For me, fall got underway at about 7:00am this morning. In know we’re only a few days into summer (according to the calendar anyway), but it’s “fall” for some shorebirds already!

This morning, I watched a Lesser Yellowlegs flying high, heading due south, over Capisic Pond Park in Portland, calling a couple of times to reveal its identity. While it is possible that the Short-billed Dowitcher that Mike and I spotted at Wells Harbor yesterday, or the 4 Greater Yellowlegs reported from Scarborough Marsh earlier this week could have been the first southbound migrants of the season, this high-flying, inland, “LessLegs” left no doubt to its direction and intentions.

While most birders think of migration as being May and September, there is really no month out of the year that there isn’t some species, or group of species, that is one the move in Maine – or almost anywhere else. Shorebirds are a perfect example. While the very last of the spring migrants are moseying north in late June, the first southbound migrants of fall are wandering south.

Most of these extremely late and early individuals are either non-breeders, or immature birds. Most shorebirds do not breed in their first summer, so they are in less of a hurry to head north. Other individuals may have been delayed – perhaps by a lack of food, an injury, etc., and may have not made it to the breeding grounds at all. Some of these non-breeding birds linger for the summer in our area.

“Failed breeders,” are individuals that made it to the breeding ground, but were not successful for one reason or another. Perhaps they were unable to attract a mate. Perhaps they lost their eggs to a predator or the chicks to a late storm. With so little time to renest following a failure (due to the short “summer” in the high latitudes), some of these birds begin to head south – no point in hanging around up there!

Whatever the causes are, it means we never go to long without seeing new shorebirds in our area. In fact, the “Fall” International Shorebird Survey (which, by the way, volunteers are still needed for) gets underway in a mere 2 weeks!

On Tuesday, Jeannette and I birded from Kittery through Ogunquit. Today, my friend Mike (an old friend from NJ who just retired and moved up here – yes, another birder “from away!”) and I birded the Wells area.

The goal of each of these two outing was terns. In addition to the breeding species - Arctic, Common, Least, and Roseate – a number of other species occur here as rarities. Last week, Maine’s coast saw an impressive incursion of rare southern terns, including the state’s 2nd record of a Bridled Tern from Outer Green Island, and the state’s 10th record of a Gull-billed Tern at Popham Beach State Park. Add to this a rare, but regular, Caspian Tern (also from Popham), a report of a Sooty Tern from Outer Green (about 15 state records, a Sandwich Tern from Stratton Island (about 15 state records), two Black Skimmers and two Royal Terns from Popham (a couple of dozen state records/reports), and you have one heckuva tern “week-list” for the state!

I saw none of them.

I was even at Popham Beach the day after the Royal and Gull-billed Terns were seen, on my field trip with the Young Birders. But, no rare terns. (Popham Beach saw a miniature “Cape May Effect.” So many good birders were visiting the park due to the ABA Convention tours there, that they were bound to find good birds! Good birders does seem to equal good birds!).

My coverage of the Southcoast was motivated in large part to find more of these terns. For one thing, I haven’t seen any of the aforementioned terns in Maine. Two, I was curious as to the extent of this tern “irruption.” Jeannette and I didn’t “tern” up anything unusual, but today, Mike and I had an adult Caspian Tern on the beach at Laudholm Beach. Sure, it was the least rare of the lot, but it was still great to see!

The big question is,” Why are these terns showing up here?” I had a good discussion with a number of birders at the Convention, as we tossed around a few hypothesis. One, this extensive southerly flow that has brought us all of this tropical moisture certainly has aided the arrival of these birds. But, is this the ultimate cause? Why aren’t these birds breeding somewhere? Has there been a massive nesting failure somewhere in the West Indies? Is there a food shortage? Is there more food than usual in the Gulf of Maine? A change in water temperature? A change in climate???

We may only be able to guess at why these southern terns have decided to spend part of their summer in Maine, but searching for answers – but usually just finding more questions – is part of the reason I go birding!

