If Northern Fulmar was species of the day on our 10/4 pelagic out of Boothbay Harbor with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, then the individual bird of the day was this show-stopping Parasitic Jaeger!
A busy week of birding included our annual half-day pelagic out of Boothbay Harbor and two flights at Sandy Point, one of which was incredible! Here are my photo-laden observations of note over the past 8 days.
1 juvenile AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Spurwink Marsh at Sawyer Road, 10/2 (with client from Philadelphia).
Sandy Point Morning Flight, 10/3 (Oh wow!)
An excellent flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth. An incredible 3 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS (one prior record of a single on 10/2/2020) passed over, seen by all present, including the birdwalk group that just arrived.
Later, we also had a magical experience with a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. The story of the woodpeckers and the cuckoo can be seen here, while an (*) signifies species recorded only after the birdwalk started; I did not add migrant counts seen thereafter to the tallies. This was a flight for the books!
6:38 to 8:25, then birdwalk group through 10:15.
50F, clear, NNW 4.3-5.2 to NW 6.0 to 8.2
617 Yellow-rumped Warblers
292 unidentified
192 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
171 unidentified kinglets
59 Blackpoll Warblers
56 Golden-crowned Kinglets
40 Dark-eyed Juncos
37 Palm Warblers
35 Cedar Waxwings
28 American Robins
23 Eastern Bluebirds (**new record!)
19 Northern Parulas
15* White-throated Sparrows
13 Blue Jays
10 Blue-headed Vireos
9 Black-throated Blue Warblers
9 Black-throated Green Warblers
8 American Goldfinches
7 Tennessee Warblers
6 Nashville Warblers
6 Chipping Sparrows
5 Black-capped Chickadees
4 Rusty Blackbirds
4 Black-and-white Warblers
4 Cape May Warblers
4 Eastern Phoebes
3 American Redstarts
3 American Pipits
3* Swamp Sparrows
3* Hermit Thrushes
2 Tufted Titmice
2 Savannah Sparrows
2 Red-breasted Nuthatches
1 Pine Siskin (FOF)
1 DICKCISSEL
1 Philadelphia Vireo
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Osprey
1 Merlin
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
1 Swainson’s Thrush
1 Greater Scaup (FOF)
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Great Egret
1 unidentified oriole
1 Common Loon
1 Pine Warbler
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (my 9th Sandy Point record)
X* Common Yellowthroats
Total= 1708
Boothbay ½ Day Pelagic with Cap’n Fish’s Cruises, 10/4:
An incredible day offshore highlighted by 10 NORTHERN FULMARS; an astounding 128 late Wilson’s Storm-Petrels; 7 ATLANTIC PUFFIN and 3 Razorbills; 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, an American Pipit and Yellow-rumped Warblers 20 and 15 miles off shore, respectively; 1 MANX SHEARWATER and 4 Great Shearwaters; and finishing up with a close encounter and thrilling chase of a PARASTIC JAEGER. The complete trip report, including photos and checklist, is posted here:
A very light flight passed over and through Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this morning. A turbulent atmosphere overnight coupled with increasing westerly winds in the morning reduced the number of birds on the go overnight, and passing through the point after sunrise.
6:45-8:40am.
39F, mostly clear, W 3.4-6.6 to 5.9-8.6mph.
123 Yellow-rumped Warblers
22 Blackpoll Warblers
5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
3 American Robins
2 Hairy Woodpeckers (total of 16 false starts)
2 American Goldfinches
1 DICKCISSEL (6th of season ties my record high)
1 Cedar Waxwing
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 Purple Finch
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Tufted Titmouse
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Osprey
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
1 Unidentified
1 Palm Warbler
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
X Common Yellowthroat
T= 168
2 DICKCISSELS, flying together over our Durham property on 10/8.
2-3 DICKCISSELS, Meadow Road, Durham, 10/8 while walking the dog. 4-5 Dickcissels in a morning in interior Maine is incredible. I wonder how many more are out there right now!
1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (FOF), our property in Durham, 10/9.
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!
As our collaboration with Portland Explorer enters its 12th season, we’re mixing things up with a brand new series of joint history and birding tours. These unique, relaxed birding and history adventures combine great local birding at seasonal hotspots with educational journeys through some of our local history. Join two experts in their field on this brand new collaboration! (Sorry, no beer tastings here!)
But this time we’re leaving the van in the garage and hit the water once again! We’re going to hop aboard the Casco Bay Ferry Lines for the short, 20-minute trip across Portland Harbor to Peak’s Island.
Once there, we’ll plan on walking 3-4 easy miles (paved or dirt roads and a few narrow trails including one with irregular boards over wet areas) to cover the prime birding hotspots of the island, including the thickets that were made famous last year when Derek discovered Maine’s 5th-ever Virginia’s Warbler (and first away from Monhegan). We’ll make our way along the shoreline, looking at resident and recently-arrived migrant waterbirds, but checking various nooks and crannies that can hold unexpected vagrants.
We’ll make our way to the famous Battery Steele – famous for its access, its impressive graffiti, and yes, its birding. Here, a complex of wetlands and scrubby areas combine to attract and hold a wide range of avian species, often including some that are usually long gone from Maine by now. We’ll then explore the open-access fort and even get to experience total darkness!
Birding will continue as we traverse the island to return to town. There will be an opportunity to purchase a delicious lunch, or bring your own, and we’ll relax for a spell as we await our ferry departure.
