Maine Outdoor Journal

Light northerly winds Wednesday night into Thursday morning and clear skies resulted in a fairly good migration for the late date. Here are the 10pm and 2am radar images for example:




I probably would have given Sandy Point a try (although it’s usually not too productive in a north wind), but I had a full day of private guiding in store instead. Penny, visiting us from Virginia, hired me for a “general birding” tour, where we hit a bunch of different habitats, and spent time with a wide range of species. While we did twitch (or attempt to twitch) a couple of rarities, just to spice things up, most of the day was spent focusing on various groups of birds in various places – sort of a sampler of birding in Maine.

And, our diverse day perfectly exemplified how much fun birding in Maine (and most places) is in October. A few new arrivals, a few lingering migrants, and increasing diversity of ducks all make for a fun-filled day of birding.

Meeting in Topsham, we traveled through Portland, South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, and Sprawlborough, sampling various habitats in each. If one particular locale was productive, we would then check similar habitats nearby. If something was “dead” we would move on. This methodology yielded a nice, diverse day list with a respectable total of 67 species. 19 species of waterfowl was also a highlight.

Here are some of the highlights:
- 1 Snow Bunting (first of fall); 53 Red-winged Blackbirds and 6 Common
Grackles; 1 Hermit Thrush; 1 Fox Sparrow (first of fall); Dragon Field, Portland.
- 2 Hermit Thrushes, Sheridan Street, Portland.
- 1 Gray Catbird, Joe's Pond Park, South Portland.
- 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Joe's Pond Park.
- 1 Common Yellowthroat, Maxwell's Farm, Cape Elizabeth.
- NO SANDHILL CRANE, Maxwell's Farm, 10:15-10:45am.
- 1 drake Harlequin Duck (first of fall), Two Lights State Park, Cape
Elizabeth.
- 300+ Dunlin, 74 Black-bellied Plovers, 100+ Bonaparte's Gulls, ~30 Snow Buntings, Pine Point, Scarborough.
- 1 Merlin, over Washington Avenue, Portland.
- 3 PINK-FOOTED GEESE, Thornhurst Farm, North Yarmouth, 2:30-3:00pm.

- Sabattus Pond, Sabattus:
241 Lesser Scaup
198 Mallards
56 Ruddy Ducks
36 Common Goldeneyes
31 Ring-necked Ducks
16 American Black Ducks
15 Bufflehead
12 Greater Scaup
9 Common Mergansers
9 Hooded Mergansers
6 Surf Scoters
3 Common Loons
2 Horned Grebes
1 female Long-tailed Duck
. . . plus 6 Snow Buntings along southern shore

Other waterfowl species recorded here and there: Common Eider, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser for our nice early-waterfowl-season tally.

We covered a lot of ground on Thursday, so I decided to birds sans car on Friday morning, and embark on my 6-mile Pownal “neighborhood loop.” With the exception of American Robins and Dark-eyed Juncos, migrants were few and far between, limited to only 3 Song Sparrows, 3 Eastern Bluebirds, 4 Common Grackles, and – OH-NO – my first two American Tree Sparrows of the season (winter can’t be far off!). I also was surprised to hear a Carolina Wren along Merrill Road, near its terminus at Hodson Rd.

Finches were also very sparse – about a dozen American Goldfinches, but not a single Purple Finch or Pine Siskin. And, only 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches. The early-season irruptives are virtually non-existent this year. Last year, my Pownal loop on 10/27 yielded 22 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 18 Purple Finches, and 4 Pine Siskins. Here’s hoping for redpolls this winter. Otherwise, February feeder watching here in Maine is not going to be very exciting!

The lack of migrants at dawn this morning suggested a light flight overnight, and sure enough, despite calm winds, it was just a trickle of birds. Here’s the midnight radar image for example:


So, our very active weather pattern continues, and unfortunately, the next storm system – due to arrive tonight and into tomorrow – has claimed its first victim – our 6-hr Portland Pelagic. With a prediction of 6-8 foot seas and potential gales, we are forced to pull the plug. I guess we’ll all have to get our Great Skuas next year.

I’m really bummed about this, but this is the risk that you run when you try to organize October pelagic trips in the Gulf of Maine!

As a (very small) consolation prize, I will now have a Saturday Morning Birdwalk – meet at the store at 8:00am as usual.

And, don’t forget – next Wednesday, 4:00-6:00pm: David Allen Sibley at the store to sign his new spectacular “Sibley Guide to Trees.”

He will give a presentation and be on hand to sign copies of his new book. The book will be available for purchase (at a 10% discount during the event). We will also have free coffee (bird-friendly and organic, of course!) along with other snacks and refreshments. Don't miss this opportunity to meet one of the world's most talented nature artists!

I must say, this book is truly remarkable! In fact, I think it may be more revolutionary - in comparison to other options on the market and improved utility - than was his bird book!

And finally, today, I will now be leading the 2010 Minnesota in Winter tour for Wings. This is a great opportunity to snag such species as Boreal, Great Gray, and Northern Hawk-owl, along with the other fun boreal residents and irruptives, such as Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, crossbills, Gray Jays, Black-backed and American Three-toed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee, Bohemian Waxwing, rare gulls, Gyrfalcon, and much more. The mammal-watching can be quite exciting as well. Take a look at the itinerary and additional information on the WINGS website.