So far, “Rarity Season” has been rather lackluster here in Maine. The 3 different Western Kingbirds is pretty good though, and the plethora of winter finches and other boreal irruptives has overshadowed everything else – and has made this November one for the books no matter what. However, this is the season of vagrants.

A look around us sees quite a few good to exceptional birds in the Northeast. New Hampshire has had a Lark Sparrow, Greater White-fronted Goose, Eared Grebe, and Eurasian Wigeon among others (and a boat load of winter finches as well), and to our northeast in New Brunswick, there’s a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Brewer’s Blackbird, and a Mew Gull. A little farther south, things really heat up with a Western Grebe, Cave Swallows, White-winged Dove, Western Kingbird, Hoary Redpoll, and Ash-throated Flycatcher in Massachusetts, a Bell’s Vireo in Rhode Island, Cave Swallows and a continuing Common Ground-Dove in Connecticut, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cave Swallows, and a Pink-footed Goose in southeastern New York and Long Island, and in Jersey there’s Ash-throated Flycatchers, a Townsend’s Solitaire, an amazing _98_ Cave Swallows and a first state record Lesser Nighthawk in Cape May!

Hey folks, let’s get in on the act up here in Maine!

I for one, have been attempting to quench my Rarity Fever these last two days. I’ve come up with some very good birds, but nothing that has fired up the cell phones!

On Sunday, Luke and I spent most of the day scouring the southern York County Coast from Kittery through Kennebunk. We tallied a respectable 54 species by late afternoon, including some decent birds. Our list of highlights included:

- the family of 4 MUTE SWANS in Legion Pond, Kittery
- 1 Snow Bunting, Fort Foster, Kittery
- 20 Purple Sandpipers, Fort Foster, Kittery (my first of the fall)
- 1 immature WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, Seapoint Beach, Kittery (late)
- 2 White-rumped Sandpipers, Seapoint Beach, Kittery (late)
- 2 Snow Buntings and 3 Horned Larks, Seapoint Beach, Kittery
- 22 Purple Sandpipers and 3 Dunlin, Seapoint Beach, Kittery
- 1 immature NORTHERN SHRIKE, York Harbor marsh (my 7th so far this season)
- 5 drakes and 1 hen Harlequin Ducks, The Nubble (my first of the fall)
- 1 MERLIN, Community Park, Wells (getting late)
- 6 Horned Larks, Laudholm Farms, Wells
- 24 Red-necked Grebes, Parson's Beach, Kennebunk

Irruptive finches and frugivores were conspicuously absent, however. While we had plenty of American Goldfinches, we didn’t even see a single Purple Finch or redpoll. Meanwhile, the only frugivores we encountered – other than a plethora of House Finches and flocks of European Starlings – were two American Robins in a Kittery yard and two Cedar Waxwings in a starling flock feeding in crabapples in downtown Kennebunk.

Overall, I think one of the top highlights of the day were the very cooperative Dunlin and Purple Sandpipers that were roosting together on the rocks off of Seapoint Beach. I took a few moments to do some digiscoping.

An alert Dunlin . . .

And napping Purple Sands . . .

Today (Monday), I decided to try my Good Bird Karma down in Biddeford Pool. With light rain and some sleet falling as I began my drive down, I had second thoughts and nearly turned back. However, the precipitation was predicted to pass through, so I continued on, and I was very thankful that I did. Although there was some more drizzle at times during the morning, the weather held out, and I had some very good birds.

Today’s birding list was an interesting contrast of good winter birds and an excellent late-lingering migrant. The “wintery” highlights came first, punctuated by a drake King Eider – one of the spiffiest birds there is – that I found floating among a small raft of Common Eiders off of East Point. Tough to beat a day of birding that features a King Eider, but I soon added a Rough-legged Hawk perched on an offshore island, and a flock of 15 Common Redpolls that flew in from over the water and landed in the bushes as East Point, fed for a bit, flew up, swirled around for a time, and then headed south. Two drake Harlequin Ducks – speaking of spiffy – were off of Ocean Avenue, adding to the day’s waterbird list that included all of the regular wintering characters: Red-necked and Horned Grebes, Common and Red-throated Loons, Black Guillemots, Black, Surf, and White-winged Scoters, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes and Buffleheads, Long-tailed Ducks, and Great Cormorants, plus a handful of Northern Gannets.

In the lingering category, I had a total of 21 Dunlin, 6 Black-bellied Plover, and a few of the expected sparrows, but my otherwise January-like list of birds was in stark juxtaposition to the very truant Cape May Warbler that I successfully twitched at a feeder in Hill’s Beach. It has been frequenting a few feeding stations along Hill’s Beach Road, so I decided to pay him a visit this morning.

My final stop was at my not-so-secret-anymore (since I found an Ash-throated Flycatcher here this exact date last fall) rarity patch near the Saco Yacht Club. A few sparrows of assorted flavors, but alas, my Rarity Fever will need to be quenched on another day.