An American Bittern sitting in the open in a tree, just a handful of yards away could have easily been the highlight of any birding weekend. But, this stellar start was just the tip of the iceberg of the weekend’s birding excitement.
It has been quite a few years since we had a weekend like this. Lots of birds, “mega” rarities, warm weather, and tons of excitement. It was truly a special weekend. We were honored to have been there for it.
The tour began on Friday, with only one participant joining me on the Hardy Boat. The island greeted us with a Lesser Black-backed Gull, which we scoped from the wharf, and several warblers at the usual spot uphill. But after getting the inside scoop from birders already on the island, we made a bee-line for the Ice Pond where an American Bittern was sitting all morning. Remarkably, however, it was sitting in a bush (see above)!
How’s that for starting a tour off right? We also immediately encountered Dickcissel and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and there were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers here and there.
After lunch, with our group now complete, the surprisingly good birding continued. Despite such a warm afternoon and few birds on the radar overnight on mostly a southwest wind aloft, we enjoyed an excellent introduction to Monhegan birding in the fall: 2 Clay-colored Sparrows with 2 immature White-crowned Sparrows, a Dickcissel, and several White-throated Sparrows in one field of view; a dozing Common Nighthawk trying to stay camouflaged on a wood pile, and another visit to the still-confiding American Bittern at the Ice Pond for those who arrived later. It was a solid afternoon overall, with bird activity continuing right up until dinnertime.
Cape May Warblers in a wide variety of plumages is always one of the highlights of any fall weekend on Monhegan
.Unfortunately, our best bird of the day was almost the one that got away. Almost! While viewing an Indigo Bunting in the Community Garden, a second bunting snuck into view, skulking. It briefly popped out, and I yelled “get photos” and then it popped back into the weeds and was not to be seen again.
“Did I see green?” I exclaimed, but it was so fleeting, and the light was so harsh, and the bird was so, so pale, I couldn’t be sure. I looked at photos on the back of cameras in the sun, and we had a good discussion on why this could have been a Painted Bunting. Unfortunately, I have little experience with first fall female (presumably) Painted Buntings and had no idea they could be this unbelievably drab. So I talked myself out of it.
Overnight, I received photos from Bill Thompson, who, an hour or two after we saw the bunting, also briefly saw and photographed it. “Is this a Painted Bunting?” he asked.
Yup, that really does have green on it, and on more than one side – in other words, not a reflection. Darn it. It counts for us – we all saw it – but in hindsight, we should have gotten the word out about a “possible/probable” Painted Bunting and had more eyes looking. Luckily, Bill was in the right place at the right time once again! But I felt like I had blown this one. I was too quick to dismiss it and so I decided I would have to make up for it over the rest of the weekend. Maybe the dry cold front that passed through on Friday evening and shifted the winds would help.
A very strong flight Friday night into Saturday morning on a diminishing northwesterly wind was idea for bringing birds to Monhegan Island come sunrise. And at first light, it was clear it was on!
The Morning Flight featured tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers with the occasional Palm and Blackpoll Warbler. Between the morning flight and our pre-breakfast stroll, we had a lot of birds: a couple of waves of Dark-eyed Juncos, bunches of Red-breasted Nuthatches, more Golden-crowned Kinglets and Purple Finches, insane views of Peregrine Falcons, 2 Dickcissels, 4 Baltimore Orioles, and lots of great views of lots of common species.
After breakfast, it remained fantastic. Just birds everywhere, and not surprisingly, some notable species began to be turned up. Our first “chase” was a Yellow-throated Warbler, our group arriving just in time before it took off.
Luckily, Dan Gardoqui and I stumbled upon it again while foraging for lunch, and I was able to round up several of the group members for improved views and photographs.
The American Bittern was now in the marsh, there were now three Dickcissels, 8 Baltimore Orioles, and a second, but definitively identified Indigo Bunting. No green one, unfortunately.
Not surprisingly on such a nice day, the afternoon was slower, as birds had departed the island early, or had now sought refuge in the shadows, especially with the continuing activity of Peregrines, Merlins, and Sharp-shinned Hawks. So, we checked some nooks and crannies, turning up a Nelson’s Sparrow at Lobster Cove and enjoying gliding Peregrine Falcons passing right in front of us from Burnt Head. We also took the time to enjoy butterflies, plants, and all other walks of life.
It was a delightful afternoon, but we returned to town to find we had missed out on a Western Kingbird. Luckily, a few of us caught up with it at dusk when it was refound near the Mooring Chain.
(phone-binned photo under low light)
So, it was a great day, and given the winds and weather, we expected it to be such. Then, with little to no movement overnight (at least visible on the radar), on a light south to southwest wind, we hoped for some birds to stick around from Saturday and perhaps be augmented by a rarity or two. At the very least, I wanted to show the Yellow-throated Warbler and Western Kingbird to the rest of the group, especially with a big turnover in participants for the second half of the weekend.
What we didn’t expect was to run out of superlatives before breakfast. We certainly did not expect it after viewing the Morning Flight, which consisted of exactly one American Pipit (and the big wandering flock of Cedar Waxwings, of course).
Once again, a bird was identified from photo review (what did we do before Instant Replay?!) and Bill Thompson and Jess Bishop had apparently discovered a Mega rare Bell’s Vireo on Saturday with only 4 accepted previous records for Maine. With such a slow morning flight, I decided to mix things up from my usual routine, head clockwise through my usual dawn loop, and give it a try to find the Bell’s. We stopped near where it was seen on Saturday, and chatted about the rarity, the identification, etc. “Holy shit, there it is!” I tried not to exclaim too loudly as the bird popped out right in front of us.
