On Friday, Dan and I spent the morning birding around Biddeford Pool. I expected few birds to be on the move overnight, thanks to west to northwest winds overnight. This was later confirmed on the radar, but nonetheless, we encountered quite a few migrants (granted, many may have been here for a couple of days), and ended up with a decent total of 15 species of warblers.

My first 6 Roseate Terns of the year were off East Point, as were five lingering Purple Sandpipers. But, it was a long and winding walk through the neighborhood that bore the most fruit this morning. After the locally breeding Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats, Magnolia Warblers were the most common warbler encountered (at least 12), with our tally also including my first Blackpoll Warbler of the spring, 5 Black-throated Blue Warblers, and one Canada Warbler. After recording 13 species of warblers in the neighborhood, an Ovenbird along Old Pool Road and a Pine Warbler in Hill’s Beach gave us our total of 15 for the day.

Meanwhile, the growing numbers of shorebirds were a real treat. First, we checked out Hill’s Beach, which hosted 59 Black-bellied and 37 Semipalmated Plovers, my first 6 Short-billed Dowitchers of the year, two Willets, and one Greater Yellowlegs. It was the excellent count of 84 Ruddy Turnstones, however, that stole the show. After a while here, we headed back over the The Pool, to enjoy the shorebirds there. It’s more than likely that at least some of the shorebirds from Hill’s Beach had now dropped into the Pool as the tide crept in, but our totals were still quite good. My very crude estimations were as follows: 100+ Black-bellied Plovers, 75+ Ruddy Turnstones, 50+ Semipalmated Sandpipers (my first of the year), 10+ Willets, 5 Short-billed Dowitchers, and three Red Knots – also my first of the year. Enjoy them while we still can, as Dan said. A pair of American Wigeon flying around was a bit of a surprise here, and the flock of at least 50 Least Terns flying about provided an entertaining show.

Very little moved again, on west-northwest to northwest winds Friday night into Saturday morning, but our birdwalk outing to Bayview Preserve still featured nine species of warblers – and a Porcupine. Later this afternoon, I’ll be heading Downeast to lead a couple of trips for the Downeast Birding Festival I’m leading a trip to Machias Seal on Sunday, and a walk at Quoddy Head on Monday. I’ve got a wee bit of driving ahead of me, but I’ll take any excuse to bird Downeast! Now, can I justify a little swing down to Phippsburg to see if the Curlew Sandpiper that was found yesterday on Seawall Beach is still present? Hmmmm.

So, while I’m traveling up, err, down (?) Route 1, I’ll leave you with some food for thought for some of our store’s exciting summer birding opportunities. In addition to our free Saturday morning birdwalks that continue all summer, a fundraiser for the Libby Hill Forest in Gray, and our quarterly birdwalk along the Eastern Promenade, we are pleased to announce the following events:

MAINE TRIPS AND TOURS, 2008
Travel with DEREK LOVITCH and the WILD BIRD CENTER OF YARMOUTH

More information on these, and other events, can be found at: www.yarmouthbirds.com

1) Terns of Casco Bay
Saturday, June 21: 7:00 to 10:00am.

Join us aboard the Lucky Catch for a 3-hour cruise to view breeding seabirds and other Portland Harbor denizens. Our tour will take us past historic forts and lighthouses en route to Outer Green Island where we will observe a large, active colony of over 700 pairs of Common Terns. We’ll also look for the endangered Roseate Terns that breed among them. We’re likely to encounter Common Eiders, Black Guillemots, and others that breed around the island, as well as on the journey to and fro. If tide and time permit, we will check Casco Bay for Bald Eagles, Osprey, and hauled-out Harbor Seals. Last summer, our trip enjoyed a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a nest of Peregrine Falcons. In 2006, a Bridled Tern was observed!

2) Portland 1/2-Day Pelagic
Saturday, July 12: 5:30am to 11:30am.

Join the Wild Bird Center and See Life Paulagics as we team up to offer a repeat of our successful half-day pelagic excursion from Portland this summer! Spend a half-day aboard the Odyssey whale watch boat with expert guiding as we explore the waters off of Southern Maine. Some of our target species will include Common, Arctic, and Roseate Terns; Manx, Sooty, and Greater Shearwaters; and much more. The 2007 trip produced non-stop activity and an Atlantic Puffin. For reservations, contact See Life Paulagics at info@paulagics.com, or by calling 215-234-6805.

3) Surf & Turf: Terns and Sparrows of Southcoastal Maine.
Sunday, July 13: 6:00am to 12:00pm.

This is of the “turf” based half of our Surf and Turf Weekend, and we’ll begin by “cleaning up” species that may have been missed on the ½ day pelagic: Common, Arctic, and Roseate Terns. Plus, we should also expect Least Terns and Piping Plovers. Our other targets for the day will be Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows in Scarborough Marsh, the core zone of overlap between these two species. Depending on our success with terns and the sparrows, we will then be flexible in our plans, possibly visiting other locations for feeding terns, migrant and breeding shorebirds, additional marshes for the sparrows, chasing rarities, or perhaps visiting one of the area’s other unique locations, such as the Kennebunk Plains (Grasshopper Sparrow, Upland Sandpiper, etc).

4) Portland Full-Day (12 hour!) Pelagic
Saturday, September 13, 2008: 6:00am to 6:00pm.

Join the Wild Bird Center and See Life Paulagics as we team up to a full, 12-hour day aboard the Odyssey whale watch boat with expert guiding as we explore the waters off of Southern Maine. Some of our targets for this trip include: Manx, Cory’s, Sooty, and Greater Shearwaters; jaegers; phalaropes; Northern Fulmar; and hopefully skuas! For reservations, contact See Life Paulagics at info@paulagics.com, or by calling 215-234-6805.

5) Monhegan Island Migration
Saturday, September 26th to Tuesday, September 29th.
Cost - $25 per person, per day.

Join Derek on Monhegan during the height of migration for 1-3 days searching the island for regular visitors, rarities, and vagrants. This is a casual outing, with boat and hotel reservations, as well as meals, on your own. Although we are likely to eat meals together, we'll have more flexibility on rooming and eating arrangements this way. Also, you can come and go as you please, based on whatever boat and departure times and locations suit you best.

Last year’s trip was highlighted by Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a Summer Tanager and a Lark Sparrow, a fantastic raptor show, and the largest quantity of White-crowned Sparrows any of us had ever seen in Maine. Last year’s trip was highlighted by Yellow-billed Cuckoos, a Summer Tanager and a Lark Sparrow, a fantastic raptor show, and the largest quantity of White-crowned Sparrows any of us had ever seen in Maine. Read about least year’s fantastic trip here.