The extratropical storm – formerly known as Hurricane – Noel was slow in arriving, and light north winds and mostly clear skies allowed for a surprisingly good passerine flight Friday night into Saturday morning – likely of birds moving ahead of the approaching low pressure system. I was quite surprised at the volume of birds in the area, as shown by these two radar images, especially after I declared my radar-watching season “over” just yesterday.

Here’s the 10pm image from Friday night . . .

And the 4am image from Saturday morning . . .

Although there were some American Robins in the air over the store as we assembled for the birdwalk, our stroll at Pineland Farms was very, very quiet. However, we did see one of the species we had set out to find; two Northern Shrikes – one adult and one immature – were perched atop trees at a field edge.

The effects on Noel did finally reach us however, with winds picking up significantly in the early afternoon, and rain finally arriving. I simply couldn’t resist, and just HAD to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon seawatching at Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth. Here’s the count:

Location: Dyer Point
Observation date: 11/3/07
Notes: 2:20: NNE 32.5mph, gusts to 37.2. Lt rain. Seas 6-8ft, Mod
visibility. 43.1F.
4:20: NNE 36.2mph, gusts to 40.1. Lt rain. Seas 10-12ft, Poor visibility. 41.7F.
Number of species: 19

American Black Duck 2
Common Eider 10 10 heading south, 50+ on water.
White-winged Scoter 8
Long-tailed Duck 159
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Red-throated Loon 4
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 202 all ages
Double-crested Cormorant 43
Great Cormorant 1
Bonaparte's Gull 11
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Glaucous Gull 1 1st Cycle
Great Black-backed Gull X
Black-legged Kittiwake 2
Black Guillemot 1
Mourning Dove X
House Sparrow X

Very strong winds – gusts up to 70mph were recorded, and rain – heavy at times – continued through much of the night. By morning, the rain had stopped, and – contrary to the forecast – the winds had greatly subsided.

Northwesterly winds behind a strong storm following days of southerly winds – a perfect scenario for vagrants. And, coincidentally, Sunday was the Fourth Annual Rarity Roundup. Seven teams, with a total of 19 participants, hit the field from Portland to Kittery, searching for vagrants. The weather was surprisingly pleasant, and hopes and dreams were high for the day. Overall, we had a great day, but very few really “good” rarities were found. Unfortunately, the vagrants didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to show themselves yesterday.

But, as always, the Rarity Roundup was a great success. We had a new record of 121 species in total, and some very good birds were found. We added 14 species to the R.R. list, and had new high counts for 11 species. (The day’s highlights are up on our website).

Luke and I covered Portland, and had a fantastic day, totaling 69 species, including 11 species of sparrows and 5 species of raptors. Our highlights included 3 Carolina Wrens along the Eastern Promenade, a Brown Thrasher in a weedy lot on Sheridan St, a Peregrine Falcon under the Casco Bay Bridge, an Orange-crowned Warbler along West Commercial St, a Northern Goshawk that passed low overhead of us as we walked the Western Promenade (and a second after I said to Luke, “We need to make sure we are looking up . . . ), a Blackpoll Warbler foraging in Post Office Park that we spotted out the window while eating lunch at O’Naturals, and our last bird of the day – a Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow at Back Cove. And of course, part of the reason we go through this madness is the good brews and comradery as we gather for the Wrap-Up at the Great Lost Bear.

With my Rarity Fever less than satiated, I tried new grounds today, as I spent the morning birding in Harpswell. I walked around Land’s End on Bailey Island for a while – which was quite birding. A male White-winged Crossbill was the highlight, but there were handfuls of Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos around, one Fox Sparrow, and at least 10 Pine Siskins. Other locations failed to produce much, expect for Stover Point Beach, which held 7 Red-necked Grebes, 2 Black-bellied Plovers, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, and 6 Dunlin.

Despite my prediction that Stover Cove will produce something really special some day, I almost skipped stopping here as my time was running short. I am glad that I decided to go today – even if it didn’t produce the predicted surprise - however, as on my way down I – hopefully – helped save a Barred Owl. I saw it standing on the side of the road, clearly dazed from being hit by a car. A couple of residents also had noticed it, and one was already on the phone with the Chewonki Foundation - the closest wildlife rehab facility. I was concerned for the owl’s safety, however, with the speeding traffic of Rte 123, so I grabbed Sasha’s towel from the trunk and dropped it over the owl. Then, we carefully placed the bird – who, despite keeping its eyes closed was showing no signs of any external injuries - in a box and carried it to shade away from the road. Now, the next step was to get it to a licensed, professional wildlife rehabber – the only one who could really help the bird. Hopefully, this story will have a happy ending.