I really like Clay-colored Sparrows, so I was happy to find this one in the Hill’s Beach neighborhood on the 18th.
I didn’t hit too many shorebird spots during this period and coupled with the lower tallies and diversity of late September, so I’ll forgo my Shorebird High Counts this week and just mention some of the highlights here. In fact, I didn’t get out birding much beyond our property and local patches, but I didn’t have to! Therefore, my observations of note over the past 8 days included:
Notables in our Durham property this week included 10 species of warblers on 9/17 (including two each of Prairie and Bay-breasted); a late-ish Least Flycatcher (9/21 with Katrina Fenton and 9/22 by Jeannette); 11 species of warblers on 9/22 including 3 Tennessee Warblers; our first White-crowned Sparrow of the fall and 33 fly-over American Pipits on the 23rd; a juvenile NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD on 9/24 was our 162nd Yard Bird; at least one Prairie Warbler has been present most of the week, and several Lincoln’s Sparrows were here on most days this week.
A productive morning in and around the Biddeford Pool environs on 9/18 produced a number of observations of note, including 1 DICKCISSEL and 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Bidd Pool neighborhood); 4-5 Red-necked Grebes, 3 American Oystercatchers, and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (Ocean Avenue/East Point); 1 American Golden-Plover and 17 Red Knots (The Pool), 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 3 American Oystercatchers (Hill’s Beach); 150-200 Tree Swallows swirling around; and 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (Sky Harbor Blvd).
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/19.
A great flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning. There were a lot of very high birds early and some very strong pulses of birds, adding to the high count of unidentified birds. I concluded the count before the flight was over to meet me Saturday Morning Birdwalk group that Jeannette had delivered to the point.
6:24-8:24am (count ended with start of Birdwalk).
46F, mostly clear, NW 6.3-8.1 to NNW 7.4-10.2mph
434 Unidentified
371 Northern Parulas
186 Cedar Waxwings
174 Blackpoll Warblers
96 Northern Flickers
38 Yellow-rumped Warblers
31 American Redstarts
29 Black-throated Green Warblers
16 Magnolia Warblers
12 Yellow Warblers
11 Palm Warblers
10 American Goldfinches
8 Cape May Warblers
8 Black-and-white Warblers
8 Nashville Warblers
7 Canada Geese
6 Red-eyed Vireos
4 Tennessee Warblers
4 American Black Ducks
3 American Pipits
3 Swainson’s Thrushes (at least two crossed!)
3 Eastern Phoebes
3 Blue Jays
3 Rusty Blackbirds
2 Bay-breasted Warblers
2 Philadelphia Vireos
2 Golden-crowned Kinglets
2 Purple Finches
2 Common Loons
2 American Kestrels
2 House Finches
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Red-breasted Nuthatches
1 Blackburnian Warbler
1 Scarlet Tanager
1 unidentified Catharus
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 NORTHERN PINTAIL
1 Pine Warbler
X Common Yellowthroats
T=1493
After I ended the “official” count, I met my the Birdwalk group in the parking lot. 18 White-throated Sparrows, 2 Lincoln’s Sparrows, and 3 Eastern Wood-Pewees were new for me on the morning, while additional migrants tallied can be seen here.
1 drake Ruddy Duck (FOF) and 1 pair American Wigeon, Sabattus Pond, Sabattus, 9/21.
Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for eagles, migrant waterfowl, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common resident and migratory water and shoreline birds of the region while keeping an eye out for recently arrived wintering seaducks.
During our previous outings in which we became the first birding groups ever on the island, we found oodles of Yellow-rumped Warblers, other migrants, and learned about the island’s ecology. But we were also captivated by Captain Pete, who guided us through the historic fort, sharing a wealth of historical knowledge and fascinating stories. Once again, we’ve been granted special permission to come ashore and scour the island here in the peak of fall migration. We’ll follow well-maintained trails through the island’s mosaic of open habitats, scrub, and young woods. These are great habitats to search for a variety of migrants, and perhaps even a rarity!
We teased out one, likely continuing Little Gull from the unseasonably small masses of Bonaparte’s Gulls in Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick on 9/9.
Our annual “weekend” downeast followed by a three-day tour to Monhegan headlined my birding this week, along with visits to shorebirds and Sandy Point to bookend the period. Here are my copious observations of note over the past 10 days.
I wasn’t home much during this period, but a few recent highlights from our Durham property this period included a Prairie Warbler on the 15th and a Brown Thrasher on the 16th.
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/7.
A very good flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth Island this morning. A high flight, periods of activity at all levels – including below me, and early morning clouds combined to yield a lot of unidentified as I struggled just to keep count at times
Thanks to Bill Thompson for some instant reply additions to the tallies.
6:10-9:35am.
52F, partly cloudy, NW 4.8-6.0, increasing, then diminishing to 3.9-5.3
541 Unidentified
448 Northern Parulas
169 American Redstarts
119 Blackpoll Warblers
51 Cedar Waxwings
46 Black-throated Green Warblers
14 Yellow Warblers
14 American Goldfinches
13 Red-eyed Vireos
11 Magnolia Warblers
10 Red-breasted Nuthatches
9 Cape May Warblers
6 Black-and-white Warblers
6 Bay-breasted Warblers
6 Nashville Warblers
5 Chipping Sparrows
5 Northern Flickers
5 Northern Waterthrushes
4 House Finch
4 Yellow-rumped Warblers
3 Black-and-white Warblers
3 Common Loons
3 Blue-headed Vireos
3 Tennessee Warblers
2 Savannah Sparrows
2 Prairie Warblers
2 Eastern Kingbirds
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Scarlet Tanager
1 Least Flycatcher
1 Common Nighthawk
1 Purple Finch
1 Cooper’s Hawk
1 Wilson’s Warbler
1 Philadelphia Vireo
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Eastern Wood-Pewee
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Blackburnian Warbler
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1 Tree Swallow
1 Olive-sided Flycatcher
1 White-throated Sparrow
1 Indigo Bunting
X Common Yellowthroat
T= 1,519
1 Monarch
2 juvenile Snowy Egrets, Downeast Sunrise Trail marsh and Middle Rover Park, Machias, 9/6-10 (with Jeannette).
4 American Pipits (FOF), Carrying Place Cove, Lubec, 9/8 (with Jeannette).
Charter with Eastport Windjammers through Head Harbor Passage, New Brunswick (with Chris Bartlett, Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Renee Patterson, Cynthia Phinney, Jeannette, et al), 9/9: 1 molting adult or 2nd winter LITTLE GULL among a mere 800-1000 total Bonaparte’s Gulls, 3 juvenile Atlantic Puffins, 1 Arctic Tern, 3 Razorbills, etc.
1 1st summer THICK-BILLED MURRE, 11 Black-legged Kittiwakes, 16 Great Cormorants, etc, afternoon whale watch with Eastport Windjammers through Head Harbor Passage (with Beth Edmonds, Dan Nickerson, Cynthia Phinney, Jeannette, et al), 9/9.
Caption: Assuming we finally had our first Common Murre of the day (they’re regular in small numbers here in the late summer), “instant reply” overturned the call on the field and provided us with a most-unexpected Thick-billed Murre!