We observed it for about 10-15 minutes as it popped in and out of a brushy edge, focusing on feeding in young cherry trees with fall webworm clusters. Birders began to arrive from all directions, as the vireo kept coming in and out of view before flying right over our heads and disappearing deep into a dense thicket.
I’ll steal Bill Thompson‘s (with permission of course) Bell’s Vireo from this morning since he was standing next to us.
It was getting too crowded for our tastes, so we moved on and let others have the edge to monitor. We enjoyed Cedar Waxwings, Northern Flickers, and then took a moment to pause at our usual starting spot, at the spruces behind the Yew.
It was slow, and quiet, and so I was making sure we looked at everything, like the one solo warbler flying towards us from across the sky over the Trailing Yew. It then landed a short distance away, and I brought my binoculars up to it, assuming we had a close Yellow-rumped Warbler to talk about.
<expletives deleted>
A Black-throated Gray Warbler, with only 5 previous records from Maine, was there. Right there. We had some great looks and photo ops, called over a friend, and then watched it the herd of birders arrive and head out to follow it. What a lucky find! We were ecstatic. And we still hadn’t had breakfast! (See photos from tomorrow),
Wondering if the day could get any better – and pretty content if it did not – we reconvened after breakfast and headed in the opposite direction from the searching masses, as I am wont to do.
It worked again: we found one Lark Sparrow, and then another. How many Clay-colored Sparrows – 4? 8? More? An Orange-crowned Warbler at the Ice Pond, a fly-over Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Pine Warbler, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on every tree. So much for it being a slow day.
Another warm afternoon sent us into the woods for shade, immersing ourselves in a cacophony of Red-breasted Nuthatches, sprinkled with Golden-crowned Kinglets, and the occasional Red-eyed Vireo or other migrant. We took in the Fringed Gentian, the scenery, and finished strong with the 2 Lark Sparrows and 4 Clay-colored Sparrows together.
Today was a good day.
Monday, the fourth and final day of the tour began with excited anticipation with another strong flight overnight on a diminishing NW to W wind. But today, it was just too nice, and a lot of last night’s birds passed overhead resulting in just a light Morning Flight come sunrise. But there was a turnover of birds, and our morning walk added several things to our list including the Eastern Kingbird we finally caught up with, and another Orange-crowned Warbler. The highlight, however, of our pre-breakfast jaunt was a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew to a spruce, plucked a cone off of an outer branch, and then proceeded to play with it! It would move it from its bill to its talons, and then it dropped it, chasing it down the tree. It then flew back up and grabbed another! What a remarkable insight into how a kid Sharpie gets better at hunting on its own.
After breakfast, the good Merlin show of the day continued, and we took time for a short gull identification workshop. Our first Ring-billed Gull out here was good to practice on, and we conveniently had three Lesser Black-backed Gulls: an adult and 2 first-cycle birds. But mostly, we worked through the difference between each age class of the common Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.
We finally picked up a Northern Waterthrush- our 20th species of warbler on the weekend! But otherwise, it was pretty slow.
It was slow in the afternoon, too, but the Black-throated Gray Warbler had been refound just before we reconvened after lunch, and eventually we were all treated to much, much better views and photo ops than the morning before.
We then twitched a rare Common Buckeye butterfly and Lady’s Tresses orchids.
Our last new species of the trip was one of the last birds we observed together: a Yellow-billed Cuckoo eating American Dagger Moth and/or Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillars. Watching it whack the caterpillar on a twig to beat off its irritating hairs, we had another moment of insight into a bird’s world.
With the tour now complete, Jeannete and I enjoyed a delicious sunset and delightful food with friends and spotted an American Woodcock on our walk back.
And finished with another meal of Monhegan indulgence.
As usual, Jeannette and I then spent our Tuesday off together on the island. After a light morning flight, but another turnover of birds, we decided to spend most of the morning in the woods, ostensibly looking for a previously reported Black-backed Woodpecker. But mostly, we wanted to take a hike along the island’s less-visited north end. We added Winter Wren and an Ovenbird to our weekend list, enjoyed the silly amount of Red-breasted Nuthatches, and encountered several pockets of White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. Later, after lunch, we ran into a Black-billed Cuckoo, and a Spotted Sandpiper at the dock turned out to be our 100th and final bird of a truly exceptional weekend on Monhegan. We already cannot wait to return in May!
