Clearing skies (after multiple days of rain and clouds) and a developing northwest breeze overnight is just the right condition to produce a big morning flight at Yarmouth’s Sandy Point Beach on Cousin’s Island. Migrant passerines that drift offshore correct themselves as dawn approaches. Birds over Casco Bay, for example, head west, either following islands and shorelines, or hop-scotching from island to island. At some point, however, they make the leap to the mainland, to search for food, escape concentrations of predators, or correct for the next night’s flight (or most likely, a combination of all three, but we’re still trying to figure this out). One such “jumping point” is the northwest corner of Cousin’s Island, where there’s a very short water crossing to the mainland.

When large numbers of birds find themselves over Casco Bay as dawn arrives, the birds funnel towards this location, often concentrating in the last few trees near the bridge, contemplating the next flight. Others just stream overhead. Others land in the bushes and woods and forage for a while. This concentration of birds produces some great birding and lots of fun (and challenges!), when conditions are right, and last night, conditions were very right.

And, Sandy Point was on fire this morning. As a matter of fact, from my recollection – but I need to check my notes to confirm this – this was my best August flight (although August by only one day) here. I arrived a little after dawn, 6:10 to be exact, grabbed some clickers, and began a tally at 6:15, which I concluded at 8:45. Many of the warblers and other passerines were high overhead, some identifiable by silhouette, or a obvious pattern. Most others were clicked off as “unidentified.” I’m not great at my high-flying warbler ID, and I am poor at warbler flight calls, so my percentage-identified is usually quite low. However, earlier in the season, such as today, I do a bit better, since a large component of the flight are American Redstarts – easier to identify thanks to their bright wing and tail patches.

However, today was far from just Redstarts! In fact, I tallied 16 species of warblers – while another birder picked up a Prairie Warbler to add to the day’s list. A single Mourning Warbler that I spotted overhead was a real treat. Add to that: 5 species of flycatchers, two species of vireo, 3 species of blackbird, one species of thrush, two species of sparrow, both species of Kinglets, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, an Indigo Bunting, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and last, but definitely not least, a Dickcissel (the bird with the silly name and a call that sounds like a fart) – my first of the fall. 36 species in all!

It’s on!

Here’s the tally:
Total:
Unidentified warblers: 211
American Redstart: 80
Northern Parula: 31
Black-throated Green Warbler: 29
Red-eyed Vireo: 24
Black-and-white Warbler: 17
Least Flycatcher: 9
Chestnut-sided Warbler: 9
Nashville Warbler: 8
Yellow Warbler: 7
Eastern Wood-Pewee: 6
“Traill’s” Flycatcher: 6
Wilson’s Warbler: 6
Unidentified Vireo: 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler: 5
Unidentified Empidonax flycatcher: 4
Magnolia Warbler: 4
Blackpoll Warbler: 4
Red-winged Blackbird: 4
Veery: 3
Common Yellowthroat: 3
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: 2
Unidentified flycatcher: 2
PHILADELPHIA VIREO: 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 2
Bobolink: 2
Merlin: 1
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER: 1
Great-crested Flycatcher: 1
House Wren: 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 1
Pine Warbler: 1
Ovenbird: 1
Northern Waterthrush: 1
MOURING WARBLER: 1
Chipping Sparrow: 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 1
Indigo Bunting: 1
DICKCISSEL: 1
Rusty Blackbird: 1