2 adult and 1 2nd-cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull and 13 Laughing Gulls, Roque Bluffs State Park, 9/10 (with Jeannette).
Some of the observations of note from my three days on Monhegan (9/10-12) with my Monhegan Island Birding Workshop with DownEast Magazine’s DownEast Adventures tour group included: 1 make BLUE-WINGED WARBLER (9/12), 1 continuing hen KING EIDER (9/12), 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (9/13); 1 DICKCISSEL (9/12), 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (9/12), 1 juvenile Cooper’s Hawk (9/11), up to 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls daily, a respectable-for-Monhegan 8 species of shorebirds over the three days, and 30+ Wilson’s Storm-Petrels on the ferry both coming and going (getting a little late). Not bad for a “slow” weekend out there!
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 9/15.
6:20-10:05.
46F, clear, NNW 5.4-6.2 to N 1.5-2.6
A great flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth Island this morning. Jayden Mowry and Bill Thompson were on the bridge with me for most of the count. Pulses of birds early and high resulted in lots of unidentified. Northerly winds resulted in lots of swirling and non-crossings, making counting migrants even more challenging! The hunting Merlin also didn’t help. A family group of 4 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS on a sandbar (first spotted today by Matthew Gilbert) was my 199th species at Sandy Point!
297 Northern Parula
287 Unidentified
85 Blackpoll Warblers
45 American Redstarts
38 Black-throated Green Warblers
30 Cedar Waxwings
20 Red-eyed Vireos
19 Yellow-rumped Warblers
16 Yellow Warblers
15 Magnolia Warblers
9 Swainson’s Thrushes
7 Black-and-white Warblers
7 Northern Flickers
6 Ospreys
6 American Goldfinches
6 Nashville Warblers
5 Red-breasted Nuthatches
4 Northern Waterthrushes
4 Bay-breasted Warblers
3 Palm Warblers
3 Chestnut-sided Warblers
3 Chipping Sparrows
3 American Pipits
3 Common Loons
3 Black-throated Blue Warblers
3 Tennessee Warblers
3 Philadelphia Vireo
3 Blue Jays
2 Cape May Warblers
2 Purple Finches
2 DICKCISSELS
2 Blue-headed Vireos
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
2 Eastern Phoebes
2 Least Flycatchers
1 Wilson’s Warbler
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
1 Merlin (plus 1 hunting)
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER (getting late; pending review of Bill’s photo)
1 Canada Warbler
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Blackburnian Warbler
1 Downy Woodpecker (at least 4 “false starts”)
1 unidentified vireo
1 Warbling Vireo
1 Scarlet Tanager
X Common Yellowthroat
T= 956
6 Monarchs
And here are my shorebird high counts over the past 10 days, which did not include any birding south of Yarmouth, hence the reduced diversity and lower numbers for many species:
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER: 4, Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, 9/15 (with Matthew Gilbert, Lewis Holmes, Jayden Mowery, and Bill Thompson). My 199th Patch Bird here! Apparently, they have been present recently fide L. Homes and B. Thompson).
Black-bellied Plover: 85, Wharton Point, Brunswick, 9/16.
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER: 1 adult (FOY), Middle River Park, Machias, 9/10 (with Jeannette) and 1 juvenile, Wharton Point, 9/16.
Killdeer: 17, Crystal Spring Farm, Brunswick, 9/15.
Semipalmated Plover: 100+, Middle River Preserve, Machias, 9/10 (with Jeannette).
Hudsonian Whimbrel: 2, Carrying Place Cove then the Lubec Flats, Lubec, 9/8 (with Jeannette).
Join the crew of Seacoast Tours and Derek Lovitch from Freeport Wild Bird Supply on a special tour of the islands and waters of Casco Bay. We’ll explore the inner islands of Freeport, Brunswick and Harpswell as we search for eagles, migrant waterfowl, and an occasional seal basking in the sun on the ledges of hidden coves. We’ll focus on the common resident and migratory water and shoreline birds of the region while keeping an eye out for recently arrived wintering seaducks.
During our previous outings in which we became the first birding groups ever on the island, we found oodles of Yellow-rumped Warblers, other migrants, and learned about the island’s ecology. But we were also captivated by Captain Pete, who guided us through the historic fort, sharing a wealth of historical knowledge and fascinating stories. Once again, we’ve been granted special permission to come ashore and scour the island here in the peak of fall migration. We’ll follow well-maintained trails through the island’s mosaic of open habitats, scrub, and young woods. These are great habitats to search for a variety of migrants, and perhaps even a rarity!
New for 2026, “The Magic of Machias Seal Island Tour” took place on July 6th and 7th. I think we can say this new tour was a success.
After a welcome and strategy dinner on Sunday night, we met on the morning of the 6th for a carpool from Machias to Cutler, where we boarded our boat to one of the most special places on the continent.
It could not have been a more perfect day. Mostly clear, glass calm, and a comfortable temperature rising from 60F to the low 70’s by the afternoon – an absolutely gorgeous day!
With such calm waters, the trip out to Machias Seal Island was delightful. We encountered lots of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels…
…and soon numbers of Razorbills, Common Murres, and Atlantic Puffins on the water. There were lots of Harbor Porpoise, and we even glimpsed a Minke Whale.
As we arrived in the vicinity of the island, an exceptional number of birds were in the water and surrounding the boat.
But following the safety-first procedures, we made our way to the island, and divided into groups. We chartered the boat for the tour but chose not to maximize the number of participants so we could all have a little more elbow-room in the blinds, especially with all of the long lenses in tow.
Words don’t really do the experience of being in the blinds on MSI justice, and while you all know I have words, I am going to simply let the photos do the talking.
But even on a beautiful day like this, life is tough out here. Without a permanent tern colony to mob predators, danger is always lurking, such as this Herring Gull
One blind on our tour witnessed such a thing, when a different Herring Gull grabbed a puffling out of its burrow, with the helpless adults unable to do a thing about it. At least it was quick.
After our allotted hour in the blind – which feels like 5 minutes and forever at the same time, as time flies when you are having fun, but time also seems to stand still when fully immersed in the experience of being inches away from some of the most charismatic and entertaining birds in the world- we made our way back to the center of the island, where a couple of dozen Arctic Terns are trying to reestablish a colony, and enjoying other island denizens like Savannah Sparrow and Spotted Sandpiper.
Back on the boat, we took the traditional “victory lap” with such calm water and so, so many birds to look at. Photographers snapped away. Others sat back and enjoyed the show. I just tried to look at every single bird to find a rarity, like the famous Tufted Puffin.
I’d be happy to hear of a possible fish ID from anyone on these, but this large tasty morsel was being brought home for chicks by Razorbills and Common Murres all day, arriving mostly from nearshore waters.
During the entire ride back, we had more Wilson’s Storm-Petrels and alcids with us, until nearly within the confines of Cutler Harbor.
Now, as a guide, it’s hard to top that, but I at least tried to entertain folks for a little longer. First, we visited the bog at Boot Head Preserve (heard a Palm Warbler and saw some of the more common warbler species in the woods), mostly to look at plants and the unique habitat.
Then, back in Machias, we strolled the section of the Downeast Sunrise Trail along the Machias River and eventually had some great looks at Nelson’s Sparrow, two likely-southbound-migrant Greater Yellowlegs, several fishing Ospreys, and a good show of Bald Eagles – including two youngsters branching about around the nest.