Species seen without the tour group during the tour:
*Denotes ferry only
9/26
9/27
9/28
9/29
Canada Goose
0
0
14
0
Blue-winged Teal
1
0
0
0
Mallard
15
20
20
20
American Black Duck
1
1
1
0
Common Eider
x
x
x
x
White-winged Scoter
1*
0
0
0
Ring-necked Pheasant
x
x
x
x
Mourning Dove
12
15
12
6
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
0
0
0
1
Common Nighthawk
1
0
0
0
Semipalmated Plover
0
1
1
0
Solitary Sandpiper
1
0
0
0
Greater Yellowlegs
0
1
0
1
Black Guillemot
x
2
3
0
Laughing Gull
4*
0
0
0
Ring-billed Gull
0
0
0
1
Herring Gull
x
x
x
x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
0
0
1
3
Great Black-backed Gull
x
x
x
x
Great Cormorant
1
1
2
1
Double-crested Cormorant
x
x
x
x
AMERICAN BITTERN
1
1
0
0
Osprey
1
3
1
0
Northern Harrier
0
1
0
2
Sharp-shinned Hawk
3
1
2
6
Belted Kingfisher
1
0
1
1
Red-bellied Woodpecker
0
0
1
0
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
8
20
15
20
Downy Woodpecker
0
1
1
1
Northern Flicker
6
10
6
8
American Kestrel
0
0
1
0
Merlin
4
8
6
5
Peregrine Falcon
6
20
3
7
WESTERN KINGBIRD
0
1
0
0
Eastern Kingbird
0
0
0
1
Eastern Wood-Pewee
6
8
1
1
Least Flycatcher
3
2
0
0
Eastern Phoebe
1
3
2
1
BELL’S VIREO
0
0
1
0
Blue-headed Vireo
2
4
3
0
Red-eyed Vireo
12
12
12
12
Blue Jay
8
8
3
3
American Crow
4
2
6
6
Common Raven
0
2
2
1
Black-capped Chickadee
x
x
x
x
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1
3
2
2
Golden-crowned Kinglet
0
20
10
6
Cedar Waxwing
80
80
80
80
Red-breasted Nuthatch
10
60
50
40
Brown Creeper
0
2
0
1
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
1
0
0
1
Carolina Wren
8
6
8
6
Gray Catbird
x
x
x
10
European Starling
14
14
14
13
Swainson’s Thrush
0
2
0
0
American Robin
0
4
1
0
American Pipit
1
6
2
2
Purple Finch
0
10
8
6
Pine Siskin
1
2
1
2
American Goldfinch
8
10
6
6
LARK SPARROW
0
0
2
1
Chipping Sparrow
2
2
10
2
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
3
3
6
1
Dark-eyed Junco
0
30
2
12
White-crowned Sparrow
2
1
2
0
White-throated Sparrow
12
60
10
20
Nelson’s Sparrow
0
1
0
0
Savannah Sparrow
1
4
4
1
Song Sparrow
x
x
x
x
Lincoln’s Sparrow
1
6
5
1
Swamp Sparrow
2
3
2
1
Bobolink
5
5
5
2
Baltimore Oriole
2
8
7
6
Rusty Blackbird
0
2
0
0
Common Grackle
3
3
3
3
Northern Waterthrush
0
0
0
1
Black-and-white Warbler
1
3
0
0
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
0
1
2
1
Nashville Warbler
1
1
0
0
Common Yellowthroat
4
8
8
6
American Redstart
3
4
1
1
Cape May Warbler
2
8
2
8
Northern Parula
3
6
1
0
Magnolia Warbler
0
1
0
0
Yellow Warbler
2
4
2
1
Chestnut-sided Warbler
0
1
0
0
Blackpoll Warbler
8
40
4
4
Black-throated Blue Warbler
0
3
0
0
Palm Warbler
20
60
4
4
Pine Warbler
0
0
1
0
Yellow-rumped Warbler
40
600
40
20
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
0
1
0
0
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER
0
0
1
1
Black-throated Green Warbler
0
6
1
1
Wilson’s Warbler
1
2
0
0
Northern Cardinal
x
8
8
8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
0
1
1
1
Indigo Bunting
1
1
3
2
PAINTED BUNTING
1
0
0
0
DICKCISSEL
2
3
1
1
Day total
67
80
69
68
Species added on Monday evening and Tuesday, with Jeannette:
Common Loon, Spotted Sandpiper, American Woodcock, Black-billed Cuckoo, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Ovenbird (warbler #21!),
Tour total = 100 Total Weekend Total = 107
This winter wren was one of the last birds Jeannette and I added to the cumulative weekend list as we spent some time on our day off hiking the island’s north end.
It might not “count,” but the Ring-necked Pheasants on Monhegan are iconic!
Approaching the island on Friday, 9/27, the fog was rapidly lifting on the mainland, and the skies were clearing. High seas from the previous days were steadily diminishing. An offshore fogbank reduced our chances to see many birds during the boatride, but by the time we reach the island, the sun was shining through.
Things seemed fairly slow, but there were birds here and there. One single bush hosted all three Melospizas: Lincoln’s, Swamp, and Song Sparrows, and one of the tarrying Baltimore Orioles soon joined them. It was a relaxed start to the weekend, affording us time to check in and enjoy lunch before returning to the birding.
We don’t just look at rare birds, we study the common ones…at least on a slow day! Like this cooperative Song Sparrow
The afternoon was quite slow, as expected from the preceding nights with little or no migration on unfavorable winds, but we had birds to look at: Yellow-rumped Warblers sallying for midges at the top of spruces, scattered assorted sparrows, lots of great Merlin performances, and no shortage of Ring-necked Pheasants.
As usual for the end of September, Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most abundant migrant. This one was nicely demonstarting what makes it a “Myrtle Warbler.”
As the sun set, a huge flight was taking off and continued throughout the night. Very light northwesterly winds overnight were a little lighter than I would have preferred, but there was just a massive amount of birds on the move, and a great Morning Flight on Saturday morning to start our day was indicative of that.
The radar return was huge overnight, with lots of birds on the move. We did wonder, however, if that blob over the Mid-Coast was an isolated shower…or perhaps it was “Independence Day!“
Yellow-rumped Warblers filled the air, with handfuls of Blackpoll Warblers and a small number of Northern Parulas. After the morning flight settled down, the rest of our am was also very good. While the very light winds allowed much of the birds partaking in the Morning Flight to leave the island, there were plenty of birds remaining on the island to be seen. In addition to Yellow-rumps, there was a good arrival of White-throated and other sparrows, and pockets of activity were sifted through, producing a wide array of fun birds.
