestrel, and plenty of Harbor Seals. Ruddy Turnstones were also scattered about.

But once again, the day’s calm conditions gave way to building thunderstorms…

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…but we managed to make it to the shelter of Gilkey Harbor off Islesboro before things got too hairy today.

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And as it had for the last three days, the storms cleared for lovely sunsets…

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…more delectable food, and evening entertainment from the crew.

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Several flight calls early in the night overhead suggested that the front had finally cleared, and fall migrants were once again on the move.

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Another lovely morning greeted us on our final day aboard the French, but not before we raced ashore for one last birdwalk. This time, we checked out Warren Island State Park.

We added several species to our list in one single Paper Birch just off the pier (Brown Creeper, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Black-and-white Warbler) while a delightfully birdy stroll added Hermit Thrush and Gray Catbird, plus great views of a variety of other species as we also spent time looking at plants and discussing the ecology of the Maine islands once again (and ranting about invasive plants).

But alas, all good Birding By Schooner tours must come to an end, so sails were set and we headed for home.

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Turkey Vultures over the Camden Hills and Chimney Swifts over the harbor were our final 77th and 78th species of the journey and we pulled into the dock. Goodbyes were said, belongings were gathered, and Captain Garth and I immediately began to plot for next year’s trip.

A special thanks go to Jenny and Garth Wells, and the crew of the Schooner Lewis R. French for making this special trip a reality, and as always, making it a resounding success.  I hope you will consider joining us next year.  For more information, check out The “Tours, Events, Workshops, and Programs” page of our website, or visit the the Lewis R. French

Here’s our birdlist of 79 species from this year’s tour, listed in order of appearance:
Mallard
Canada Goose
House Sparrow
Herring Gull
American Crow
Rock Pigeon
Song Sparrow
Cedar Waxwing
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Osprey
Great Blue Heron
Black Guillemot
Double-crested Cormorant
Common Eider
Ring-billed Gull
Laughing Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Northern Gannet
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
Atlantic Puffin
Arctic Tern
Common Tern
RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD
Savannah Sparrow
GREAT CORMORANT
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Short-billed Dowitcher
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Semipalmated Plover
PARASITIC JAEGER
LEACH’S STORM-PETREL
Yellow Warbler
Black-bellied Plover
White-rumped Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Red-winged Blackbird
RED PHALAROPE
MANX SHEARWATER
American Goldfinch
Bald Eagle
Mourning Dove
American Black Duck
Blue Jay
European Starling
Black-capped Chickadee
Common Yellowthroat
Gray Catbird
American Robin
Chipping Sparrow
Hairy Woodpecker
Black-throated Green Warbler
Broad-winged Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Cardinal
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Greater Yellowlegs
House Finch
Killdeer
Snowy Egret
Swainson’s Thrush
Northern Flicker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bonaparte’s Gull
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Winter Wren
American Kestrel
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Brown Creeper
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Turkey Vulture
Chimney Swift

The 2014 “Claybrook Mountain Lodge Birding Weekend” Trip Report

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WTSP,N
White-throated Sparrows were one of an impressive 87 species of birds recorded in just 2 days of birding on this enjoyable, “Maine Woods Immersion” tour.

The “Claybrook Mountain Lodge Birding Weekend” tour is one of my favorite outings that we offer. Its focus is not about species, but learning about habitats, and immersing ourselves in the birds, plants, and wildlife of the Maine Woods. This is a different style of tour than what usually occupies me in June. Following private tours for “target species” and three trips for Bicknell’s Thrush, this is a welcome change of pace. It’s a nice way to end my June guiding busy-season.

While the goal of the trip is to see a lot of species, and we were all excited to reach – and then eclipse – the 85 species spotted on this trip in 2012, the list is just record-keeping; it is not the primary purpose. Instead, our goal is to spend two days immersed in birds: learning songs, observing behaviors, and simply enjoying the diverse avifauna that summer in Maine has to offer.
Lodge,K

We began on Friday afternoon, with the group assembling on the porch and lawn of the Claybrook Mountain Lodge. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nest was found, a Great-crested Flycatcher sallied for bugs around the garden, and a various birds foraged in the trees, from Red-eyed Vireos to an American Redstart while Tree and Barn Swallows zoomed around.

After our first scrumptious dinner, we enjoyed some casual birding in the evening light, and then headed out at dusk for a little owling. Of course the Barred Owl – as is often the case at this season – waited for just about everyone to fall asleep before finally calling nearby.

On Saturday, a stroll before breakfast resulted in lots of “awwww’s” when a family group of recently-fledged Eastern Bluebirds were discovered.
EABL_kids,N

Fueled by a hearty breakfast, we boarded the van and Greg Drummond – a master of the Maine Woods – took us around, as we worked our way up and down Long Falls Dam Road. We sampled a variety of habitats, starting in the mostly-deciduous woods around the lodge and working our way in and out of spruce-fir-tamarack dominated bogs.
Kettle_bog,K

Some of the bogs we visited hosted some of the species reaching the very southern limits of their breeding range, such as Palm and Wilson’s Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. Meanwhile, species such as Pine Warbler are at their northernmost reaches. Over the course of the day, other avian highlights included two well-seen American Bitterns, at least four different Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nest holes, displaying Wilson’s Snipe, Common Merganser chick riding Mom’s back across Flagstaff Lake, and lots of good looks at a wide range of species.