On our second morning, there were no expectations to top MSI, but we went birding anyway. Spruce Grouse was our goal, and although they are no longer seen often, if at all, at any of the regular places, I had a new secret spot trick up my sleeve.
I scouted it on Friday and found a dust bath with a Spruce Grouse feather.
Maybe I shouldn’t have taken my low-clearance hybrid as far in as I did, but I am glad, because a fairly short and easy walk yielded this:
Yup, she was heading right to the dust bath!
We birded the woods here and at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge without encountering any other boreal species (heard one likely Bay-breasted Warbler, but that was it), so after another great lunch, this time at the famous Helen’s, we headed over to Lubec for some really productive birding.
We did look at other birds too, such as this female Common Yellowthroat.
At the overlook of The Bar, we had a migrant flock of 6 Least Sandpipers, perhaps just arriving from points north. Oversummering Arctic sea ducks included at least 6 White-winged and 3 Surf Scoters, along with about 10 Red-breasted Mergansers and plenty of Common Eiders of course. We sorted through the loafing gulls hoping for a rarity.
Based on their behavior when a Bald Eagle flew by, there is a pair of Northern Harriers nesting near Carrying Place Cove – an unexpected bonus. That was great to see.
Quoddy State Park did not disappoint, although even the several dozen Razorbills offshore were a little anti-climactic. They’re still nice to see from land, however. And a Red-throated Loon, very rare in summer, was an unexpected treat, as was a Laughing Gull, which is quite rare this far East, at least in mid-summer…for now.
And we walked to the bog. Because bogs.
ALWAYS stopped to smell…and photograph, the Twinflower.
Even on the drive back, the birding success continued. A Ruffed Grouse crossed the road with two chicks, and I was not shy about using my vehicle to assure them safe passage. Meanwhile, for those of us staying at The Bluebird Motel, we began each day with a Tennessee Warbler singing in the parking lot and finished up daylight with Common Nighthawks foraging overhead!
Oh yeah, and as usual on an FWBS/Derek Lovitch tour…we ate really, really well, wrapping things up with one last indulgent lunch at Helen’s.
Local Cobscook Bay scallops, and their pickled beets are perfect. Both almost as good as the pie!
I guess I don’t have to say that you’ll see this tour on the calendar next year…I have already confirmed it.
Caption: Bill Thompson found this Black Skimmer at Pine Point on the 18th, and I was able to successfully chase it with a client from Australia who hoped to “experience a twitch” while we were out together. We saw it about 20 minutes later, just before it flew by Bill for the second time.
After my Bicknell’s Thrush Weekend tour in New Hampshire and Vermont (full-frame views of Bicknell’s Thrush!), I returned home late on the 14th. I’ll summarize the tour with these two photos from Bill Thompson.
Upon my return, catching up from the yard to the store and everywhere in between, and finding myself involved in a most interesting project, reduced my dedicated birding time. Now in the heart of the breeding season (and with a concerted effort to make time to enjoy it!), my observations of note over the past 10 days included the following:
1 BLACK SKIMMER (see above), 2 continuing Purple Martins, 7 American Oystercatchers, etc, Pine Point, Scarborough, 6/18 (with client from Australia).
1 pair ORCHARD ORIOLES (at nest), Capisic Pond Park, Portland, 6/18 (with client from Australia).
1 Green Heron, our property in Durham, 6/20 (Yard Bird # 160!)
1 pair ORCHARD ORIOLES, 8 Glossy Ibis, etc, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 6/20 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
9+ Grasshopper Sparrows, California Fields Wildlife Area, Hollis, 6/21.
You are what you eat!
1 drake Long-tailed Duck, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, Purple Martins and Fish Crows, etc, Drake’s Island and Wells Harbor, 6/22 (with Ian Doherty).
But mostly, I took advantage of my intentionally-reduced June schedule to casually enjoy our summer specialties, from Roseate Terns to Saltmarsh Sparrows to all of our delightful warblers… while also enjoying all of the finer aspects of life in early summer in Maine.
Derek will once again be onboard as Guest Naturalist for this special “Whale Watch & Birding Buffs Combo” Cruise. The itinerary will include a visit to Eastern Egg Rock as well as whale feeding grounds. Nesting colonies and pelagic sightings will be highlighted. Around EER at this time we can expect to find Atlantic Puffins, Common Terns, Arctic Terns, Roseate Terns, Laughing Gulls, Double-Crested Cormorants, Common Eider, Black Guillemots, with a chance of Razorbill and Common Murre. Off-shore sightings may include Northern Gannets, up to 4 species of Shearwaters (Great, Sooty, Cory’s, and Manx), and Wilson’s Storm Petrels. Who knows? Perhaps the wandering TUFTED PUFFIN will be spotted! Sorry, no chumming this time, but we tend to get a little more time around Eastern Egg, and if there’s enough of us, a little more freedom to chase birds offshore!
Another incredibly successful Bicknell’s Thrush Weekend is in the books. I could probably simply include just those two photos as proof of a successful trip, but we had a lot of other great birds too! And with three great photographers on the tour, I think I will mostly let the photos do the talking this year.
I’m always adjusting this itinerary to give us the most chances to have the most productive visit to the realm of the Bicknell’s Thrush, and with two nights in town, we had up to 4 chances to visit the high-elevation habitat at the right times of day.
I almost used the first night to make a run for it. Then I made the decision to not go up the mountain on our first morning together, instead electing (for a variety of reasons including the other birds participants were hoping to see) to spend the morning birding Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, in and around Silvio E. Conte National Wildlife Refuge.
Highlights included 2 family groups of Canada Jays, at least 2 Cape May Warblers, incredible looks at Mourning Warblers, heard-only Red Crossbills, singing Palm Warblers, and much more.
Blackburnian WarblerCape May WarblerCanada JayBlack-capped Chickadee
We also birded slowly, looking at all matters of life, including insects and plants.
American EmeraldAmerican ToadHobomok SkipperLittle Wood-SatyrSilver-bordered FritillaryCanadian Tiger Swallowtails(Dennis) Harris’s CheckerspotPink- and White-morphed Pink Lady’s SlipperAmerican LadyChalk-fronted Corporal
And found a new (to me) delicious lunch stop.
After an afternoon break and a great early dinner, it was finally time to head up hill and get to work. And work it was! The mountain was full of Swainson’s Thrushes and wind, and as the sun was setting, only a few Bicknell’s Thrushes were heard at all. I was beginning to lose hope, putting the pressure on for the following morning, when I heard two birds calling back and forth across the road. At 9:01pm, with just enough light for any sort of photograph, this happened (and see Bill’s photos above)!
Celebration ensued, backs were patted, high-fives were exchanged. Success! (And yes, relief, too!)
We “slept in” a few extra minutes on Sunday morning, knowing the primary mission was accomplished. But we returned to the same place, without pressure, and birded casually.
With another picnic breakfast in the field, our musical soundtrack was provided by several singing Bicknell’s Thrushes, and multiple calling birds. At least 6-8 birds were detected in all, but we all decided to just relax, enjoy them, and not even try to see them. It was a great way to really experience the Bicknell’s Thrush.
