A clear, calm night last night produced a decent flight for this morning. I began at Bayview Preserve with Ian, and we noted about 10 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 3 Palm Warblers, 5 Hermit Thrushes, and a Blue-headed Vireo among others. Next, at Cumberland's Twin Brook Recreation Area, I had a good tally of 31 Hermit Thrushes and 23 Savannah Sparrows, plus the local pair of American Kestrels.

With clear and calm conditions for the next few nights, I would expect a steady progression of migrants. They're certainly on the way, take a look at the skies over New Jersey on the Wednesday night, for example.

Some other bird news of late include the amazing, and the hilarious.

Now, closer to home, I would just like to take a moment to mention a new and exciting feature at our store. Jeannette and I believe in promoting local artists, and we have been trying to figure out a way to do more. Unfortunately, we are unable to fit into the store all of the great creations that many local artists have brought to us over the past year and a half. Therefore, we have created our "Maine Artist Feature Day," which we hope to make into a monthly series.

We'll provide a table, and advertising, free of charge to a Maine artist to spend one Saturday each month with us, showing -and hopefully selling - their works. Free retail space and free promotion is tough to come by, so we're excited to offer this opportunity.

Tomorrow, we begin this monthly series when we welcome Debbie Stubbs, a wildlife photographer from South Portland. Debbie will be here from 10-4, displaying her prints and imprinted mugs. (Ane keep an eye on our Calendar of Events for more upcoming Artist Feature Days)>

Also - and one of the reasons that I bring this up on the blog - is that if you (or someone you know) is a Maine artist (painter, photographer, writer, etc), we'd love to meet you! We invite any artist - certainly bird-oriented is great, but anything nature-related is welcome - to get in touch with us, so please, spread the word!