In an attempt to save time in the car, and to save fossil fuels, I have been attempting to combine my birding visits in Portland to the days that I have errands to run in town. That was my plan yesterday, but with the birding so productive, the errands never did get done.

Therefore, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world when the birding this morning was a bit slower than I had expected. The easterly winds and dense fog had moved in much earlier last night than we would of hoped for – the best case scenario would have been for yesterday’s southerly winds to continue and the fog to roll in a couple of hours before dawn. That situation would have set up the conditions for a fallout this morning. However, with fewer birds on the move last night, there were fewer birds to concentrate at a migrant trap such as Evergreen Cemetery, where I started my day today. Now, I am not complaining, as a slow day at Evergreen on May 19 still produced 14 species of warblers (and I missed the best bird of the morning, a Cape May Warbler that was seen by a group). The majority of the action was from American Redstarts and Chestnut-sided Warblers, providing a good opportunity to study the highly variable songs of these two species. I also enjoyed a close-encounter with a Black-crowned Night Heron that was stalking frogs and tadpoles at the pond edge.

After a brief stop at Capisic Pond, I was finally on my way to get those errands done – and they were even completed before the rain began to fall!

Tomorrow at the store, Jeannette and I will be welcoming Durham woodturner Peter Asselyn to the second of our Maine Artist Feature Day. Peter has created his own signature style, which he terms Historic Maine. His fantastic works featuring tree burles include bowls, vases, and even birdhouse ornaments that have been a popular item in our store. His stuff is amazing - you definitely want to check it out. He’ll be here at the store from 10-4ish tomorrow (Saturday).

Prior to seeing Peter’s stuff, join us at 8:00 (meeting here at the store) for a walk with the New England Forestry Foundation to their Arnold Family Forest property in Freeport, as part of NEFF’s Community Forest Discovery Day.