A Dickcissel in the community farm and a total of 6-7 Baltimore Orioles nearby were soon trumped when a first fall female Mourning Warbler actually walked into the open for all to see (for a change) …on a plywood garden table nonetheless! We found a Clay-colored Sparrow feeding amongst Chipping Sparrows, discovered a rather rare on the island Pine Warbler, and enjoyed a nice variety of the expected seasonal migrants.
Clay-colored SparrowClay-colored Sparrow with a molting juvenile Chipping Sparrow in the foreground.
Lovely weather all day encouraged us to enjoy an afternoon on Burnt Head, were we picked up a tardy Chestnut-sided Warbler and a rather rare in the fall on the island juvenile Ring-billed Gull. We also noticed a lot more Red-eyed Vireos during the course of the day, with many at and below eye level.
While a rare Yellow-crowned Night-Heron called over the harbor at nightfall, I was wandering on my own so it doesn’t count for the group, unfortunately. I was still pleasantly surprised by it, and it punctuated the calls of songbirds departing the island.
Luckily, a moderate flight occurred throughout the night (the overall intensity was a little obscured by fog on the radar images) on light west winds that had become calm by morning. Those calm and cooling conditions allowed fog to roll back in, and the Morning Flight was just a trickle to start on Sunday morning, our last morning together.
However, once the sun burned through, birds were in the air and appearing out of nowhere, and the birding really picked up. In flight, it was mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers, but there were more Palm Warblers involved today. We began finding “new” species for the trip list, like a Cape May Warbler, some recently-arrived American Robins, and we enjoyed watching a swirling flock of 16 migrant Black-capped Chickadees.
Late Blackburnian Warbler
After breakfast, the birding was overall quite a bit slower than Saturday, but the quantity was replaced by quality! An Orange-crowned Warbler at the Ice Pond, a continuing female Dickcissel in the cul-de-sac, two different Clay-colored Sparrows. Pockets of activity offered up nice views of a male Cape May Warbler, a few Blackpoll Warblers, and then we found not one, but 3 Nelson’s Sparrows in the Lobster Cove meadow – one even perched conspicuously enough to be viewed by all!
Nelson;s Sparrow sitting in what passes for “the open” with this species!Dickcissel
As the group trickled home, the last participants standing joined me in a little longer hike from Lobster Cove to Burnt Head, which yielded two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, more Great Cormorants, and yet another Orange-crowned Warbler to bring the official tour to a productive conclusion.
I remained on the island overnight, and with light southerly winds and a return of the fog, there was very little in Morning Flight and to start the day. But the day had a “rarity” feel to it (southwest winds overnight will do that!), and my Rarity Fever was soon stoked by a wayward Yellow-billed Cuckoo that sat still for me, gaining the first rays of sunshine of the morning, in a small tree in the Monhegan House lawn. Two Rusty Blackbirds were foraging on the lawn, and once the sun came up, a few more Yellow-rumped Warblers began to appear.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
But as Jessica Bishop and I began a post-breakfast search, the What’s App began to ping. Ken and Sue Feustel had just found an Ash-throated Flycatcher on Wharton Ave, and we did a quick 180 and began the march back across town. The ample Trailing Yew breakfast was weighing on me, however, so my speed could have been improved. Nonetheless, the bird had disappeared before we arrived, so we fanned out to search.
After a short spell, I relocated the bird behind the Trailing Yew, and Jess rushed over and we began photographing it as the rest of the island’s remaining birders convened, including Donna the last member of my to depart. And she was quite happy with the decision to linger to say the least! (The tour was officially over, so this gem doesn’t count for the official triplist…darn!)
We studied the flycatcher, and I made sure to get a shot of the tail that would be adequate for identification confirmation (to rule out an even rarer Myiarchus flycatcher). Here, you can see the outer tail feather on one side, showing the dark brown of the outer web intruding into the end of the inner web – diagnostic for Ash-throated.
This was my 227th Monhegan Bird, and the island’s 3rd-ever, of this southwestern vagrant. What a bird!
While the rest of the day was a little anticlimactic from a birding perspective, Jeannette arrived and we set out to search for the now-missing Ash-throat and whatever else we might stumble upon. Two Clay-colored Sparrows were now together, one of the Orange-crowned Warblers was still at the Ice Pond, and at least one Nelson’s Sparrow was still at Lobster Cove. At dusk, two Wilson’s Snipe launched out of the town marsh, and at sunset, a migrant Great Blue Heron flew over. No sign of the Ash-throat for the rest of the day, unfortunately.
Orange-crowned WarblerPeregrine Falcon
On Tuesday, Jeannette and I awoke to a strong flight on the overnight radar image, but as expected on a north to north-east wind by dawn, only fairly a light Morning Flight occurred. Made up of at least 95% Yellow-rumped Warblers, it was a little busier than I expected, but it ended by about 7:00am. Granted, at least two hunting Peregrine Falcons may have had something to do with that.
We watched a Wilson’s Snipe evading a Merlin in flight, and some more new species for the weekend were overhead, including a Horned Lark, an Osprey, and a Semipalmated Plover. There were at least a half-dozen American Pipits in morning flight, and a new-to-us Brown Thrasher put in an appearance.