Of course we looked for Boreal “specialties” including the likes of Black-backed Woodpeckers, Boreal Chickadees, Gray Jays, and “spruce” warblers such as Bay-breasted and Cape May. While it is unfortunate that the boreal forest pockets that we did hit failed to produce any of these birds today, it is the habitat that is the primary focus – I have other tours if the “Boreal Breeders” are primary targets. They would have just been another layer of icing on the cake. The dearth of finches in Maine this summer was also apparent – only Purple and goldfinches were seen this weekend.

In addition to spending time to stop and smell the Twinflower (which at one point resulted in the startling discovery of a Dark-eyed Junco nest), we spent a lot of time studying and discussing habitats. Birds are our priority, but a host of other species was enjoyed, from a variety of butterflies to a range of amphibians. In fact, after adding a Northern Leopard Frog early Sunday morning, we heard – and for the most part, saw –  all of Maine’s frogs and toad: Green, Mink, Bull, Pickerel, Leopard, Spring Peeper, Gray Tree Frog, and American Toad!
Pickerel_Frog,K

The world’s most aggressive young Garter Snake –of the checkered and non-gartered “Maritime” subspecies – put on quite show and we all enjoyed seeing so many Snowshoe Hares on our morning drive…and lots of Moose sign.

Maritime_Garter_Snake,N Maritime_Garter_Snake,K

Plants were not ignored either. In addition to looking at the trees that make up the various habitats here, we checked out a range of wildflowers, and especially marveled at the magnificent plants of the bog, such as the insectivorous Sundew…
Sundew,K_Lindquist_edited-1

…and the surprising flowers of the Pitcher Plant.
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Butterflies included numerous Northern Crescents and Canadian Tiger Swallowtails, but also some clusters of the bog-breeding Harris’s Checkerspot.
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All the while we learned about life in the Maine Woods from Greg. Whether it was explaining Moose tracks, showing bear scratches, or explaining the good, the bad, and the ugly of timber and wildlife “management,” his wealth of knowledge about so many topics is one of the best aspects of this tour – I for one learn a ton from him every time he points something out.

So this tour benefits from Greg’s knowledge and expertise…and Pat’s home cooking!  Perfectly-simple sandwiches on homemade bread are packed for lunch, and when Greg takes us to a place like this to devour them, well, it’s as good as life can get.
Lunch_at_Flagstaff,K

It was hot, and birds were quiet in the afternoon. We checked a few patches on the way back to the lodge – as much for the forest as its birds – but everyone welcomed the designated naptime.  Another delectable dinner fueled our bonus evening tour, when Greg took us out once again to hit some local hotspots, and our list grew, as did our collection of breathtaking views and lovely photos.

Back_Road_Bog,K

We were up and at it again shortly after sunrise on Sunday, but I postponed our planned walk of the Drummond’s 200-acres of carefully-managed property (we compared and contrasted these woods to those ravaged by the likes of Plum Creek). Instead, we set out in pursuit of Mourning Warblers – breaking my rule of not going after “target birds” on this trip!  But after failing to turn one up at several seemingly-promising stops on Saturday, and after hearing how many people had not seen a MOWA for their year, ABA, or even life lists, I decided to bend the rules a little. Besides, we are in one of the best areas for this charismatic species.

Besides, I think Greg likes a challenge!  A loop through some likely spots in the area failed to produce however, but as Greg passed by one last clearcut, he slammed on the breaks. And sure enough, within just a couple of minutes, we all had our binoculars on a most-cooperative Mourning Warbler! I think Greg was as happy as anyone…as usual, I was relieved as much as anything (I’m not supposed to get guide-stress on this trip!).

Returning to the lodge, we took a walk through the woods, adding a couple more species to the list, and checking out the famous “bear pole” where generations of Black Bears have come to sent mark – and take chunks out of the last bear’s efforts.
Bear pole, Me_edited-1

Following lunch on the porch, we began our journey home by caravanning down to Gilman Pond.  Osprey and Common Loon at the lake we added to our list, more Bald Eagles were spotted, and at the farm along the road, Canada Geese, Bobolinks, and Killdeer were our final “new” birds for the trip.
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But I was presented with one last challenge. A persistent call from the edge of the pond in the meadow had me at a total loss.  Then, there was a second individual, confusing things further. I wracked my brain and went through every possible species I could think of – from the common to the rare. I was leaning towards Common Gallinule – a rarity in Maine, but not a stretch given the nearby habitat – when somehow I spotted a distant shorebird head poking through the grass.  As I got the scope on what was probably a Wilson’s Snipe, the bird took off, flew closer to us, and called. Then, our mystery sound burst from the grass, and fluttering towards the adult. “Baby snipe!” I exclaimed.  Mystery solved. And with that – and with rapidly rising temperatures – the trip concluded. A learning experience for all was just right to bring a successful Claybrook Mountain Lodge Birding Weekend Tour to a close.

When all was said and done, our 48-hr trip list was 87 species of birds, including 19 species of warblers. While this is not a “listing” trip with focused effort on specific species (well, mostly; see above), our objective is to see a wide range of the breeding species of the Maine woods. That, we most certainly accomplished. Here’s the complete list.

