A very wet walk at Bradbury Mountain on Tuesday produced all of 2 species – Black-capped Chickadee and Golden-crowned Kinglet, but on our way to the movies later in the day (not a whole lot else to do on a day like Tuesday, and American Gangster, by the way, is definitely worth seeing), a Northern Shrike flew across the road, surely helping to brighten a very dreary, raw day.

On Wednesday, my morning stroll around Hedgehog Mountain Park was actually quite productive, even though the woods are getting pretty darn quiet this time of year. Highlights were a Fox Sparrow, 4 Snow Buntings, and a fly-over Red Crossbill, my #123rd “Hog Bird!”

Back on the prowl for rarities, I spent the morning birding the nooks and crannies of South Portland. It wasn’t a very birdy day, but I had a few decent sightings. At Bug Light Park there was a male Eastern Bluebird, an “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow, and 4 Yellow-rumped Warblers. 9 Snow Buntings were at Spring Point Light, but Willard Beach and Pond Cove produced nothing of note. A quiet visit to Fort Williams park, however, was punctuated by a light morph Rough-legged Hawk, my first of the season, soaring overhead, being escorted out of the area by a handful of American Crows. This was an extremely pale bird, with as little marking below as any Rough-leg that I can remember seeing.

Now, with cold air filtering into the area – and our first spell of below-normal temperatures of the season – I would expect to see some changes in the local birdlife. Lingering migrants and most of our sparrows will likely depart. Plus, I would think more American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos will be arriving. With cold nights and chilly mornings, our hope is that any vagrants that are around the area will concentrate at warmer microclimates and edges and/or concentrated patched of food – like thickets of bittersweet or feeding stations.

By the way, if you’re REALLY bored, you could check out an interview with me in the Cape May Bird Observatory’s online magazine, the Tigrina Times.

For something much more exciting, check out this footage of a starling flock in flight in Scotland.

And finally, for some not-so-light (but very important) reading, there’s this tidbit from the latest Birding Community e-bulletin, which is particularly timely for us here in Maine.

CALIFORNIA WINDPOWER GUIDELINES RELEASED

Also from California, in late September the California Energy Commission voted unanimously to adopt voluntary windpower guidelines. The 80-page "Guidelines to Reduce Impacts of Windpower on Birds and Bats" is a joint product of the Commission and the California Department of Fish and Game. Regionally, Audubon California, the Golden Gate and Los Angeles Audubon chapters, Defenders of Wildlife, and Sierra Club all strongly supported the guidelines. Starting in 2006, key players from both the windpower industry and wildlife conservation groups met to discuss possible solutions to windpower problems. These initial discussions ultimately led to the 80-page set of guidelines.

The guidelines can be downloaded here