Red-eyed Vireo
After breakfast, it was exceeding slow, but we did have a Dickcissel in the garden, and a Scarlet Tanager joined the remaining Baltimore Orioles in the grapes. But most of our morning was spent chasing a reported Yellow-headed Blackbird (seen by two and never again) and Will Russell briefly relocated the Ash-throated Flycatcher – which looked much healthier today and was much more active. In other words, it was soon once again melting away into the scrub. It kept us occupied until it was time to depart, however.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
A very pleasant boat ride back to the mainland for Jeannette and I was far too nice to produce any seabirds of note, but it was a lovely way to finish up a delightful and fruitful fall weekend.
Here’s the official tour checklist:
27-Sept
28-Sept
29-Sept
American Black Duck
0
0
1
Mallard
8
12
16
Green-winged Teal
0
0
1
Common Eider
x
x
x
Black Scoter
0
0
8
Ring-necked Pheasant
15
15
25
Mourning Dove
10
15
12
Black Guillemot
x
x
x
Laughing Gull
8*
0
2
Ring-billed Gull
0
1
0
Herring Gull
x
x
x
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
0
0
2
Great Black-backed Gull
x
x
x
Common Loon
1*
0
0
Northern Gannet
2*
0
1
Double-crested Cormorant
x
x
x
Great Cormorant
0
1
5
Bald Eagle
2*
0
1
Sharp-shinned Hawk
2
4
4
Belted Kingfisher
1
0
1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
0
20
20
Downy Woodpecker
2
4
3
Northern Flicker
3
15
15
Merlin
6
8
6
Peregrine Falcon
2
3
4
Eastern Phoebe
0
3
3
Blue-headed Vireo
0
3
4
Red-eyed Vireo
1
30
25
Blue Jay
9
13
9
American Crow
4
4
4
Common Raven
0
1
1
Black-capped Chickadee
x
x
30
Golden-crowned Kinglet
4
15
40
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2
10
20
Cedar Waxwing
30
40
40
Red-breasted Nuthatch
2
8
6
Brown Creeper
0
4
4
House Wren
0
1
0
Carolina Wren
5
10
10
Gray Catbird
10
x
x
Northern Mockingbird
2
2
3
European Starling
x
26
26
Hermit Thrush
0
1
0
American Robin
0
0
2
American Pipit
0
3
3
Purple Finch
0
4
5
American Goldfinch
10
10
8
Chipping Sparrow
0
10
12
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
0
1
2
Dark-eyed Junco
0
4
2
White-throated Sparrow
15
50
60
NELSON’S SPARROW
0
0
3
Savannah Sparrow
1
6
10
Song Sparrow
x
x
x
Lincoln’s Sparrow
1
5
4
Swamp Sparrow
2
15
20
Rusty Blackbird
0
4
2
Common Grackle
2
20
20
Baltimore Oriole
2
7
6
Northern Waterthrush
0
1
0
Black-and-white Warbler
0
0
3
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
0
0
2
Nashville Warbler
0
3
0
American Redstart
0
1
0
MOURNING WARBLER
0
1
0
Common Yellowthroat
0
8
10
Cape May Warbler
0
1
3
Northern Parula
1
15
15
Blackburnian Warbler
0
0
2
Yellow Warbler
0
2
1
Chestnut-sided Warbler
0
1
1
Blackpoll Warbler
6
25
15
Black-throated Blue Warbler
0
0
1
Palm Warbler
1
30
20
PINE WARBLER
0
2
1
Yellow-rumped Warbler
20
150
100
Black-throated Green Warbler
0
10
3
Wilson’s Warbler
0
1
0
Northern Cardinal
8
10
6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
1
0
1
Indigo Bunting
0
1
1
DICKCISSEL
1
1-2
1
Day Total
44
68
73
Warbler day total
4
15
14
3-Day Tour total=
81
Plus with Jeannette after the group and on my own =
13
Total warblers =
19+1
Molting juvenile Cedar Waxwing learning how to eat Winterberry.
And the additional species seen by me without the group, on Monday, and on Tuesday:
This Blue Grosbeak was among the highlights of an incredible weekend on the island.
“It was like the good ol’ days!” When every other bird you saw was a rare one, and you barely walked 10 steps before finding more birds. But this was not what we were expecting, and the weekend sure didn’t start out that way!
After a very rough boat ride, we were still putting ourselves back together when one birder said “Go back, there are no birds here.” Apparently, it had been a dreadfully slow week of little migration, but at least nice weather. This weekend, the weather wasn’t supposed to be very nice. So without many birds on the island, and quite a bit of rain on the way, were less enthused about arriving than usual…well, that might have had something to do with the boat ride.
And I am not sure if it helped that one of the first birds I looked at was a rare hybrid Herring X Great Black-backed Gull. I am not sure if anyone was ready to take in gull hybrids yet. Even more when we feared that this could be our best bird of the trip if the pattern held.
And sure enough, it was a very slow afternoon. But we did have good luck. We found a Sora that walked out into an open patch of mud, quickly caught up with the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull that has been hanging around, and after lunch immediately found the Least Sandpiper and Spotted Sandpiper at Lobster Cove that have been playing hard to get all week. There was also a good Northern Gannet show, which is always a treat. So at least we were seeing what was around, which sadly, really was not very much. But hey, it still hadn’t rained!
Least and Spotted Sandpipers – shorebirds are few and far between on the island.
A period of rain, heavy at times, fell overnight, but the band was much narrower and less heavy than forecast. It did not rain all night, and it even appeared that a light flight of migrants had developed on the radar after midnight. And sure enough, come dawn, there was a light Morning Flight overhead. It was mostly Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll Warblers, but hey, there were new birds around! And once, again, it was not raining.
