Jeannette and I spent most of our day yesterday birding along the Southern York County Coast. But first, at dawn, we began the day at Sandy Point Beach on Cousin's Island in Yarmouth. With a light west wind and partly cloudy skies overnight, migrants were again on the move. And, as we approach late October, we get into Rarity Season.

There wasn't a whole lot of activity at Sandy Point, with handfuls of Yellow-rumped Warblers, American Robins, and Purple Finches passing overhead. More Dark-eyed Juncos had arrived overnight, while many White-throated Sparrows that were there the day before seemed to depart. A Red-bellied Woodpecker that has been hanging around the area was heard in the distance.

We then headed down the 'Pike to Fort Foster in Kittery. Fort Foster is one of my absolute favorite places in Maine to bird. The habitat and geography combine to make this area a magnet for rarities. I'd bird this park every day if I lived closer! Who knows what would be discovered with regular coverage? Personally, I have seen some fun things like Worm-eating Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and mid-winter Virginia Rails.

No rarities yesterday, but the park was quite birdy. 9 Eastern Phoebes, 2 Field Sparrows, both "Yellow" and one "Western" Palm Warbler, a late Blackpoll Warbler, a Winter Wren, a Blue-headed Vireo, and an "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow were highlights along with good numbers of the expected late-season migrants.

Nearby Seapoint Beach was surprisingly devoid of shorebirds, but the thicket at the end there produced two more Yellow-billed Cuckoos. I have seen more Yellow-billed Cuckoos in the past 3-4 weeks than I have seen in Maine in the previous 3+ years! As we began to walk back to the car, a feeding frenzy developed offshore, led by 200+ Double-crested Cormorants. 25 Red-breasted Mergansers, a dozen Common Loons, and at least 75 Bonaparte's Gulls, along with hundreds of Herring and Ring-billed Gulls joined the festivities. It was quite a site as birds filled most of the cove and gulls covered the beach! Our first Horned Grebe of the season loafed offshore.

Our next stop was The Nubble Light in Cape Neddick. The neighborhood around there is also one of my favorite places to look for vagrants. Here I have found such treats as a December Pine Warbler and a Lark Sparrow. Again, Jeannette and I were vagrant-less today, but we did have a late, large flock of at least 50 Brown-headed Cowbirds. An Eastern Towhee and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, along with scattered small flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos were all detected.

Well we might not have had the First State Record we had hoped for - but any day of birding is a good day of birding - especially when it's not raining!