But we did look at everything else! We had a pair of, uh, “confiding” Canada Jays, 2 Bay-breasted Warblers and several Blackpoll Warblers.
Storm clouds a’brewing!
And then we slowly birded downhill, finding 2 more Cape May Warblers, 4 Mourning Warblers, hearing two Boreal Chickadees, but also lamenting on the apparent disappearance of Philadelphia Vireo here (although we did hear one distant candidate).
Black-throated Green WarblerYellow-rumped Warbler
Lunch, a little tourism stop to see some local landmarks and a Common Loon on a lake in the north woods. As we approached Colebrook, the rain that we had successfully and thankfully avoided all weekend caught up with us and the skies absolutely opened up, bringing the tour to a slightly early end for everyone to take their time in driving home or to airports safely.
What’s better than a Blackburnian Warbler at eye level in an apple tree? Such are the thrills of birding Monhegan in spring!
Another remarkable Monhegan Spring Migration Weekend is in the books. Every day out here is different in migration, and every tour is unique. But this one was particularly full of superlatives.
It seemed slow. Low numbers, low diversity, but yet with new birds being seen every day we ended up with a very good, above-average tally of 95 species, with the 18 species of warblers being just about the long-term average.
While numbers of individuals, especially warblers, were dreadfully low, we more than made up for it with quality. Quality of species, but especially quality of sightings. Just about everything was seen so well. A recurring theme of the weekend was definitely “wow, that was a great view!” or “what a fascinating behavior!” The bird-watching was simply divine!
Northern Parula
Due to ferry schedules, we now begin the weekend with a casual birdwalk at the Marshall Point Lighthouse (and up the road) in Port Clyde. Friday morning was pleasantly birdy, with great views of American Redstarts, Black-throated Green Warblers, Yellow Warblers, and Northern Parula. We also picked up a few species we won’t see on the island – like House Finch and Turkey Vulture – and introduced our visitors from the west to the likes of Common Eider and Black Guillemots.
A pleasant boat ride (it sure beat last year!) was very productive, with 2 pairs of Atlantic Puffins seen very well on the water, an immature Great Cormorant, and most notable: 10 truant Purple Sandpipers on Shag Ledge.
We arrived at the island, soon greeted by a calling Sora. We expected that call would torment us for the next several days. After checking in and having lunch, we began our island birding. It was pretty slow overall, but we started having such great experiences.
Female Common Yellowthroat
The two Green Herons at the Ice Pond were unusually conspicuous and confiding (as they were all weekend). While talking about eiders and Black Guillemots, a spiffy drake Long-tailed Duck pops up right in front of us. Then, while scanning the Outer Duck Islands, a pair of American Oystercatchers fly through my field of view – my 232nd species on Monhegan, and only about the 7th or so Island Record!
Red Crossbills were one of the stars of the weekend, and we began our good fortune with observing them really well each day, starting with 2 females and 2 juveniles feeding next to the Ice Pond. And remember that Sora, starting its annual taunt? Well, it (or as it turns out, one of at least 2) was surprisingly close to the pumphouse when we arrived, so we used the time to wait patiently for the outside chance of an appearance.
And about 15-20 minute of tantalizingly close, incessant calling, there it was – a Sora! In the open! Foraging for about a minute in a narrow chunk of marsh grass, and then flying across a patch of open water. Everyone in the group saw a Sora!
Then, a text from a friend came through, and the continuing Lark Sparrow was in her yard. A private yard, but we were granted the privilege to access it, and when we did, the Lark Sparrow was nearly at our feet!
We learned the value of dandelions, too, as they are the first fresh seeds of the year.
Quality views of the notable birds on the island, our self-found rarity, Red Crossbills everywhere, and yeah – we saw a Sora! Not bad for the first day, and we didn’t even arrive until 11:30am.
Wilson’s Warbler
On Saturday morning, we awoke to an ambiguous radar image overnight, but there wasn’t much overhead after dawn, other than a small migrant flock of Blue Jays. We took the time to learn a little about the radar, decipher that it was probably a lot of pollen in the air overnight rather than birds, and ground-truthed that with our copious sniffles.
Screenshot
Our pre-breakfast walk was also rather slow by Monhegan morning standards, but observations and species were slowly building. Once again, we continued to comment on the quality of the observations and bird experiences. There was the three-pair Yellow Warbler brawl that took place inches from us. Cedar Waxwing flocks eating apple blossoms, great views of colorful Magnolia Warblers and American Redstarts, a Merlin hunting robins and grackles (unsuccessfully), etc.
Although Yellow Warblers are one of the most abundant breeding birds on the island, and they were often all around us, we never tired of observing them, watching their behavior, and seeing what they were eating.The “Octopus Apple”
After breakfast, we watched a displaying Sharp-shinned Hawk and then found another notable bird out here: an adult Broad-winged Hawk! It was circling low overhead to really show off for us, too. I don’t know if I have seen one out here in spring before. And we finished with a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting, always crowd-pleasers.
The mid-day break was anything but a break – at least for me, however. I had just finished crushing a couple of slices of Novelty pizza and was walking back to the Yew when a group of birders from Rhode Island flagged me down. “I think we just had a kite!” Jen Leito says. She showed me the photos, and sure enough – it was a Mississippi Kite! I grabbed my phone to get the word out, and at the same time, Mik Oyler was reaching for his – the Mississippi Kite was near the brewery. It then perched, and then he saw it flying off to the east.
I of course had turned around and was walking up Horn’s Hill and began to hawkwatch. It was time for me to meet the group though, so I started walking downhill. I had just about reached the Novelty once again when Paul Dorion and Kristen Lindquist texted that they had the bird from the top of the hill. I then sprinted up the hill (scope, boots, back-pack…and my Fitbit tracked it all, the spike offering a chuckle later!) and scanned again. Catching a quick glimpse of it through the treetops, it was the world’s least satisfactory view of such a Mega rarity. In fact, even though I saw it “well enough to count,” it was so underwhelming that I wondered if I would even bother putting it on my list!
I then jogged back to the Yew, met the group, and the search began. Focusing on the southern end of the island, we kept one eye on the sky, but no more reports of kites were to come. Instead, we enjoyed the occasional pockets of warbler activity, slowly adding new species to our trip list as we basked in more great views of Red Crossbills. But alas, the kite was gone. Or was it?
Somehow, I never thought of taking a photo when all 11 of us were together, but I am still happy to see people taking advantage of the flexibility of our tour itinerary to enjoy other aspects of the island…including rest!
On Sunday, the weather forecast had greatly improved, and we awoke to cool and cloudy conditions, but no precipitation would fall before dusk except for a few very light afternoon showers. An easterly wind overnight appeared to have shunted the overnight migration well inland, and it was once again a non-existent morning flight, and therefore another relatively slow morning.
But once again, great looks and notable birds: a continuing female Long-tailed Duck that we finally spotted, a Tennessee Warbler or two, and a very intriguing and thought-provoking study of the world’s dullest and somewhat-streaked female Pine Warbler for yet another rewarding teaching moment.
With a near-complete turnover in the group between Saturday and Sunday, we set out to “clean up the dirty birds.” Needless to say, we didn’t expect that to include more visuals of the Sora though! But once again, patiently waiting as a bird called (this time, on the other side of the marsh just off the road) was rewarded when not one, but two(!) Soras popped up from the grass, taking flight, fluttering a short distance, gangly legs dangling, before plummeting back into the meadow. Another Sora sighting!? Incredible!