(* indicates juveniles or active nests observed; doesn’t include the array of other breeding behaviors observed, such as “carrying food” or “agitation.”)

Canada Goose*
Wood Duck
American Black Duck
Mallard*
Hooded Merganser*
Common Merganser*
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern (4!)
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Wilson’s Snipe*
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Barred Owl
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker*
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker*
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker*
Eastern Wood-Pewee
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe*
Great-crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven*
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee*
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling*
Cedar Waxwing
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
PALM WARBLER
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
WILSON’S WARBLER
Scarlet Tanager
Chipping Sparrow*
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco*
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch

I hope you will join us when we return in 2016! (For more information on this, and other Freeport Wild Bird Supply tours, visit the “Tours, Events, Workshops, and Programs” page of our website.

group_birding,K

“Bicknell’s Thrush and the White Mountains” Trip(s) Report

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June is my busiest guiding season. Bicknell’s Thrush, Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows, Roseate Tern, and Atlantic Puffin are my most popular requests, and there is little doubt that I could fill my entire month with Bicknell’s Thrush tours!

My first visit of the season to the realm of the thrush was last week, as part of a very successful three-day tour for a client visiting from Vancouver. We saw 7 of 8 of our targets: Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrow, Great Cormorant (3!), Bicknell’s Thrush, American Woodcock, Atlantic Puffin, and Manx Shearwater. And most we saw very, very, well. We only missed Razorbill due to a strategic decision that we agreed upon, and in the end, said decision worked out very well as we had unbelievable views of the shearwater.

DSC_0006_GRCO1,CapeNeddick,6-10-14_edited-1 First-summer Great Cormorant.

DSC_0049_MASH1,Revere,6-12-14_edited-2 Manx Shearwater!

In addition to the species we were seeking, we ran into several other highlights, the most noteworthy of which was an unseasonable subadult male Common Goldeneye at Cutt’s Island in Kittery. Other highlights included a truant Olive-sided Flycatcher at Reid State Park, and an Arctic Tern – usually an offshore feeder – feeding with Roseate and Common Terns off of East Point in Biddeford Pool.

Then, this past weekend was my popular annual “Bicknell’s Thrush and the White Mountains” van tour. Meeting at the store on Saturday morning, we headed for the hills, beginning with a surprise detour to West Paris.  For this:

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That’s right, a Snowy Owl in Maine in June! Really remarkable. And how’s that for a way to start off a weekend tour?  We then made a turn for the White Mountains, and after a couple of stops, arrived at Trudeau Road for this:

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Of course, as awesome as a Snowy Owl and a nest-ful of Black-backed Woodpeckers (this is the male above, who kindly paused to preen between visits to feed the young. We also had a great look at the female, who nearly dropped a fecal sac on the group!) are on a birding tour, this is a thrush trip, so our remarkable day of birding would rapidly fade into memory if we didn’t find our one true quarry.

After an early dinner, we boarded the specialized vans of the Mount Washington Stage Line for our private charter up the mountain. It was gorgeous at the base, but looking up, we knew the summit would be different.

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And it was!

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Luckily, the thrushes’ habitat was below the clouds tonight, and so after visiting the summit and checking for American Pipits (too windy, but the flowers were fantastic), we dropped down and began our real mission.

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Although it took a lot more work than usual, we were all eventually rewarded with good to great views of this enigmatic species. We saw two or three different birds, and heard up to 4 others – a good count for the short stretch of habitat that we cover. It was even the 700th ABA-area bird for one of the clients – a fantastic bird for an impressive milestone. A short celebration was called for upon our return to our hotel.

On Sunday morning, the second day of this two-day “target species” tour, the weather looked gorgeous, but the birding was challenging. Granted, it was going to be hard to top Day 1 anyway – we were probably the first tour in history to see a Bicknell’s Thrush and a Snowy Owl in the same day!  It certainly was a novel – and a completely unexpected – experience for me.

Birding the Caps Ridge Trail in dense fog and cool temperatures to start the day was less productive than usual, but it was still a nice walk into boreal habitat and enjoy the beautiful forest here. Blackpoll Warblers and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were conspicuous today, at least.

Very strong, downsloping winds cleared the skies for us at our next few stops, but those winds only increased, and birding became a challenge. My favorite spot for Philadelphia Vireo, for example, was just too windswept. Actually, standing upright was occasionally a challenge. But finding some shelter on the backside of a mountain via a short, but steep hike, a few of us were treated to another view of a Bicknell’s Thrush – just as a little more icing on the cake.

A great lunch followed our birding, fueling us for the drive back to Freeport (or, at least, until the ice cream stop) and capping another successful “Bicknell’s Thrush and the White Mountains” weekend.  With one more private thrush tour next weekend, I can only hope my luck with the weather and with seeing the thrush – a mythological bird to some – continues.

IMG_3632 Happy Thrush-watchers!

2014 MonhegZen Spring Migration Birding Weekend.

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Ahh, Monhegan Island.

If only I could bird there every day for a full spring (or fall; I won’t be picky). But for now, I will relish my weekends there, and last weekend was our MonhegZen Migration Spring Birding Weekend…and the island did not disappoint.

