I decided to be greedy and go for another look at the Ash-throated Flycatcher this morning – hey, I earned it, right? But, due to the cloud cover, the sun was slow in getting up this morning, and as expected, the bird was slow in getting out of bed. By 8:20, the sun was just beginning to make it through the clouds, but I decided to take one for the team and be the sacrificial birder – it showed up, to everyone’s delight, 20 minutes after I left!

But, I couldn’t ask for any better views than yesterday, and it was getting a bit crowded there this morning! Plus, I wanted to hit a few Scarborough Marsh spots – that I was planning on getting to yesterday, before being distracted by the Ash-throat!

No flycatchers or anything else too rare, but it was a productive couple of hours. A male Ring-necked Pheasant was along Pine Point Rd – one of the few pheasants that I have seen in Maine away from Cape Elizabeth and Monhegan Island. I wonder if it was a “wild” bird, or just a so-far-lucky hunting-club release.

Pine Point Narrows was absolutely filthy with birds on the low tide this morning. Lots of Common Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers, with very good numbers of Red-necked and Horned Grebes, and White-winged Scoters led the way. Smaller numbers of Common and Red-throated Loons, along with Long-tailed Ducks, Bufflehead, and Surf Scoters were also in the mix. About 20 Bonaparte’s Gulls flitted around, two Black Guillemots were in very close, and two Double-crested Cormorants (they’re mostly gone now) fished the straights as well. Meanwhile, out on the mudflats, 19 Dunlin were joined by two lingering Black-bellied Plovers.

After a few other stops in the marsh, I dropped by Grondin Pond (32 American Black Ducks, 22 Lesser Scaup, 12 American Coot – they’re really making a good showing this fall!, 11 Mallards, 11 Canada Geese, and 2 Ring-necked Ducks) and Prout’s Pond (26 Ruddy Ducks and 3 Common Mergansers), before heading into the store.

And, don’t forget, tomorrow night’s Merrymeeting Audubon program by Louis Bevier. Louis, now a Research Associate at Colby College and a trip leader for Field Guides gained further notoriety this past spring when he joined with David Sibley and others to write a critique of the evidence supporting the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed woodpecker, specifically the “Luneau video.” Detailed, scientific analysis shows there’s more than reasonable doubt that this is not a Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Louis’s presentation will focus on this, and other pertinent questions about this topic. We’re lucky to have such a great ornithological resource nearby to present this program, and I am very much looking forward to it. Join us on Tuesday (the 28th) at 7:00pm at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. (See you there!)