A fly-over Dickcissel or two, a calling Gray-cheeked Thrush, and more. Birds! Yay!
Then, after breakfast, I went to spread some seed in my favorite corner to attract some birds for the group to enjoy this morning. Turning the corner near the famous “Chat Bridge” a shockingly bright flash of the most intense yellow you can imagine. And blue wings, and a flash of white in the tail. Prothonotary Warbler I exclaimed to no one around.
I raced back towards the group meeting point and sent them on their way. Kristen Lindquist took off running. I eventually made it back with the rest of the group and we divided to conquer. Kristen and about half the group spotted it repeatedly, while it remained tantalizingly out of view from where I and others were standing.
As other birders converged, a classic “Patagonia Picnic Table Effect” occurred. First, there were two Dickcissels, then I spotted a Yellow-breasted Chat making a short flight over the brush. While searching for that, Ilsa spotted a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that would sit still, preening, for well over and hour. It might have been the most cooperative cuckoo ever on the island! Another group had a brief look at a Clay-colored Sparrow.
Unfortunately, the Prothonotary Warbler was never seen again.
Yellow-billed Cuckoos don’t usually sit this still for this long. This bird was likely exhausted after just arriving on the island.In case you didn’t see it’s yellow bill.
It was already a pretty amazing day for one that we thought would be a wash-out. And it was still not raining. After our lunch break, we convened at the Monhegan House at 1:30, and spent the next hour and a half on its lawn, and going no where else.
One Dickcissel became two, and then four, and when the group finally took off together, we were shocked to confirm a genuine flock of 8 Dickcissels – exceptional, even for Monhegan. And there were not one, but two Clay-colored Sparrows! And other birds just kept arriving, as standing in one spot saw our list quickly grow: American Redstart, Brown Creeper, Warbling Vireo, etc, etc. One “Western” Palm Warbler became 4, a couple of Cape May Warblers paid us a visit, a Savannah Sparrow dropped in…
It was truly incredible! It felt like my first tours here 15 years ago. By now, a light shower was falling, but we didn’t seem to care. We finally pulled ourselves away as the action waned, wanting to see what the next hot corner would offer. After spotting at least 8 Baltimore Orioles along Pumphouse Road, the rain finally arrived in earnest by about 3:30pm. We called it quits, but considering the day we had, no complaints were to be heard. It was a really special day; one that will not soon be forgotten.
While it was more accurately “180-degree misorientation” and other forms of vagrancy and not “reverse migration” that brought us so many good birds, I brought a special beer out just in case we had a day like we did today!
Rain fell overnight again, and come dawn on Sunday (Day 3), dense fog had rolled in. There were a few Yellow-rumped Warblers overhead, especially during a short respite from the fog, but there were not nearly as many birds around as the day before. But, with fog overnight, we expected birds who were on the island to stay, which was good, because yesterday was awesome and there were still a few birds we had not yet encountered.
It might be a while before they are “countable” again, but the Ring-necked Pheasant population seems to be booming in town.
We delayed the start of the after-breakfast walk to let a batch of heavier rain clear through. We were stuck in such an odd fall weather pattern, with virtually no west-east progression of weather systems. But we had been so lucky with the timing of the rainfall so far, that a little delay was of no concern. Regrouping at 10:00, light showers gave way to just some lingering drizzle by 11, and it soon became apparent that there were new birds around. We had two Prairie Warblers, a Scarlet Tanager joining the growing flock of Baltimore Orioles, and a Blue-winged Teal joined a Green-winged Teal in the marsh. Two Cliff Swallows and a Barn Swallow foraged over Manana, and we had our second Yellow-breasted Chat of the trip – this one in the Island Farm garden on Pumphouse Road. And another Clay-colored Sparrow?
There was a really impressive number of Baltimore Orioles on the island over the weekend.
Pockets of Yellow-rumped Warblers here and there often contained another warbler species or two, and we had good looks at stuff all morning, even often-challenging birds to see with a group like Lincoln’s Sparrows.
And after lunch, the sun was out! We had the Lesser Black-backed Gull again, more looks at Clay-colored Sparrows, and finally the immature male Blue Grosbeak showed up for us, and show it did!
It wasn’t as birdy once the sun was out, but a light raptor flight, including at least 6 Peregrine Falcons helped make up for it.
On Monday, our last day of the tour, it appeared that little moved overnight on a light southwesterly flow aloft. But that had our daydreams going for rarities from our west and southwest. And sure enough, while some of us were dallying over breakfast, a Western Kingbird that Kristen Lindquist found earlier flew right over us at the Yew and alighted nearby!
After breakfast, we “cleaned it up” for the group when we relocated it at the cemetery, affording great looks for all. A slower day finally gave us an opportunity to head into the deeper woods. And while we expected fewer birds in the island’s interior, a couple of mixed-species foraging flocks finally put Red-breasted Nuthatch on the list, and we found the first Pine Warbler of the weekend.
“Look at my tail!” Just in case anyone had hopes of stringing it into a rarer western Tyrannus.
Jeannette joined us by lunchtime, and after lunch, we had a frustratingly brief glimpse of the original Yellow-breasted Chat, along with more great looks at Clay-colored Sparrows.
The tour came to a close with the 3:15 departure back to New Harbor, bringing our incredible four days together to the always-bittersweet end.
Jeannette and I birded the rest of the afternoon together, picking up a few things, like my first “Yellow” Palm Warblers of the weekend and a Solitary Sandpiper. Our walk to dinner yielded a second Pine Warbler, and at the harbor: a juvenile Ring-billed Gull (actually fairly rare out here in the early fall) and another view of the lingering Lesser Black-backed Gull.