The rest of the morning, and the afternoon, were exceedingly slow, but we enjoyed more Red Crossbill quality time, had some more instructive moments, and spotted an Arctic Tern off of Lobster Cove.
Indigo Bunting
There was fear of a wash-out on Monday, but after showers, mist, and drizzle overnight with periods of heavier rain, we awoke to only mist and drizzle as we stepped outside. Great views of two different Indigo Buntings highlighted the first walk, while after breakfast we enjoyed some time with a Blackburnian Warbler, before settling into a requested gull workshop. 3-4 age classes of both Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls were before us, so we began the lesson.
And then the skies opened up. A soaking downpour didn’t last long, but it was efficient. I give everyone credit for powering through, but during a lull in the rain, I finally called it quits at around 11:00am – still more birding time in the morning than we expected. In fact, by the time we got together again at 1:00pm, the rain had stopped and there were already peaks of sun!
Rain delay.Female Blackburnian Warbler in the morning rain.Bluebird skies returning.
As the skies cleared, we enjoyed a pair of Blackburnian Warblers and Red Crossbills yet again, heard a very uncommon for the island Prairie Warbler, and then heard the report of another rarity: a Yellow-throated Warbler! We weren’t far away, but the bird, found by Mackenzie McKnight along Pumphouse Road, had gone AWOL. We began to search but soon thereafter, Bill Thompson relocated it on Wharf Road, so we raced around the corner and were treated to delightful views – even some in the scope!
Thanks to Bill Thompson for letting me use his photo (he was at least standing next to the group!). My poorly phone-scoped photos did not do this bird justice.
What a great way to cap a wildly successful tour, but with time remaining, we tried to re-find the Lark Sparrow for the second half of the group (it was not seen since Saturday) but instead finished with a glorious Rose-breasted Grosbeak singing in the sun!
Six of ten til’ the end of Day 3.
As usual, Jeannette and I spent a day off together the next day, enjoying the birds, food, beer, and friends of Monhegan. The birding wasn’t too shabby either, thanks to a light flight overnight. We began with an Olive-sided Flycatcher at dawn behind the Yew (and 1-2 more later), more Tennessee Warblers (6+), an increase in Blackpoll Warblers, an arrival of Swainson’s Thrushes, and a few other species new for the weekend.
Southwest…rarity winds are a’blowin!Traditional gratuitous food porn photo of the tour. This year’s entry: the coffee-crusted filet at the Monhegan House. 2-3 Olive-sided Flycatchers arrived overnight.
It was a day off, so we dallied at breakfast (I must confess to having a second breakfast sandwich!) and enjoyed a little more coffee. Jeannette was photographing the Eastern Bluebird feeding around the lawn, as I stepped back out of the cabin at 9:40, but I looked up to see a raptor coming right for us. Low. Fast.
“WHAT’S THAT?! THE KITE! LOOK UP! RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD!” And other indecipherable words and perhaps a few colorful ones, too. Incredibly, after a 2.5 day absence, it was back!
The bird proceeds to glide low over our heads and disappears behind the spruce line where we always start our day. Hustling over that way, we are near the “chat causeway” when the kite appears. We watched it for several minutes as it soared, and yes, kited, directly over our heads. Jeannette had to zoom out with her camera. I had never made eye contact with a kite before, but it clearly looked down, directly at me (literally and perhaps figuratively!), cocking its head to analyze. An absolutely crippling view. Yeah, this made up for my dissatisfying view from two days before, to say the least!
We got the word out, and Bill Thompson came jogging in from the other end of town, picking up birders as he went. We saw it over the Wyeth driveway, heading toward Lobster Cove. We were so happy many people had now seen it, too!
Interestingly a short time after our initial sighting, I spotted the adult Broad-winged Hawk, too. While that bird was gaining altitude and apparently departing, it could not be a coincidence. But where were these two raptors hiding for more than two days?
It turned out the kite would be seen all afternoon (and at least through the next two days, too!), by us, and many, many others, including four arriving bird tour groups. It was often kiting over Lighthouse Hill, catching some insects (bees?), and while attentions were often turning elsewhere, I could not stop myself from watching and enjoying it every time one of us saw it. Jess Bishop had arrived just in time, and as Jess, Bill, Jeannette, and I wandered town – often in the opposite direction of the masses – we always paused for kite watching.
Magnolia Warbler
What an incredible way to end the weekend! It’s always tough to leave Monhegan, and I expected more notable birds would arrive (they did), but the 1st island record of Mississippi Kite would be hard to top (it wasn’t), and my second fulfilling experience with it may never be surpassed. I am mad I didn’t get it on the official trip list and share its glory with my group though!
Interestingly, although the weekend was “slow” by May on Monhegan standards, and the numbers of individuals were low (except for Ring-necked Pheasants. My goodness, they have had a productive year!), the weekend’s tour birdlist added up surprisingly nicely! And unlike some tours, where fleeting glimpses seen by half the group were the norm, almost everyone saw almost everything on the list. Here’s the scoreboard.
* = seen from ferry only.
** = seen on Marshall Point Birdwalk only
Species
5/22
5/23
5/24
5/25
Canada Goose
2**
0
0
2
Mallard
x
x
x
x
American Black Duck
1
1
1
1
Common Eider
x
x
x
x
Surf Scoter
1*
0
0
0
Black Scoter
20*
0
0
0
Long-tailed Duck
1
0
1
1
Ring-necked Pheasant
x
x
x
x
Mourning Dove
x
6
10
12
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
3
4
4
4
Chimney Swift
0
0
1
0
Virginia Rail
0
0
1
1
Sora
1
2
3
2
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER
2
0
0
0
Killdeer
1
0
0
0
PURPLE SANDPIPER
10*
0
0
0
Black Guillemot
x
x
x
x
ATLANTIC PUFFIN
4*
0
0
0
Laughing Gull
4*
0
2
1
Herring Gull
x
x
x
x
Great Black-backed Gull
x
x
x
x
Common Tern
2*
0
0
0
ARCTIC TERN
0
0
1
0
Red-throated Loon
0
0
2
0
Common Loon
2*
0
3
0
Northern Gannet
0
0
6
0
Double-crested Cormorant
x
x
x
x
Great Cormorant
1*
0
0
0
Great Blue Heron
0
0
1
0
Green Heron
2
2
2
2
Turkey Vulture
2**
0
0
0
Osprey
0
1
0
1
Sharp-shinned Hawk
0
1
1
1
BROAD-WINGED HAWK
0
1
0
0
Bald Eagle
2*
2
0
1
Red-bellied Woodpecker
0
1
1
0
Northern Flicker
2**
0
0
0
Merlin
0
3
1
0
Eastern Kingbird
1
1
4
4
Eastern Wood-Pewee
0
0
2
20
“Traill’s” Flycatcher
0
1
0
0
Least Flycatcher
0
0
1
1
Red-eyed Vireo
0
8
4
2
Blue Jay
x
18
10
4
American Crow
x
4
4
4
Common Raven
1
2
2
2
Black-capped Chickadee
x
x
x
x
Barn Swallow
4
4
8
6
Golden-crowned Kinglet
2**
4
0
0
Cedar Waxwing
60
40
60
60
Red-breasted Nuthatch
2
3
1
0
Carolina Wren
2
3
5
5
House Wren
0
1
0
1
Gray Catbird
x
x
x
x
Brown Thrasher
0
0
1
1
Northern Mockingbird
0
1
1
1
European Starling
x
x
x
x
Eastern Bluebird
0
1
1
1
American Robin
x
8
10
10
House Finch
2**
0
0
0
Purple Finch
0
0
0
1
RED CROSSBILL
20-30
20-30
30+
20-30
American Goldfinch
x
10
15
15
LARK SPARROW
1
0
0
0
Chipping Sparrow
4**
0
0
0
Savannah Sparrow
0
1
1
0
Song Sparrow
x
x
x
x
Lincoln’s Sparrow
1
1
0
0
Swamp Sparrow
0
0
1
1
Bobolink
0
4
1
4
Baltimore Oriole
0
2
1
2
Red-winged Blackbird
x
x
x
x
Common Grackle
x
x
x
x
Ovenbird
1**
0
1
1
Northern Waterthrush
0
0
1
0
Black-and-white Warbler
0
2
1
0
Tennessee Warbler
0
2
1
1
Common Yellowthroat
x inc. Marshall Pt.