So while we always expect the unexpected, we most definitely were not expecting this one.
DSC_0124_BRSP1,Monhegan,5-25-14_edited-1 (Click on the photos for a larger image).

This first state record Brewer’s Sparrow was definitely not high on anyone’s list of next birds for Monhegan, or Maine (certainly not mine!). But more on the sparrow later.

Half of the group arrived with me on the Hardy Boat out of New Harbor on Friday morning, greeted by a veil of fog.

Arrival on Monhegan, 5-23-14
While the shroud of mist offered a lovely scene, it did put a damper on the birding for a little while (excuse the pun), but soon it cleared, and as the ceiling rose, so did the bird activity. In fact, this was the start of a fine weekend of weather – OK, it was rather chilly; extra blankets were dispersed for the night – but other than a few brief, very light showers, our Gore-Tex remained tucked away. We’ll call that a win.

Just about the first bird that we glassed upon our arrival was an immature male Orchard Oriole.  That’s the way we like to start a MonhegZen Birding Weekend!

The rest of Day 1 was highlighted by re-finding one of two immature male Summer Tanagers that had been frequenting the island lately. Friends picked up some seed on their way down (yes, the guy that owns a birdseed store and has several tons of seed on hand forgot to bring seed and had to have someone slum it at a hardware store. Gasp!), and we restocked the stash that kept the tanager visible for all through the weekend.
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The tanager was our first “good” bird of the trip, but most of us agreed that the kingbird show near the pumphouse was the highlight of the first day. Indeed, it was a highlight for the entire weekend.  Sheltered from a persistent, but raw and cold, easterly wind, the back corner of the town marsh was just about the only place with flying insects out and about. Therefore, flycatchers had piled up here, led by 21 Eastern Kingbirds (growing to 25 by Saturday afternoon, before diminishing on Sunday and Monday).
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Other flycatchers were present here, including a couple of cooperative Eastern Wood-Pewees, and several Least Flycatchers.
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Little to no migration was visible on the radar overnight Friday into Saturday, and the lack of reorienting birds overhead after sunrise on Saturday morning confirmed the minimal movement overnight.  Although I awoke to a singing Mourning Warbler out my window, we never did catch up with one over the weekend.

But over the course of the day (as our group grew in size), we beat the bush and slowly but surely built up our species total. The Summer Tanager, the immature male Orchard Oriole, a very entertaining Peregrine Falcon over Manana, and 16 species of warblers were the day’s headliners. But yeah, by Monhegan standards, this was a slow day.

Sunday was not.

A light to moderate migration clearly produced some turnover, and plenty of new birds.  Some warblers were reorienting over the Trailing Yew after sunrise – always a good sign – and our walk to Lobster Cove was much slower in pace than on Saturday. A singing Field Sparrow, a calling Common Nighthawk, and a streaking Gray-cheeked/Bicknell’s Thrush were among the species that we added to our tally.

Then the text came through.

When describing our itinerary – or lack thereof – for the coming days upon our arrival, I talked about how chasing birds (dropping everything and running across the island) is often a futile exercise here, and instead we would work our way towards good birds, keeping our eyes open for them – and enjoying everything in our path. I joked that “but if I need it for my island list, all bets are off.”

First state records?  Fuhgettaboutit. Off we went. And I make no apologies…luckily, the coffee pot was on the way. I might not have gotten away with it otherwise.

So yeah, “Maine’s International Birder of Mystery” discovered a Brewer’s Sparrow.  First found at the edge of the road at its terminus at the Ice Pond, it soon made its way into a nearby yard. Dandelion seeds were its quarry.

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  DSC_0131_BRSP7,Monhegan,5-25-14_edited-1  DSC_0116_BRSP6,Monhegan,5-25-14_edited-1  DSC_0075_BRSP5,Monhegan,5-25-14_edited-1  DSC_0069_BRSP2,Monhegan,5-25-14_edited-1

There were other birds to look at too. While I scrutinized the extent of streaking on the nape and crown of the sparrow and took way too many photos, the more sane of the group enjoyed a splash of color at the nearby feeders – at least 3 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and an Indigo Bunting.
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Elsewhere, a Clay-colored Sparrow on one of my other seed stashes, several great views of Philadelphia Vireos, the continuing Summer Tanager, a second Orchard Oriole (an adult male) and a variety of warblers were the other highlights.

All weekend long we had been enjoying lots of warblers, but somehow we only amassed 19 species (we missed singles of Nashville and Prairie seen by others). But of those that we did see, most of them we saw stunningly well. Magnolia, American Redstart, Yellow, and Common Yellowthroat dominated each day, but we had a bunch of Northern Parulas and Chestnut-sided on Sunday as well.  And the views of Canada Warblers and one particular Northern Waterthrush will be tough to beat.

Like each of our first two days on the island, Sunday’s tour came to an end at the Monhegan Brewing Company. On Sunday night, the Brewer’s Sparrow was celebrated, and ideas for a “Brewer’s Brew” or something like that was hatched.

The group had accumulated 89 species (including the aforementioned 19 species of warblers), which was actually well below average for my MonhegZen Spring Birding Weekends.  But at least for me, I had one day left to add to the total, as I extended my stay for another night.

