The store’s first Monhegan Island Migration Weekend trip Saturday (9/29) through Monday (10/1) was a great success. Personally, any visits to Monhegan are rewarding to me, but the trip’s participants also had a great time. A few rarities, some nice counts of common birds, and three very different days of birding were a perfect introduction to birding this spectacular migrant trap.

I boarded the ferry in Port Clyde on Saturday morning, along with Lauren and Barb. At least a hundred Northern Gannets and multiple small flocks of migrant Black Scoters escorted us out, where we met up with Kirk, Linda, Paul, and Marlene. Liz and Julie met up with us a couple of hours later.

With light northwest winds overnight, we hit the ground running, expecting to find the trees dripping with birds. However, birds were relatively few and far between. Apparently, many birds simply passed overhead, and others departed the island at dawn – according to the observations of folks already on the island. We had to work pretty hard for birds, but even a slow day on Monhegan is a good day of birding. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo perched in the open about 50 feet away in full sun was a real treat, and I can’t wait to see Kirk’s photos! While songbirds were sparse, raptors really put on a great show. On light northwest winds, raptors were heading offshore from points north and east, passing over Monhegan, and mostly continuing on to the south. We conservatively tallied 18 Ospreys, 18 Northern Harriers, 10 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 27 American Kestrels, 15 Merlins, and a fantastic 21 Peregrine Falcons. Other highlights of the day included 3 Carolina Wrens, a Black-crowned Night-Heron, and a rare-on-Monhegan Rock Pigeon.

On Sunday, we woke up to light northwest winds and mostly clear skies. And, what a change a day, er night, makes. Birds were simply everywhere! It took us 2 hours just to make our way from the Monhegan House to Lobster Cove and back. Sparrows were the most abundant, but the diversity of warblers was great for the last day of September. Most impressive was the volume of White-crowned Sparrows that were everywhere on the island. 25 were at Tom’s feeders, 30 were at another feeder, 40 were in the brushy field by the Lighthouse. It seemed that every third bird was a White-crown! They’re spiffy, classy birds to begin with, and combined with the quantity the show was truly remarkable – as I remarked repeatedly over the course of the day.

A Lark Sparrow, one of those rare-but-regular treats in fall on Monhegan arrived, and was well seen by many for the next two days. 4 Carolina Wrens was a good count for the island, but the quantity of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, “Yellow” Palm Warblers, and White-throated Sparrows were also remarkable. And, the 15 ½ species of warblers was a great list for the last day of September. This is the type of day that the Monhegan Migration Legend is made of! The unidentified Least-like Empidonax flycatcher that I barely got a look at before it was chased off by a hunting cat may have been the “one that got away,” but, at least it got away from the cat.

On Monday, we awoke to a very light southerly wind and partly cloudy skies, and fewer birds. Our dawn watch at Lobster Cove gauging the morning’s movement of landbird migrants (while enjoying dozens of Northern Gannets) produced little, but there was clearly some new birds around, but also there was a lot of departure last night.

The Lark Sparrow continued, as did a plethora of Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows (but not as many as yesterday). Northern Flickers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Savannah Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Purple Finches (45 alone at Tom’s feeders at one time) were all more abundant however. We saw another Yellow-billed Cuckoo (but there was probably at least two around) and I found a snazzy Summer Tanager, a great bird for the island, a life bird for my participants, and a state bird for me - a great “icing on the cake” bird for the trip.

The 4:30pm ferry came all too quickly, and with the bags on board, Liz, Julie, and I (the others had headed out on earlier boats) reluctantly left this amazing place. Luckily, the boat ride home was a treat as well. First, we circled around the south and east sides of the island before making the turn to the mainland – a view I had not been treated to before, and witnessed a Peregrine take a Solitary Sandpiper in flight, only to have it ripped from its talons by another, larger (female) Peregrine. Then, the rest of the boat ride featured yet more Northern Gannets, but also an adult light-morph Pomarine Jaeger and a Greater Shearwater, just to pad the trip list!

Tomorrow or Thursday, we’ll take a look at the radar for the last few days, and I’ll post some island photos, and some shots of the Summer Tanager. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, here’s the “scorecard:”

Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth’s Monhegan Migration Weekend.
Saturday, September 29 through Monday, October 1.
Participants: 8
Total species: 104.
Warbler species: 16 1/2.
Sparrow species: 9 ½.
Daily checklists and counts, as produced by eBird:

Location: Monhegan Island
Observation date: 9/29/07
Notes: Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth's Monhegan Migration
Weekend. Decent flight overnight as per Jeff Wells, who was out for an
acoustic monitoring demo. However, observers on island (esp. Jane and
Steve Mirick) commented that most birds seemed to be leaving island in
morning on calm winds. Very light NW, mostly cloudy through day, steady stream of raptors moving overhead, most heading offshore but those stopping to hunt keeping the relatively few migrants around hidden.
Number of species: 70