On Tuesday, Jeannette and I enjoyed our day off on the island, and Kristen Lindquist joined us for most of the day. A diminishing light southwest wind overnight gave way to a little bit of northwesterly winds by dawn, but it didn’t appear that much had arrived on the island overnight.
At least two, if not three, different Prairie Warblers were around the island. Getting late, a few American Redstarts helped bump up our impressive warbler tally.
However, we soon located a Lark Sparrow found yesterday by Bryan Pfeiffer, the immature male Blue Grosbeak paid us a visit, and we heard the Sora briefly. We then found an Orange-crowned Warbler out past the Ice Pond, my 20th warbler species of the weekend! Unfortunately, we were sans cameras with a little light rain falling.
This Scarlet Tanager was often cooperative at the grape arbor. As per tradition with this tour report: at least one gratuitous “food porn” photo. Here’s the colorful and fresh avocado toast from the Trailing Yew. And here’s one of the island’s resident Black-capped Chickadees…just because.
After lunch, we were excited to find two Lark Sparrows sitting next to each other at the cul-de-sac, there were now two Ring-billed Gulls in the harbor, and yes, there were still at least 4 Clay-colored Sparrows and several Dickcissels around!
Just for a change of pace, we decided to walk the diffuse trail along the island’s southwestern end, but were soon distracted by something large in the water in the distance. Retrieving my scope, it was clear that it was indeed a dead whale, and eventually it floated close enough to identify it as a dead (and rather bloated) Minke Whale. A handful of gulls were around it, and briefly, a quick pass by a jaeger that was too far to claim the identity of. It was a fascinating, if not rather sad, end to our visit as by now it was time for Jeannette and I to head to the dock to return to the real world.
A much more pleasant boat ride back, this time to Port Clyde yielded a number of Common Loons and plenty of Northern Gannets, and a surprise of a small pod of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins. I’m not sure if I have seen this pelagic species from a Monhegan ferry before, or this close to land at all.
And finally, one last “good” bird: a pair of truant American Oystercatchers on Dry Ledges (off of Allen Island)! Interestingly, we had a pair on the same exact ledge on our way back from the island on October 5th of last year.
At least 8 Dickcissels, at least 4 Clay-colored Sparrows, 2 Lark Sparrows, and an Orange-crowned Warbler from the Midwest. A Western Kingbird from the West. A Prothonotary Warbler, 2 Yellow-breasted Chats, and a Blue Grosbeak from the South. 105 total species (102 with the tour) including 20 species of warblers. Yeah, that was a good trip – and the stuff that Monhegan legends are made of, at least sans fallout.
Four of a flock that grew to an impressive 8 Dickcissels, often found in the swale behind the Monhegan House throughout the weekend.
And finally, here is our birdlist from the extraordinary weekend:
9/24 = * denotes ferry ride only 9/27 = * with just Jeannette 9/28 = with Jeannette; *denotes ferry ride only
I don’t usually post my Sandy Point Morning Flight totals here, but today was more than worthy of a little something extra. After 8 nights with little or virtually migration (well, at least not a big flight on ideal winds), clearing skies and a light northwesterly breeze finally opened the floodgates. Here are the 1:00am reflectivity and velocity images, for example.
I am sure Monhegan – where I just spent 5 glorious days (despite the lack of a huge flight; more on that soon!) – was great, Sandy Point was just outstanding. In fact, it was my 3rd highest all-time flight!
Early on, clouds made everything into little black shapes as the intense flight proceeded at all levels. Wind, a cacophony of kinglets ringing in my ears, and the two loudest and most vociferous Tufted Titmice who just stayed screaming in the magic birch all conspired to further reduce my ability to identify birds. But mostly, waves of dozens at a time were simply clicked as “unidentified” as I tried to keep pace with quantifying the flight. Furthermore, there were at least 3-4 hunting Merling, a Cooper’s Hawk, and a Peregrine Falcon, which added to the swirling chaos. It was a challenge, that’s for sure. “I do this for fun?” I asked Matthew.
Here’s the scorecard from the Morning Flight of birds that passed over and through Sandy Point, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth this am:
3 Swainson’s Thrushes – including two observed crossing.
3 Tufted Titmice
2 Scarlet Tanagers
2 unidentified vireos
2 Yellow Warblers
2 Red-breasted Nuthatches
2 Tennessee Warblers
2 American Goldfinches
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
1 Pine Warbler
1 White-crowned Sparrow
1 Broad-winged Hawk
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Hermit Thrush
1 unidentified Catharus
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Osprey
X Common Yellowthroats
1 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO – my 7th all-time here. Made 4 “false starts” before crossing at 10:04am.
Cuckoos are such shape-shifters in flight that I feel like I could have counted each pass from the one bird as a different species each time it passed!
For a grand total of 5,487 birds, my *3rd highest all-time count. So yes indeed, birds have very much been backed up.
Meanwhile, adding to the excitement (and chaos) this morning was a massive feeding frenzy of Double-crested Cormorants and gulls. While I am sure a few migrants snuck by overhead, I couldn’t help but take a few moments to enjoy it…and make sure there were no rarities among the gulls! 15-20 Laughing Gulls and 4 Bonaparte’s Gulls joined 75-100 Ring-billed Gulls in snatching the baitfish that the Double-crested Cormorants had pushed right up onto the sandbar as it slowly emerged from the tide. It was quite a show!