A very strong flight overnight suggested that this was a good call, but I was surprised by how many fewer birds were around on Monday morning than on Sunday. Especially when surrounded by fog – as we were overnight and into the morning – I have found that on really strong flights with favorable conditions, birds probably fly over the island. Perhaps the shroud of fog prevented them from even knowing there was an island below.

However, nearly three hours after sunrise, the winds shifted to the southwest, the ceiling lifted, and all of the sudden, there were warblers in the air. Had they been silently creeping around the forests, waiting for some clearing to reorient to the mainland?  Or, were these birds that were overhead, lost above the fog, looking for a place to finally land?

Hard to say, but for a couple of hours, the birding was quite good. Blackpoll Warblers had increased dramatically, and I had more Bay-breasted and Tennessee Warblers than the previous days, and the Cedar Waxwing flock increased dramatically.

Jeannette and Sasha (finally making her first trip here at the age of 14) arrived, and our friends Paul and Kristen joined us for the next couple of hours.  Blackpoll and Bay-breasted Warblers continued to put on a good show, as did the Brewer’s Sparrow.  More importantly for Jeannette, she was able to successfully twitch all three things she was after today: Hardy Boat cinnamon rolls, Novelty pizza, and Monhegan Brewing.  Yeah, she looked at the sparrow, too.

While Sasha was unable to successfully add Brewer’s Sparrow to her list, she did carefully study plumage variation in Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. 
Sasha_watching_gulls,Monhegan,5-26-14

She also joined us at the brewery for one final pint.
Sasha_atMonheganBrewery,5-26-14

When many of us present for the weekend’s excitement boarded the boat at 3:15, I was sorry to go, as usual. I eked out 94 species when all was said and done (still below average for a spring weekend out here) including 19 species of warblers (I almost never miss hitting 20 here). While the overall list might have been a little low, the quality of views of most species was hard to beat. The overall quality of the bird list wasn’t too shabby, either. A first state record doesn’t hurt.

The following is my checklist for the group for Friday through Sunday. Monday’s total included birds seen with Jeannette, Paul, and Kristen. The included numbers for each day are conservative estimates or counts of the number of individuals of each species we saw and/or heard on the island (not including the ferry rides).

Species: Friday, May 23rd/Saturday May 24th/Sunday, May 25th/Monday, May 26th.

American Black Duck: 1/0/0/0
Mallard: 15/21/10/10
Black Scoter: 0/0/0/2
Common Eider: x/x/x/x
Red-breasted Merganser: 0/0/0/1
Ring-necked Pheasant: 3/4/5/4
Common Loon: 4/6/6/4
Northern Gannet: 5/6/6/12
Double-crested Cormorant: x/x/x/x
Great Blue Heron: 0/3/0/0
Osprey: 1/3/1/0
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 0/0/0/1
Peregrine Falcon: 0/1/0/0
Merlin: 1/0/0/0
Virginia Rail: 1/1/1/1
Laughing Gull: 5/12/4/2
Herring Gull: x/x/x/x
Great Black-backed Gull: x/x/x/x
Black Guillemot: x/x/x/x
RAZORBILL: 0/1/0/0
Mourning Dove: 6/6/8/4
Common Nighthawk: 0/0/1/0 (FOY)
Chimney Swift: 1/1/2/0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 2/4/4/3
Downy Woodpecker: 2/0/0/0
Northern Flicker: 1/0/2/2
Eastern Wood-Pewee: 2/2/2/3
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: 0/1/2/2
Alder Flycatcher: 0/0/0/3 (FOY)
“Traill’s” Flycatcher: 0/0/0/5
Least Flycatcher: 3/1/6/6
Eastern Phoebe: 1/0/0/0
Eastern Kingbird: 27/25/14/15
Blue-headed Vireo: 0/0/0/1
Philadelphia Vireo: 0/0/2/4
Red-eyed Vireo: 2/2/12/20
Blue Jay: 8/12/8/8
American Crow: x/x/x/x
Common Raven: 2/2/2/2
Tree Swallow: 8/5/6/6
Bank Swallow: 2/2/2/0
Cliff Swallow: 0/0/1/0
Barn Swallow: 2/2/1/2
Black-capped Chickadee: x/x/x/x
Red-breasted Nuthatch: 0/1/2/3
Carolina Wren: 4/8/6/6
Winter Wren: 0/0/1/0
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 0/2/2/4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 0/0/0/1 (late)
Veery: 1/1/1/0
GRAY-CHEEKED/BICKNELL’S THRUSH: 0/0/1/0
Swainson’s Thrush: 0/0/1/0
Hermit Thrush: 0/0/1/0
American Robin: 10/10/8/6
Gray Catbird: x/x/x/x
Brown Thrasher: 0/1/1/0
European Starling: 6/4/8/6
Cedar Waxwing: 3/4/18/60
Tennessee Warbler: 0/2/0/4
Northern Parula: 3/12/30/15
Yellow Warbler: 25/25/35/30
Chesnut-sided Warbler: 6/5/20/10
Magnolia Warbler: 25/20/25/20
Black-throated Blue Warbler: 6/8/8/4
Yellow-rumped Warbler: 6/8/0/0
Black-throated Green Warbler: 10/15/15/15
Blackburnian Warbler: 2/0/2/3
Bay-breasted Warbler: 0/1/0/8 (FOY)
Blackpoll Warbler: 4/3/10/50
Black-and-white Warbler: 5/5/10/5
American Redstart: 10/15/35/30
Ovenbird: 0/0/2/0
Northern Waterthrush: 0/3/3/3
MOURNING WARBLER: 0/1/0/0 (FOY)
Common Yellowthroat: 35/35/30/30
Wilson’s Warbler: 4/0/5/1
Canada Warbler: 2/4/4/2
SUMMER TANAGER: 1/1/1/0
Chipping Sparrow: 10/10/6/8
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW: 0/0/1/0
BREWER’S SPARROW!!!!: 0/0/1/1
Field Sparrow: 0/0/1/1
Savannah Sparrow: 1/1/3/1
Song Sparrow: x/x/x/x
Swamp Sparrow: 1/2/2/1
White-throated Sparrow: 1/0/10/10
Northern Cardinal: 6/8/8/6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 0/0/4/3
Indigo Bunting: 1/3/4/2
Bobolink: 8/6/4/4
Red-winged Blackbird: x/x/x/x
Common Grackle: 10/15/15/10
ORCHARD ORIOLE: 1/1/2/1
Baltimore Oriole: 0/1/3/4

