As darkness fell last night, partly cloudy skies and light, southerly winds opened the migratory floodgates once again. And, for the second night in row, rain developed in the early morning hours. Fallout!?

Here’s the 10pm radar. Lots of birds on the move!

The rain is approaching from the west by midnight.

Then, things get interesting. The 2am and 4am radars follow. Rain is now upon us in the Greater Portland area. But, it seems that birds may still be in the air. It’s tough to tell, and the velocity image didn’t help as both the rain, and the birds, were moving SW to NE. But, the concentration of echoes (greens) along the coast, especially south of Portland seems consistent throughout the night. Tough to tell though, as it could also be low level fog, drizzle, etc.

Since the winds were still southerly – it was a warm front that passed through and produced our rain – and the rain was not too heavy, my guess is that most birds were able to keep going, and while a classic “fallout” or “grounding” was not in the offerings today, there was little doubt that it would be good morning.

The occluded front and an offshore low pressure system pulled away on Sunday, but low level clouds and developing fog with a light north to northwest wind precluded many migrants from arriving, or departing, the area overnight. The radar image confirmed this. In fact, what echoes were on the radar did not seem to be birds (moving too slow, to not moving at all, in very light winds and therefore more likely to have been something like dust and/or pollen).

Nevertheless, I actually had a few new arrivals this morning, and some decent activity here and there. First, I spent about 10 minutes on the back porch, listening and looking for birds passing overhead. Then, I made two laps around the edge of the recreation fields at Hedgehog Mountain Park. The next stop was Florida Lake Park. Then, I returned home, took a spin through the yard, and sat back on the porch to have a snack and sip some tea. By now, the fog had lifted, and clear blue skies were overhead, just in time for me to head up to the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch. Since I expected a big flight Monday night into Tuesday, I did the same exact routine on Tuesday morning in order to compare the two days.

Here’s the comparison:
Monday, 5/5:
Back Porch:
1 flyover Yellow-rumped Warbler

The Hog:
~40 Yellow-rumped Warblers, mostly in one wave through the trees.
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 White-throated Sparrow

Florida Lake Park:
1 male CAPE MAY WARBLER. First of spring, and rather early. A gorgeous bird foraging low (don’t see the back of Cape May’s very often!) at lake edge with Western Palm Warblers.
75+ Yellow-rumped Warblers
12 “Western” Palm Warblers
7 White-throated Sparrows
6 Blue Jays (one migrant flock)
2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Black-and-white Warblers
2 Black-throated Green Warblers
2 Swamp Sparrows
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 “Yellow” Palm Warbler
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, First of year.

Yard/Porch
4 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Common Loon
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Black-throated Green Warbler

Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 9:00am to 1:15pm:
1 SANDHILL CRANE, high over summit, our 2nd of the year!
89 Double-crested Cormorants
24 Purple Finches
23 Tree Swallows
10 Barn Swallows
6 Yellow-rumped Warblers
6 Red-winged Blackbirds
4 Unidentified passerines.
3 Common Loons
3 Chimney Swifts (First of year for me).
3 Blue Jays
3 American Goldfinches
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Pine Warbler (6th warbler species of the day).

Although our Saturday morning birdwalk was not very birdy, it was very instructive. After seeing surprisingly few birds, we sat down at the computer when we returned to the store and tested our hypothesis by viewing the overnight radar images. My suspicions were confirmed – some birds departed, but almost nothing arrived overnight. The highlight was an Eastern Towhee at the Sligo Rd Property in Yarmouth, as we spent the morning exploring a couple of “new” locations.

Meanwhile, light rain and drizzle continued throughout the day (so much for the prediction of partly sunny skies and rain not developing until nightfall). Dane survived 6 damp hours, with limited visibility at the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch before calling it quits, without a single migrant raptor tallied. Sunday was a complete washout. The good news, however, is that the next two days (Monday and Tuesday) look fantastic for a good hawk flight, and since the birds have been backed up for 2 days, I expect some fun and excitement. We’re still 39 birds away from the 3,000 milestone, and the weather this weekend will allow me to be present for #3,000, which should pass sometime late Monday morning, me thinks.

But, as for Sunday morning, well, it wasn’t very nice out! Periods of rain, heavy at times, precluded the movement of any migrants overnight, and drizzle, fog, and a raw easterly wind (with temperatures only in the mid-40’s) greeted our first seasonal, Sunday morning Eastern Promenade Birdwalk, with the Friends of the Eastern Promenade.

I must say, I was very impressed by the hardiness of the 22 (and ½!) folks who turned out for the outing despite the conditions. While only 11 “survived” to the end, the group should be congratulated for their dedication.

Despite these aforementioned conditions, we spotted 24 species, included 8 Laughing Gulls – my first of the spring in the Casco Bay area – roosting on the train bridge. Today was not about a big list, however, but simply getting to know the birds and habitat of the Prom, so scope views of copulating Ospreys, courtship-begging by Northern Mockingbirds, and singing Song Sparrows were just as important.