After record high temperatures on Wednesday (90 degrees in Portland) during the day, a cold front, that began to produced a line of thunderstorms in the evening stalled over our area by Thursday morning. A wave of low pressure then moved along the front, producing some substantial, much-need rain.

I wasn’t expecting much to be on the move overnight, but I did here 26 calls between 9:33 and 9:43pm. Plus, a check of the radar this morning seemed to reveal birds were in fact on the move. The midnight radar shows a fair amount of activity . . .

. . . and the velocity images confirms that these were birds moving into the very light SW headwind, producing a NE to SW movement.

This morning, I checked out some of the migrant traps of South Portland (Bug Light Park, Spring Point Light, Hinckley Park, plus Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth and “Mercy Woods” in Portland). Not much. A smattering of migrants – and nothing to write home (blog?) about – with White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and Common Yellowthroats again being the most common migrants. Then, the rain returned, and I headed to work.

Rain is predicted to continue on and off today, with more showers tonight and tomorrow – possibly with some very heavy downpours if a tropical system off of the Carolinas gets sucked into this front. I expect very little to move tonight, unless there’s another break in the rain and clouds as occurred last night. That means Friday night, with clearing skies and a northwesterly wind, should produce fantastic birding for Saturday morning. Birds will be backed up, and the conditions should really allow them to get a move on. And, best of all, I’ll be on Monhegan for it.

Hopefully, this weather will also hold a certain rarity – a Say’s Phoebe – that was discovered here on Wednesday. For one thing, I like Say’s Phoebes. For another, I “called” this bird, and therefore really want to see it! Last fall, I called Ash-throated Flycatcher, and I found one in Saco. This fall, Say’s Phoebe (a bird that has been seen in Maine only a few times) was the bird I was going to find. In fact, I said to Bill last week, “I’ll be on Monhegan (next weekend) finding a Say’s Phoebe.” Then, Will dropped by on Saturday on his way to Monhegan. I said, “Call me when you see a Say’s Phoebe.” Today, he called, and said to Jeannette, “Derek told me to call him when I saw a Say’s Phoebe, so I’m calling . . .” D’oh! Boy, do I hope it sticks! (Do I get half-credit for calling it, even if I don’t see it?)

Anyway, it’s just one more reason why I anxiously await my trip to Monhegan this weekend. It’s such a great place to visit – especially in migration – Say’s Phoebe or not. Plus leading the occasional weekend trip helps to fulfill my inherent wanderlust.

See, some time ago now, when still working as a tour guide in the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, a friend who worked for one of the major tour operators suggested I write his boss to inquire about a full-time tour guiding job. Ya know, get paid to travel around the world and look at birds. Could be worse, right?

After much consideration, I decided full-time tour guiding wasn’t going to be the thing for me. Too much traveling, and far too much time away from a certain woman I had recently met.

However, of late, my wanderlust has come calling again; my urge for continued peregrinations has arisen once again. I still have no interest in being a full-time guide, but I wanted to pursue some more guiding opportunities. I’ve been doing a little more local, private guiding of late, and Jeannette and I have begun to organize other trips in the state - such as our 5 boat trips this summer, and this weekend on Monhegan Island. And, next summer, we will be the leaders for a 18-day adventure to Ecuador and the Galapagos with Tropical Birding.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Will Russell (the same Will that has just scooped me on the aforementioned Say’s Phoebe!), a friend and the owner of the WINGS Birding Tours company. To make a long story short, I have accepted a position as one of their co-leaders. I will likely be doing 1-2 trips a year. Just enough to fulfill my urge to travel and guide, but not too much to impact our lives, business, patch-listing, etc.

My first trip will be as co-leader for “New Mexico in Winter” this January. My fat head is even on the WINGS site now . . .

So, that’s the big news. I hope some of you can join me/us on some of these upcoming adventures. Meanwhile, I’ll be on Monhegan looking for Say’s Phoebes . . . and Bell’s Vireos.