American Goldfinch: 6/12/8/6

MonhegZEN Birding Fall Migration Weekend, 9/26-30/13

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This past weekend was my annual “MonhegZEN Migration Weekend.”  A small group – absolutely no more than eight people per day – joins me on a per diem basis to enjoy the wonder of fall migration at this offshore hotspot.  While the 105 total species was right about my Fall Weekend average, it did include 20 species of warblers, and a variety of the usual fall-on-Monhegan cast of characters.  And a few “good” birds as always.

But before I get into the daily rundown, let me post a quiz.  Here are the 1am radar and velocity images from each of the four nights preceeding each of my four days on the island.  Can you guess which days had the most birds?
9-27-13 1am ref 9-27-13 1am vel 9-28-13 1am ref 9-28-13 1am vel 9-29-13 1am ref 9-29-13 1am vel 9-30-13 1am ref 9-30-13 1am vel

If you said the first two had more birds than the second two, you would be absolutely right!  And yes, Saturday (Day 2) was definitely the best day for migrants on the island.  And yes, Monday (Day 4) was very, very slow.  The radar certainly suggested it, and our birding over the course of each day definitively ground-thruthed it.

IMG_1587Leaving Port Clyde, 9/26.

After the good flight on Thurday night into Friday morning, I arrived with part of my group from Port Clyde on the 7am ferry, dropping us on the island just before 8.  The birding was still going strong.  In fact, it took us almost an hour and a half just to walk to the end of Dock Road (about ¼ mile)!  At least six Cape May Warblers in one cluster of spruces, Rusty Blackbirds were overhead (including one just as our boat docked, a nice welcome to the island), and then a buzz-by from a Cooper’s Hawk.

Common on the mainland, Coops are rather rare this far offshore, and I don’t see them on the island every fall, so this was a real treat – and an “Island Bird” for a friend I was exchanging info with.  A short while later we caught up with the last individual of what was once 5 Broad-winged Hawks that drifted to the island – only my second-ever out here.   A Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a continuing Lark Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, and Dickcissel – yup, most of the usual fall Monhegan “trash birds!”
a -DSC_0007_LASP1,Monhegan,9-28-13Lark and White-throated Sparrows

b -DICK1,Monhegan,9-27-13Very pale juvenile Dickcissel

c -CCSP,Monhegan,9-27-13Clay-colored Sparrow.

Honestly however, the bird of the day – from an island rarity perspective – was probably House Sparrow.  Seriously.   A male that apparently landed on the Hardy Boat half way to the island a few days prior had taken up residence here.  Were a female to show up – almost certainly in similar fashion – then we could have an issue <insert ominous foreshadowing music here>.

The morning flight was hot and heavy on Saturday morning.  In fact, there was so much overhead that we barely left the grounds of the Trailing Yew before breakfast.  All we could do was stand around, look up, and marvel at the wonders of migration.  Hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers, 10’s of Palm Warblers, oodles of Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets…2-3 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, another Dickcissel or two, and a fly-by Blue Grosbeak (the first on the island this fall?) – it would have been overwhelming to quantify, but luckily, when I am away from SandyPoint, I am not nearly as compulsive.  Phew.

d -DSC_0020_BGGN1,Monhegan,9-28-13e -DSC_0016_BGGN_jumping,Monhegan,9-28-13
This Blue-gray Gnatcatcher visited us while we were dining on Novelty pizza.

ea -DSC_0092_BRCR,Monhegan,9-29-13Brown Creepers were common, and unusually photogenic, throughout the day.

Good birding continued throughout the day.  We confirmed a Nelson’s Sparrow in the marsh at Lobster Cove and found a Marsh Wren.  We tallied 17 species of warblers over the course of the day. It was warm.  It was calm.  It was simply perfect!

