Today I led a trip for Merrymeeting Bay Audubon with a goal of seeing 15 ½ species of sparrows as we traveled between Yarmouth and Scarborough. Well, at least it wasn’t raining, but the strong winds were tough. 9 brave souls joined me to fight the gusts as we covered a significant amount of ground, visited a number of “Secret Spots”, and amassed a total of 64 ½ species of birds.

We met here at the store at 7:00am, as our first site was weather dependent. We saw a Song Sparrow at the feeders for out first sparrow of the day, and 4 lingering Common Grackles were the only ones we saw today.

Our first stop was Twin Brook Recreation Area in Cumberland. We soon added Savannah, White-throated, Swamp, and a single White-crowned Sparrow (Sparrow numbers two through 5). We also had “one that got away” as a very blank-faced sparrow peeking out of the corn stalks may have been a sought-after Grasshopper Sparrow – but I guess we will never know! Two Pine Siskins flew over, a late Red-winged Blackbird and a Blue-headed Vireo were present, and raptors (2+ Sharp-shinned Hawks, a Red-tailed Hawk, and an American Kestrel) put on a good show. About 12 Wood Ducks and a Great Blue Heron in the flooded creek were nice to see as well.

Dragon Field in Portland, having been mowed recently, produced little, but we did have a tardy House Wren, Northern Parula, and another Blue-headed Vireo. The wind-swept Eastern Promenade was dead, but an offshore feeding frenzy of 150-200 Double-crested Cormorants attracted 4 Bonaparte’s Gulls for a good study. (And no new “Prom birds” for me.)

My stomach was demanding attention by now, and my suggestion of hot soup seemed to go over well, so we stopped for lunch at O’Naturals in downtown Portland. The Butternut Squash Apple soup – my favorite there - was certainly one of the highlights for many on this blustery day of birding!

After refueling, Capisic Pond Park produced some good looks at a couple of Hermit Thrushes, and more Yellow Palm Warblers, and a flyby Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Next on the agenda was fighting the winds on Eastern Road in Scarborough Marsh. Savannah Sparrows were all over the sides of the road, and luckily the most cooperative one was one of our target birds of the day – an Ipswich Savannah Sparrow, the large and sandy-colored race that breeds on Cape Sable Island. It provided great scope views as it fed on grass seeds in the shelter of some brush. This subspecies was our “1/2” species of sparrow that we were after. We caught glimpses of 3-4 Sharp-tailed Sparrows hopping out of the marsh, but the wind quickly whipped them away, so we could not identify them to species. So, “Unidentified sharp-tailed sparrow” was sparrows species #6 ½ for the day. An adult Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Great Egret, and a Belted Kingfisher were among the species added to the day list here.

We buzzed through a couple of brushy “secret spots,” with little to show for it, before we hit some good activity at the Wainright Farm Recreation Area in South Portland. Another Blue-headed Vireo was seen, more Yellow Palm Warblers, our only Western Palm Warbler of the day, and FINALLY – a few Dark-eyed Juncos (sparrow species #7 ½). We also added Winter Wren to the day list.

Our final stop at the Highland Avenue Cemetery/South Portland Transfer Station was very productive – one of our birdiest stops of the day. A flock of 25-30 Chipping Sparrows (sparrow species number 8 ½) erupted out of the grass and were tossed by the wind into the trees. We probably confirmed less than half of them as Chipping Sparrows – could there have been a Clay-colored in there???. We flushed 2 more Wood Ducks and about a dozen Green-winged Teal out of the pond, and we had great looks at more Song, Savannah, and an immature White-crowned Sparrow. The path through the woods yielded 2 more Hermit Thrushes and a late Black-throated Blue Warbler – my favorite warbler. A Cooper’s Hawk overhead was our 6th species of raptor.

So, all in all, it was quite a good day, despite the trying conditions. Everyone (seemed) to have a good time! We finished well short of our sparrow goal of 15 ½ species, but considering the wind 8 ½ wasn’t too bad. 4 species of warblers, 6 species of raptors, and 64 ½ species totals – and some great soup – made for a very good day of birding.