How can you not like birding in May? It’s a heckuva time to be out in the field. From raptors (see yesterday’s hawkwatch report) to warblers to rarities – stuff is a’ happening!

I hit Florida Lake this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised by the activity. I wonder if birds aloft last night were grounded by the scattered showers and clouds that rolled in early this morning. (I hope to see some reports from places like Evergreen Cemetery to confirm this suspicion.) As is typical for early in the season – before buds open – bird activity is concentrated near edges of fresh water. I’m assuming that is because of the availability of early-season insects (stoneflies and/or caddisflies and/or mayflies; maybe a fisherman can comment?) in this habitat. Most of our best spring birding in May is at the sunny edges (extra warmth for birds and bugs) of ponds, such as in Evergreen Cemetery, Hinckley Park, etc.

Such was definitely the case at Florida Lake this morning. I estimated 500+ Yellow-rumped Warblers and 100+ “Yellow” Palm Warblers (the Eastern subspecies), all darting around sallying and gleaning for insects on the warm, sunny edges. Activity was impressive: some Palm Warblers were content to just walk around on the grassy dike, others were darting back and forth across the lake. Yellow-rumps were everywhere, many of the males were singing between snapping up treats. This is certainly the densest concentration of warblers that I have seen in a while. It was fantastic!

Sorting through the masses, I turned up one “Western” Palm Warbler (much browner below, with lemon-yellow only on its throat and undertail), 1 Black-and-white Warbler (my first of the spring in Maine), 1-2 Pine Warblers, and a Black-throated Blue Warbler (also a first of the year for me) that was singing from the woods. 5 lingering Ring-necked Ducks and 3 Wood Ducks were in the pond, and an American Bittern (always a treat to see!) stalked its edges. Throw in a handful of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a small swarm of Tree and Northern Rough-winged Swallows overhead, and you make for a great start to any day!

A quick check of the field edge at Hedgehog Mountain Park produced little (no water nearby), but a handful (5) of Yellow Palm Warblers and a single Black-and-white Warbler were visiting our backyard (no water, YET!). Also, I was quite pleased to see a pair of Eastern Phoebes checking out the nesting ledge that we installed for them on our shed.

In other words, if you haven’t done so already, dust off your binoculars and hit the field!

And, if we didn’t need any more excuses to get out and do some birding for the usual May migrant marvels, there are certainly rarities around. A Black-tailed Godwit in Vermont, White-faced Ibises in Massachusetts, and a Purple Gallinule in Connecticut, just to name a few. Here in Maine, we have had two spectacular rarities, actually. Unfortunately, both were taken to a wildlife rehabber. Last week, it was a Purple Gallinule. This week, it was a (THE?) Yellow-nosed Albatross. Both were emaciated, and the Albatross was found in a York backyard! (Story and video from WGME-13) The Albatross was responding well thanks to forced-feeding, and it is being transferred to a facility at Tufts University. It is very likely that both of these extralimital individuals were directly related to last week’s massive storm. I wonder what else is out there (and hopefully faring better than these two)?