But we all agreed that the highlight was the afternoon on White Head.  A light southeasterly breeze produced a light updraft off of the cliffs, and Peregrine Falcons were taking full advantage.  Some birds were swirling around, doing little more than what could be described only as “playing” in the wind.  Some birds were undoubtably passage migrants getting a quick lift from the rising warm air.  We know there were at least six Peregrines, as we had a bona-fide kettle of six swirling together at one point.  Normally, the hawkcounter in me swings into action.  But alas, this is MonhegZEN birding, so I just sat back and enjoyed the show.
eb -DSC_0104_PEFA1,Monhegan, 9-28-13f -DSC_0105_PEFA2,Monhegan,9-28-13

g -DSC_0124_PEFA3,Monhegan,9-28-13j -DSC_0053_OSPR1,Monhegan,9-26-13me_with_group_Monhegan,9-28-13,K.Lindquist (Photo (c) K. Lindquist).
Sea- and Hawk-watching from White Head. Lots of eye-to-eye Peregrine Falcons, an Opsrey, and a distant Minke Whale or two.

A shroud of fog enveloped the island on Sunday morning, but there weren’t too many birds overhead to be obscured by it.  Although there were few birds overhead or moving around once the fog lifted, there was still an ample supply of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Golden-crowned Kinglets.   We happened upon a Prairie Warbler, and added a few other species to our trip list, such as two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and – finally – Ring-necked Pheasants (how did I go two days without hearing or seeing a pheasant here?).  Lark Sparrow, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Rusty Blackbird, Least Flycatcher (finally, after three days I had an Empid to try and string!)…the list goes on.  But overall, birding was decidedly slower than the previous two days (note what constitutes a slow day on Monhegan!), and rather warm.
IMG_1591IMG_1600IMG_1597
While the birding was slow, we took time to enjoy the scenery in the fog.

Remember when I said that all that male House Sparrow needed was a female to arrive?  Uh-oh.
h -HOSPpair,Monhegan,9-29-13

I am unsure how long it’s been – if ever? – since two House Sparrows were on the island.  While only die-hard island-listers appreciated these birds as much as I did (I remain captivated by the way birds – all birds – find their way to islands and what their lives are like once they get there ), the members of my group that have birded here before at least understood the significance, and potential colonization consequences of this sighting.

Luckily, we had other intrigue to talk about as well.  The spruces along Dock Road were happenin’ again today, but one warbler in particular occupied us for a while.  I first called it a Blackburnian, and then I back-tracked…a lot.  It was so impressively pale, and feeding above us, some of the most diagnostic features were not visible.  We spent about a half hour with this bird, which eventually obliged us as it fed in the lowest boughs of the tree.  We worked it carefully and thoroughly, taking the opportunity to really learn from this individual.  It took a while, but I was finally convinced it was a Blackburnian in large part due to the very pale but distinct “braces” on the back, and what we would (via camera-screen “instant replay”) finally confirm as a small, pale orange central forehead stripe.
i -DSC_0142_ultra-paleBLBW1,Monhegan,9-28-13l -DSC_0134_ultra-paleBLBW2,Monhegan,9-28-13m -DSC_0155_ultra-paleBLBW3,Monhegan,9-28-13

The orange feet seem odd to me, and the dark auriculars appeared much more contrasting on these photos than we interpreted it in the field.  This was a good “learning and teaching bird,” and therefore this was one of my favorite birds of the trip.

IMG_1624_Monhegan_Brewery
I visited the Monhegan Brewing Company a couple of times for good beer and conversation.  And we know good business can be conducted over a beer.  In fact, during my last beer there on Sunday evening, I struck a deal with Sue to buy the sunflower heads from the Island Farm.  They’re currently drying at our house, but they’ll soon be for sale here at the store.  The money will go to help the Island Farm in their pursuit to provide a sustainable source of produce for the island.  The gardens are also great birding!
IMG_1614me,Sue,andSunflowers,K_Lindquist

Very few birds were on the move Sunday night, and with almost nothing visible on the radar, I didn’t exactly pop out of bed in the morning.  I did get out for a little while before breakfast, however, and once again the morning flight – or lack thereof – proved what the radar suggested.  My tour had come to an end, but I elected to stay out for the day to bird with my friend Kristen.  We both just wished there were a few more birds to see!

n -DSC_0167_YRWA1,Monhegan,9-30-13n -DSC_0168_YRWA2,Monhegan,9-30-13
Although I like the photo on the left of the Yellow-rumped Warbler atop a Red Spruce, as you can see on the right, I excel at photographs of fuzzy twigs.

IMG_1603 A most impressive Fringed Gentian.

We worked the bush hard, checking all sorts of seldom-searched nooks and crannies.  Some of our totals for the day were higher than previous days simply because we covered more ground.  The Clay-colored and Lark Sparrows continued, as did the two Green-winged Teal in the town marsh.  A spiffy Chestnut-sided Warbler was my 20th species of warbler for the weekend, and we added a few more waterbirds to the list by dedicating some time to sea-watching and scanning the gulls in the harbor.

Unfortunately, most of the afternoon – following one last pizza – was spent keeping an eye on our watches and watching our time rapidly tick away.  At least we weren’t nursing a concern about leaving hot and heavy birding – it was slow, very slow, today, and that did make our departure a little less unwelcome.  A little; it’s never easy to leave this magical place.
IMG_1627IMG_1632
Trap Day!