x
x
x
American Redstart
x inc. Marshall Ot
15
10
10
Cape May Warbler
0
1
0
0
Northern Parula
x inc. Marshall Point
20
12
10
Magnolia Warbler
0
10
6
4
Blackburnian Warbler
0
2
1
3
Yellow Warbler
x inc. Marshall Pt
x
x
x
Blackpoll Warbler
1
8
3
4
PINE WARBLER
0
0
1
1
Yellow-rumped Warbler
0
1
0
0
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
0
0
0
1
Prairie Warbler
0
0
0
1
Black-throated Green Warbler
x inc. Marshall Pt
10
4
8
Wilson’s Warbler
1
0
0
1
Northern Cardinal
x
x
x
x
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1
1
1
2
Indigo Bunting
0
1
1
3
Day Total
60 inc Marshall Pt and Ferry,
60
68
64
Warbler Day Total
8
12
13
14
Trip Total
94
Weekend Total inc. Tuesday
107
Warbler Trip Total
18
Warbler total inc, Tuesday
18
The above birds follow the “guide plus one” rule, meaning both me and at least one client need to see the bird for it to go onto the list. In addition to the above, birds that I only saw on my own, before or after hours, or during breaks included:
MISSISSIPPI KITE, 5/23 (with m.obs…see above and below).
1 GLOSSY IBIS, 5/23 (with Mik Oyler; flying past harbor at dusk)
1 Wood Duck, 5/25.
10 Greater Yellowlegs, 5/25 (with Bill Thompson)
1 Alder Flycatcher, 5/25 (with Jeannette)
1 Dark-eyed Junco, 5/25.
New species for the weekend seen with Jeannette included:
2-3 Olive-sided Flycatchers
6 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 Spotted Sandpiper
1 Willow Flycatcher
1 White-crowned Sparrow
3 White-winged Scoters
1 Solitary Sandpiper (with Bill Thompson and Jess Bishop)
This made a very respectable weekend tally of 107 species!
Their “countability” might be in question, but their photogenic-ess never is!
A Mississippi Kite was discovered by a group of visiting birders from Rhode Island on Monhegan on Saturday morning. Moments later, it was seen by two other parties, and then the chase was on. I did a wind-sprint up Horn’s Hill and managed to catch a most unsatisfactory view of it as it disappeared behind trees. Unfortunately, my tour group could not relocate it in the afternoon, and it was considered a 1.5 hour-wonder. Then, on Tuesday morning, right after breakfast, I stepped out of our Trailing Yew cabin and started yelling across the lawn to Jeannette, who was looking down, photographing an (uncommon on the island) Eastern Bluebird. It then proceeded to pass right over our heads, and a few minutes later, it was even lower and closer. This was most definitely not an unsatisfactory view!
I spent 5 of the past 8 days on Monhegan, first with a tour from Friday the 22nd through Monday the 24th, and remaining with Jeannette through the next day. I’ll have a trip report, chock full of photos, by next week, but for now, here are some of my daily highlights. We had a total of 107 species, but only 18 species of warblers. But the rarities and the overall quality of observations and experiences, really did make up for it.
5/22: Port Clyde ferry to Monhegan:
10 Purple Sandpipers, Shag Ledge
4 Atlantic Puffins
1 1st summer Great Cormorant
5/22: Monhegan:
1 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, fly-byoff of Deadman’s Cove. ~7th Island Record. My 229th Monhegan species!
1 continuing LARK SPARROW
2 Sora (FOY)
Red Crossbills, including young juveniles, were widespread all five days.
1 drake Long-tailed Duck
5/23:
1 MISSISSIPPI KITE (see story above).
1 adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK (very rare, especially in spring out here).
1 GLOSSY IBIS, fly-by at dusk (with Mik Oyler)
5/24:
1 fly-by Arctic Tern (FOY)
1 continuing Virginia Rail (FOY)
1 continuing female Pine Warbler
1 continuing hen Long-tailed Duck
5/25:
1 YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER (unusually easy twitch with the group, found a short while prior by M. McKnight).
10 Greater Yellowlegs (first spotted from Island Inn window by Bill Thompson).
1 continuing female Pine Warbler
5/26 (with Jeannette):
1 presumed returning MISSISSIPPI KITE (see above).
1 presumed returning BROAD-WINGED HAWK.
1 Arctic Tern
2-3 Olive-sided Flycatchers (FOY)
3 White-winged Scoters
1 1st summer Great Cormorant
1 continuing female Pine Warbler
Ferry to Port Clyde:
2 Atlantic Puffins
Back here in the real world, my observations of note over the past three days included:
The latest incarnation of our Bicknell’s Thrush weekend offers more chances to see the enigmatic Bicknell’s Thrush and even better boreal birding opportunities!
With two full mornings in the area, we’ll have flexibility to offer two visits to the realm of the Bicknell’s. While Bicknell’s Thrush is the primary target, this enhanced itinerary will also give us an even better chance at other boreal species, including Canada Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Woodpecker, Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Palm and Blackpoll Warblers, and especially Philadelphia Vireo and Mourning Warbler. By staying in Colebrook, NH we have the opportunity to look for additional boreal targets anywhere from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom (the famous hotspots are only 30 minutes from Colebrook!) to the Umbagog NWR area.
While I didn’t look at many birds in Maine this week, we drove a whole 6 minutes from our regular motel in New Jersey to chase this spiffy Harris’s Sparrow in Wall Township, my 352nd species in my native state! Does 6 minutes even count as a chase?
Much has changed since we left for our vacation on February 23rd. Immediately upon our return, we had to depart the state for a few more days for a family matter. In the meantime, the vanguard of spring migration both literally and figuratively passed over our heads. Here are a few observations of note over the past four days since returning to the state.
8 Common Grackles (Maine FOY), Over Exit 25, Kennebunk, 3/10.
In the following days blackbird numbers continued to increase, as did migrant Song Sparrows.