Canada Goose 45
Wood Duck 1
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 40
Common Eider X
White-winged Scoter 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 7
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 200
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Cormorant X - Flyover cormorant flocks and roosting groups
not closely scrutinized for exact numbers, but most flocks contained at
least one GRCO.
Great Blue Heron 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 Ice Pond
Osprey 18
Northern Harrier 18
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10
American Kestrel 27
Merlin 15 - Very conservative count.
Peregrine Falcon 21 - Conservative count. Most birds clearly
seen flying out over water, however.
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
peep sp. 3
Laughing Gull 1
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Black Guillemot 1
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 6
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 6
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 35
Eastern Phoebe 1
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 10
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Red-breasted Nuthatch 25
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 3
Carolina Wren 3
Winter Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Gray Catbird 1
European Starling 4
American Pipit 3
Cedar Waxwing 30
Northern Parula 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Palm Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 2
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Chipping Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 5
White-crowned Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 10
Northern Cardinal 1
Bobolink 1
Rusty Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 5
Baltimore Oriole 2
Purple Finch 40
Pine Siskin 5
American Goldfinch 15

Location: Monhegan Island
Observation date: 9/30/07
Notes: Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth's Monhegan Migration
Weekend. Light NW and clear at dawn. Becoming moderate south by early
afternoon. Really a remarkable day - classic "birds are everywhere"
Monhegan morning. Generally speaking, we were very conservative on our estimates. The spectacular WCSP estimate was run by a couple of other parties for confirmation.
Number of species: 82

American Black Duck 2
Mallard 40
Green-winged Teal 6
Common Eider X
Ring-necked Pheasant 4
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 150 - Conservative estimate - constant swirling
and feeding activity all around island.
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Cormorant X
Osprey 6
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
American Kestrel 9
Merlin 7
Peregrine Falcon 6
Wilson's Snipe 1
Ring-billed Gull 5
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Black Guillemot 1
Mourning Dove 8
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 75 - Every apple tree had at least one
Sapsucker!
Downy Woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker 50
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue-headed Vireo 10
Red-eyed Vireo 15
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 10
Common Raven 2
Horned Lark 2
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Red-breasted Nuthatch 40
Brown Creeper 50
Carolina Wren 4
House Wren 1
Marsh Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 30
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 15
Swainson's Thrush 4
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 25
Gray Catbird 5
European Starling 4
American Pipit 5
Cedar Waxwing 40
Nashville Warbler 4
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 6
Cape May Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 250 - Many at dawn over and around Lobster
Cover. Many seemed to be leaving island, heading west towards mainland. Common, but certainly not abundant, around island throughout the day.
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Prairie Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 30
Palm Warbler 100
Blackpoll Warbler 6
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 7
Wilson's Warbler 4
Chipping Sparrow 10
Lark Sparrow 1 - Various locations near Island Inn, before
settling in at Tom Martin's "feeder."
Savannah Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 40
Song Sparrow 25
Lincoln's Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 15
White-throated Sparrow 125
White-crowned Sparrow 175 - Truly astounding - most patches of
lawn had a least a few, feeders had 25+ each. Seemingly equal mix of
adults and immatures, but I made no attempt to tally that. Most WCSP I've
ever seen in one day!
Dark-eyed Junco 75 - Most in woods, fewer at edges.
Northern Cardinal 6
Bobolink 6
Rusty Blackbird 5
Common Grackle 4
Baltimore Oriole 1
Purple Finch 30
Pine Siskin 20
American Goldfinch 20
House Sparrow 1 - An excellent island bird, kinda.

Location: Monhegan Island
Observation date: 10/1/07
Notes: Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth's Monhegan Migration
Weekend. Very light south wind, partly cloudy at dawn. Becoming moderate SE by mid-morning. Many, many fewer birds around in early am, some higher counts due to more time spent in the woods.

One adult, light-morph POMARINE JAEGER, 1 GREATER SHEARWATER, and some BLACK SCOTERS seen on ferry back to Port Clyde.
Number of species: 74

American Black Duck 2
Mallard 40
Common Eider X
Surf Scoter 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 10
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 100
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Cormorant X
American Bittern 1
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10
American Kestrel 2
Merlin 3
Peregrine Falcon 9 - 5 kiting together over Black Head - calling,
sparring, barrel-rolling, etc.
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Ring-billed Gull 5
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Black Guillemot 3
Mourning Dove 20
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
hummingbird sp. 1 - Backlight flyby. Size seemed fine for RTHU.
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 60
Downy Woodpecker 8
Northern Flicker 75
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 9
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 10
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 30
Red-breasted Nuthatch 50
Brown Creeper 25
Carolina Wren 2
Winter Wren 2
Marsh Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 75 - Seemed to be more around than
yesterday, but higher count also due to more time spent in the woods.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 20
American Robin 30
Gray Catbird 3
European Starling 9
American Pipit 3
Cedar Waxwing 30
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 4
Northern Parula 4
Yellow Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 100
Palm Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 10
Blackpoll Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 10
Summer Tanager 1 - Found by our group eating Chokeberry along
road up to Lighthouse. Seen again a couple of hours later by us and
others near junction of road to Ice Pond. Photographed.
Chipping Sparrow 8
Lark Sparrow 1 - All day at Tom Martin's.
Savannah Sparrow 60
Song Sparrow 25
Lincoln's Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 60
White-crowned Sparrow 100
Dark-eyed Junco 150
Northern Cardinal 4
Rusty Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 5
Baltimore Oriole 3
Purple Finch 80
Pine Siskin 10
American Goldfinch 30