Here’s my weekend’s checklist, with estimates or counts of each species per day (not including ferry):

Mallard: 12, 12, 12, 12
American Black Duck: 1, 1, 1, 5
Green-winged Teal: 1, 1, 2, 2,
Common Eider: x, x, x, x
Surf Scoter: 0, 0, 0, 4
Ring-necked Pheasant: 0, 0, 3, 2
Common Loon: 3, 2, 1, 1
Red-necked Grebe: 0, 1, 0, 0
Great Cormorant: 1, 5, 1, 7
Double-crested Cormorant: x,x,x,x
Northern Gannet: 0, 125, 8, 30
Great Blue Heron: 1, 1, 1, 0
Osprey: 0, 2, 0, 0
Bald Eagle: 2, 2, 2, 2
Northern Harrier: 1, 1, 0, 0,
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 6, 5, 5, 4
COOPER’S HAWK: 1,0,0,0
BROAD-WINGED HAWK: 1,0,0,0
American Kestrel: 2, 2, 1, 1
Merlin: 15, 8, 4, 3
Peregrine Falcon: 8, 12, 1, 1
Semipalmated Plover: 2, 0, 1, 0
Laughing Gull: 0, 0, 0, 2
Ring-billed Gull: 0, 0, 0, 1
Herring Gull: x,x,x,x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL: 0, 0, 0, 2
Great Black-backed Gull: x,x,x,x
Black Guillemot: 10, 20, 10, 15
Mourning Dove: 3, 3, 3, 3
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO: 1, 0, 1, 0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 0, 0, 2, 2
Belted Kingfisher: 1, 0, 1, 1
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER: 1, 0, 0, 0
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 25, 50, 25, 20
Downy Woodpecker: 0, 1, 1, 1
Northern Flicker: 20, 15, 25, 20
Eastern Wood-Pewee: 0, 1, 0, 0
Least Flycatcher: 0, 0, 1, 0
Eastern Phoebe: 8, 5, 3, 1
Red-eyed Vireo: 30, 20, 18, 12
Blue-headed Vireo: 12, 20, 25, 6
Blue Jay: 6, 10, 8, 8
Common Raven: 2,2,2,2
American Crow: x,x,x,x
Black-capped Chickadee: 20, 15, 15, 20
Red-breasted Nuthatch: 6, 15, 10, 8
Brown Creeper: 15, 35, 20, 3
Carolina Wren: 5, 8, 10, 12
House Wren: 0, 1, 1, 0
Winter Wren: 1, 1, 1, 1
Marsh Wren: 0, 1, 1, 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 15, 75, 50, 35
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 25, 40, 25, 15
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER: 1, 2-3, 2, 0
American Robin: 0, 1, 0, 0
Gray Catbird: 6, 8, 10, 18
Northern Mockingbird: 1, 1, 0, 0
Brown Thrasher: 2, 1, 1, 0
European Starling: 8, 10, 12, 14
American Pipit: 2, 2, 1, 0
Cedar Waxwing: 40, 60, 40, 40
Tennessee Warbler: 0, 1, 0, 0,
Nashville Warbler: 5, 3, 6, 1
Northern Parula: 1, 0, 2, 2
Yellow Warbler: 2, 6, 7, 0
Chestnut-sided Warbler: 0, 0, 0, 1
Magnolia Warbler: 6, 5, 2, 0
Cape May Warbler: 9, 3, 0, 0
Black-throated Blue Warbler: 0, 8, 6, 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler: 300, 400, 300, 175
Black-throated Green Warbler: 0, 4, 2, 1
Blackburnian Warbler: 0, 0, 1, 0
PRAIRIE WARBLER: 0, 0, 1, 0
Palm Warbler: 30, 100, 30, 15
Bay-breasted Warbler: 0, 2, 0, 0
Blackpoll Warbler: 1, 20, 1, 3
Black-and-white Warbler: 25, 30, 15, 2
American Redstart: 2, 1, 2, 0
Northern Waterthrush: 0, 1, 1, 0
Common Yellowthroat: 10, 15, 10, 18
Wilson’s Warbler: 3, 4, 1, 0
Scarlet Tanager: 1, 0, 0, 0
Chipping Sparrow: 4, 6, 6, 5
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW: 1, 0, 1, 1-2
LARK SPARROW: 1, 1, 1, 1
Savannah Sparrow: 2, 15, 12, 10
NELSON’S SPARROW (spp. subvirgatus): 0, 1, 0, 0
Song Sparrow: 15, 15, 20, 25
Lincoln’s Sparrow: 0, 2, 2, 2
Swamp Sparrow: 2, 30, 20, 15
White-throated Sparrow: 25, 50, 60, 30
White-crowned Sparrow: 1, 5, 4, 2
Dark-eyed Junco: 3, 10, 6, 8
Northern Cardinal: 8, 6, 5, 8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 0, 0, 0, 1
BLUE GROSBEAK: 0, 1, 0, 0
Indigo Bunting: 0, 1, 0, 0
DICKCISSEL: 0, 2, 0, 0
Rusty Blackbird: 4, 9, 1, 0
Common Grackle: 1, 3, 4, 4
Baltimore Oriole: 1, 2, 2, 0
American Goldfinch: 12, 10, 10, 8
HOUSE SPARROW: 1, 1, 2, 0

Total species: 64, 83, 79, 66 (Total =105)

Mammals:
Minke Whale
Gray Seal
Harbor Seal
Harbor Porpoise
Muskrat
Brown Rat

IMG_1629