10 Green-winged Teal, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn-Lewiston, 3/12.
1 drake Gadwall, 11 Northern Pintails, 5 Red Crossbills (including 1-2 singing males), etc, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 3/13.
Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch gets underway on Sunday!
But the main reason I am posting this week despite the few days of observation is that Sunday, March 15th begins the 20TH YEAR of the Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch! Join Zane Baker and project volunteers at the summit from 9-5 every day (weather permitting) from March 15th through May 15th. Can we reach least year’s record count?
March 28th or 29th. This tour is currently sold out. Please contact us to be added to the waiting list.
Portland Explorer Collab Tours.
Our collaboration with Portland Explorer has expanded once again, with the 12th season of the Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! series, but also new Birding and History tours. All of the 2026 outings are now posted and are open for registration. To learn more about these unique experiences, check out my recent blog entry.
Freeport Wild Bird Supply is proud to once again partner with Down East Magazine’s Down East Adventures for the sixth year of offering exclusive birding workshops focused on gaining greater knowledge and field skills in a focused group of seasonally accessible birds. Focused on skill-builder rather than list-building, there will be plenty of “life birds,” but also more knowledge and education about birds, habitats, birding, and much more about the natural world. We are honored to be their provider for a series of unique and exclusive birdwatching endeavors. In 2026, we will once again offer four exclusive outings.
As usual, Harlequin Ducks were the stars of the show.
First and foremost, I must commend everyone in the group for being such troopers today! Brutally cold temperatures and a barely broken trail to start the day, with a frigid day barely warming into the low 20’s. But everyone was prepared, everyone was ready to bird, and we all learned a lot.
Between astronomical low tides, days of offshore winds, and recent bitter cold, we encountered many fewer waterbirds overall than expected at this season. We did see some of the stars of the winter show well, such as Harlequin Ducks – always the crowd favorite! – and Great Cormorants. At two sites, we worked our way through learning the various seaducks, while at two other sites we studied dabbling ducks. A short gull workshop was also included. We even finished with another family of waterfowl when a hen Greater Scaup landed in Perkin’s Cove when we returned at the end of the day.
It was nice of this hen Greater Scaup to join us for one last species to learn about.
The Ogunquit Rivermouth was one of the most productive destinations today, with an unexpected 4 Northern Pintails pioneering amongst hundreds of Mallards and American Black Ducks, Canada Geese, and really close views of White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Common Loon, plus a Belted Kingfisher – one of our “honorary waterbirds.” Elsewhere, Black Scoters were the dominant species, with large rafts witnessed at multiple locations.
What is this mess? Impossible to identify, you say? Well, with a little comparative experience, we learned just how quickly we can identify this 2nd cycle Herring Gull.
As rewarding and educational the birding was, I think most people will end up remembering more about the domestic duck roundup attempt that we witnessed at Abbott’s Pond. We were there to study Mallards, American Black Ducks, and hybrids thereof, learning the differences and nuances in plumage of some of our most commonly seen waterfowl. We did that, and then sat back and enjoyed the show as the pond’s caretakers were bringing some “dumped” domestic hybrids to a better home.
We put special emphasis on learning female ducks as well, especially when in direct comparison to the respective distinctive males and other hens around them. We also took time to appreciate the gorgeous intricacies of their plumage, such as on this female Mallard.
2. Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop
Spring Migrant Songbird Workshop
Portland. May 17, 2026.
This half-day workshop focused on the migrant songbirds, especially warblers, that are passing through Maine’s most famous migrant trap, Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery. At the peak of warbler migration, we learned how to identify these charismatic birds, and discussed their mind-boggling migration and what they’re up to in Maine.
We began with making some predictions of what the morning would produce, and later analyzed the winds and radar images to draw some conclusions about what we did and did not see. And while we expected more than the 13 species of warblers we saw and/or heard, and more “passage migrants” overall, we still had a really enjoyable day, and yeah, 13 species of warblers!
Beginning at Evergreen Cemetery, we were greeted by newly-arrived Red-eyed Vireos, and a nice variety of warblers. More were in the tops of oak trees (we learned why) than down low, but we still enjoyed great views of a variety of species, such as Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and especially Magnolia Warbler. After hearing them all morning, we were finally treated to a stunning view of a Great-crested Flycatcher, and we finished off with an unexpected immature Orchard Oriole! We also had exceptionally good views of two different perched and hunting Cooper’s Hawks – although this was a songbird workshop, I jokingly justified it as songbird-eating raptor identification is more important for a songbird to workshop than songbird identification is for us to workshop!
Moving over to nearby Capisic Pond Park to continue our birding by habitat lessons, we soon added plentiful Yellow Warblers and a migrant female Canada Warbler to our warbler tally, while later enjoying more quality time with American Redstarts. Baltimore Orioles abound here, and we spotted the local male Orchard Oriole here, where they are regular breeders (one of the few places in the state they are found annually), making for a two OROR day. Gray Catbirds were conspicuous, Warbling Vireos were seen, but mostly heard, and we found a nest brimming with soon-to-fledge-already American Robins. As for non-songbirds, we took time to study Red-tailed Hawks in flight and especially soaked in the stunning plumes and high-breeding facial skin of a confiding Great Egret.
With temperatures rising into the 70’s and abundant sunshine, we were all complaining (mildly) about being overdressed for the first time this spring! But also, how it was “too nice out” to have seen a ton of birds, despite what the overnight radar image suggested! But this is the challenge of birding in migration, and thankfully, the weather was delightful and there were plenty of birds to look at all morning!
3. Shorebird Workshop
August 18, 2026; 9:00am – 4:00pm
The first shorebird species of the day was this beautiful, fresh juvenile Least Sandpiper nearly at our feet at our first stop
With more than 35 species of shorebirds (a diverse group including plovers and sandpipers) regularly appearing in Maine, this workshop is designed to appreciate the diversity and beauty of this fascinating family.
With recent sighting reports and the desire to avoid really long walks with a rapidly increasing temperature, we began the day in Biddeford Pool, starting at Great Pond with Least Sandpipers at our feet. We began our shorebird identification journey here with Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs as well, and a nice performance from Spotted Sandpipers. Despite our focused agenda today, it was impossible not to enjoy all of the other birdlife at the pond, including 3 locally-rare Forster’s Terns among Common Terns feeding just in front of us. There were lots of juvenile Glossy Ibis and juvenile Laughing Gulls, Great and Snowy Egrets, and a few Black-crowned Night-Herons as well.
Over the dunes at the nearby beach, we went back to work with shorebirds, with close-up views of Piping (3) and Semipalmated Plovers (about 125 of them!), Semipalmated Sandpipers, and spiffy Ruddy Turnstones plowing through seaweed mats.
Juvenile Piping Plover
Then, with the outgoing tide, we watched birds come and go from Hill’s Beach, adding Short-billed Dowitchers (85!), Black-bellied Plovers, and spotted 8 American Oystercatchers in the distance. We practiced plover vs sandpiper some more, this time at a distance, and later had a Whimbrel (shorebird species #12) fly across the street at The Pool.
After our lunch break, we relocated to the environs of Scarborough, beginning with Pine Point. We had much better looks at a couple of American Oystercatchers and another Whimbrel and caught up with another new shorebird species that offered good studies in 8 Willets. We walked to the beach to check for rarities and then finished up at the Pelreco Marsh where a few Killdeer were our 14th and final shorebird species on the day.
More importantly than the species count, however, we learned how approachable (both literally and figuratively!) shorebirds can be, and how breaking it down to family goes a long way in narrowing down our choices that lead to a successful identification – which for most shorebirds, most of the time, is just not that hard!
4. Monhegan Birding Workshop
September 11-13, 2026
We save the best for last as our final Workshop with Downeast Adventures for the year visits the birding Mecca that is Monhegan Island.
Birding got underway as we departed New Harbor on our ferry, with a surprising number of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels for the date ushering us on our way across. Three Red-necked Phalaropes were also a treat, but even more so was the lovely, calm waters!
We were greeted upon our arrival by a family group of Bald Eagles (2 adults and 2-3 juveniles), including a fantastic show of the kids “kiting” over Manana Island. Stepping onto the dock, my introduction and orientation was continuously interrupted by raptors, with Merlins and an American Kestrel passing right overhead, along with a Peregrine Falcon that flew over before landing on Manana – how’s that for a subject for our introduction to spotting scope use?
In fact, throughout the first day, raptors were the stars of the show, with constant views of Merlins and Sharp-shinned Hawks (often involved in dogfights!) and even a rare-for-the-island Cooper’s Hawk.
We checked out our first of several daily Lesser Black-backed Gulls, gained an introduction to some of the common birds of the island, like Common Eiders and Ring-necked Pheasants, but it was very slow for migrant passerines.
We made sure to take time to appreciate the beauty of the hens, not just the gaudy males.
Stepping outside at dawn on Saturday morning, with the anticipation following a strong nocturnal migration overnight, we found the weather was simply too nice, and a lot of migrants had simply passed overhead overnight, or reoriented their way to the mainland before sunrise. So while it was not exactly the morning Monhegan legends are made of, we had some “new” birds around and throughout the day managed some great sightings and numerous “workshop” teaching moments.
A Dickcissel, a Monhegan birding specialty, called as it flew around in the morning, but our pre-breakfast stroll was highlighted by an incredible view of a Rusty Blackbird joining Cedar Waxwings and a Cape May Warbler feeding on midges at the top of a spruce tree just outside the hotel entrance. Prolonged scope views of a Rusty Blackbird are few and far between, and this bird had little interest in returning to the shadows -the midges were too good to pass up.
In fact, after breakfast, she was still there and the second serving of Rusty Blackbird further cemented this as the “bird of the trip” for several folks by the end of the weekend. A fly-by Whimbrel was even more noteworthy. It was a very slow day by Monhegan standards, but that still meant enjoying flocks of Cedar Waxwings, the occasional migrant here and there, and of course, a rarity – what birding on Monhegan is really known for! It took some effort, but we managed to track down a female King Eider – very, very rare south of the Arctic in the summer – that had been present for much of the summer.
A slower birding day and a gorgeous afternoon led many folks to take advantage of open Lighthouse Day, visit the museum, or go for a hike. Those who elected to join me on our last bird walk of the afternoon, however, explored some of the woods of the island on our way to and from a visit to Burnt Head for a view of the cliffs. As we hiked, we encountered several mixed species foraging flocks of resident birds with migrants in tow, which yielded a great view of a Philadelphia Vireo in one flock, more warblers than we had seen all morning, and in the last flock, a self-found vagrant in the form of an adult Blue-winged Warbler! Wow!
Unfortunately, my documentation shot proves once again why I don’t lead the photography workshops for DownEast!
It was rain-free when we began our walk on Sunday morning, but with a light south wind and clouds overnight, there wasn’t much in the way of arrival of birds, but this was another instructive example of how migration works, and we used radar and wind maps to understand what we did and did not see throughout the weekend.
We learned that this overnight radar image showed migratory birds…going right over our headson Friday night into Saturday morning.
Light rain arrived just before we settled in for breakfast, but it never got to the point of being unbirdable, so several folks stuck with me right up until it was time to board the ferry. And they were rewarded amply! While it was still slow by Monhegan standards, the light rain kept birds down low, so great views were to be had from the likes of Red-eyed Vireos. We improved our looks at Cape May and Blackpoll Warblers, had a stunning view of a normally-secretive Northern Waterthrush, and even found a “drift-vagrant” with this Clay-colored Sparrow
There were now 4 Spotted Sandpipers at Lobster Cove, where we also had a crushing look at a Bobolink. A Barn Swallow was a new arrival, among a few others as well.
Reconvening after lunch on the porch of the Island Inn, I spotted a pod of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins well offshore. Four of us kept birding after lunch, too, right up until the ferry. A forest ecology walk focused on the trees, but we took the time to find the island’s only resident amphibian – Red-backed Salamander – and came across a Black-and-white Warbler among a band of Golden-crowned Kinglets. A fly-over Lesser Yellowlegs was our 8th shorebird species of the trip – that was certainly above normal for three days on the island, and the raptor show continued.
More Wilson’s Storm-Petrels guided us on the return trip, and we all said goodbye on the wharf, promising to see each other, and Monhegan Island, again.
Need help identifying all of the exciting gulls at Mill Creek Cove this winter (such as this 1st winter Iceland Gull present on the 23rd)? Well, we have just the workshop coming up for you (see below)!
After being out of town for a week, we returned late on the 16th and got back to work. Sneaking in some morning birding on most days yielded a nice array of winter notables, without needing to venture too far afield. Here are my observations of note over the past 7 days.
For at least the second consecutive winter, an adult Red-shouldered Hawk has been frequenting the edges of Rte 136 in Durham, near the Freeport Town Line.
3 drake and 1 hen Barrow’s Goldeneye, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/17 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
Like clockwork, Brant arrived in Cape Elizabeth in the 3rd week of January. I had 30 (FOY) at Kettle Cove, with another 24 (or part of the same group) at Dyer Point a short while later on 1/23.
Some of the 24 Brant off the rocks at Dyer Point on the 23rd.
This Week in Irruptives.
I encountered a few more Purple Finches here and there this week, mostly singletons. A lone Red Crossbill at Mt Apatite Park in Auburn on 1/21 (with Jeannette) was the first I have seen away from Red Spruce in a while, but one singing in flight at Village Crossings in Cape Elizabeth on the 23rd was a surprise. Meanwhile, EVENING GROSBEAKS continued to be scattered about, with 3 visiting our feeders in Durham on the 19th.
Upcoming Trips and Tours.
Gull Identification Workshop -THIS WEEKEND!
It’s not too late to join us for our Gull Identification Workshop! The classroom session will be held tomorrow, Saturday, 1/24, but the field trip has been postponed until Sunday, February 1st due to the dangerously cold weather expected. You can sign up for just the lecture portion.
In this workshop, we’ll hit a few of the prime viewing locations along Maine’s southern coast. But we won’t just be working on the checklist today. Instead, we’ll be focused on learning how to search for these birds – the how, when, and why – and how to identify them. We’ll learn about microhabitats, weather considerations, and seasonal timing to aid our search today and in the future. By visiting several seasonally-productive sites, we’ll compare similar species while taking time to savor the splashes of color offered by winter seaducks in an otherwise gray and white landscape.