Just thought that I would share a few pics from my visit to Machias Seal Island with the Young Birder's Track last week:

Looking back at Cutler Harbor:

The island:

A Common Murre welcoming committee as we approached the island:

While waiting for the tide to receed, Captain Andy Paterson discussed the finer points of Lobster biology and fishing thanks to this oversized female that was hauled in by a nearby boat.

Razorbills:

The stars of the show, the Atlantic Puffin:

Unfortunately, I just read some sobering news about the tern colony that we enjoyed while we were there.

So, we're still trying to figure out the photo quiz that I posted last week.
Here's the quiz.
And, here's the discussion so far.

When the birdwalk group first saw this bird, it was facing away. The blackish cap, contrasting with a grayish head lead me to believe that this was a Gray Catbird, a common shrub-nester in the park. The tail was also cocked at such an angle that it appeared longer than it was, suggesting the long-tailed Catbird.

But, then it stood up, showing that white throat, and we had a better look at the white supercilium – something that a catbird should not show. The pale gray plumage, and the wide-based bill suggested Warbling Vireo, which can appear somewhat capped. However, they usually nest high up in the trees, but they do occur in Royal River Park. Plus, when it shifted again, we realized that the bill was too long for a vireo, and lacking the steeply curved, almost hooked upper mandible. Almost by default, we began to think about a female American Redstart, a bird one birder had just seen fly into that area anyway. Female American Redstarts are very pale gray, but the darkish cap is odd.

Basically, what we have is a bird that is not fitting any species perfectly. Plumage varies. What varies less is the shape of such structures as the bill. The bill is crucial here: we see a straight, chisel-shaped, deep-based bill. It’s fairly long (relative to the head), and come to a rather blunt point, and is solid black (most birds show at least some pale at the base of their bill).

This bill is perfect for an American Redstart, and really it’s just the dark cap that is preventing us from confirming the identification. But, everything else fits, so what we have here is indeed a female American Redstart that happens to have an abnormally dark crown (in closer study later in the day, when I returned to take these pictures, I noticed a few blackish feathers in the otherwise dark gray crown, accentuating this capped appearance.

But, if the glove DOES fit, you CAN’T acquit, so as proof of her identity, here ya go:

OK, it’s a lousy picture, but it shows the yellow splotches on the side of a whitish underbelly, greenish wings (the yellow patches here are not visible) and mantle, and a gray head, neck, and rump of the female American Redstart

I enjoyed a great – although incredibly sleep-deprived week at the American Birding Association’s Annual Convention that took place last week (actually, it ended today) in Bangor. On Monday and Tuesday, I was slated to be working at the trade show booth for my friends and former employer at St. Paul Island Tours. Unfortunately, the booth didn’t leave the Anchorage airport.

By the time the booth arrived, and we set things up, on Tuesday, it was time for me to don my next, and most important, hat: the coordinator, and one of the field trip leaders for the Young Birder Track at the conference. I was luckily enough to be asked to spend three days with 15 exceptional young birders from across the country (three from Maine!). We had three trips, two workshops, and one banquet. This opportunity to spend quality birding time with some of birding’s future was a chance that I could not miss! (And it was worth every exhausted, coffee-filled minute.)

On Wednesday, we headed over to Baxter State Park. Unfortunately, it was actually pretty quiet. Although we did see a good number of many of our target birds, we did miss a few of them, and we heard much more than we saw. However, we did accumulate 16 species of warblers, including exceptional looks at single male Bay-breasted and Cape May Warblers. We only heard a few flyover Evening Grosbeaks, a single distant Fox Sparrow, and we somehow missed Olive-sided Flycatcher. A bird I called a Spruce Grouse standing in the middle of the road turned out to be a young Ruffed Grouse missing head feathers, still growing its tail, and acting a little odd – it’s tougher to make mistakes as a tour guide with the advent of digital camera technology! The “I hope we see a Moose,” requests were met with five individuals, including a young calf in Sandy Stream Pond. The highlight for many, however, was the exceptional views of a very agitated Boreal Chickadee pair. Usually known for their shy, retiring behavior, these two responded to pishing and an owl imitation (a very poor one at that) with surprising gusto – the reason, as it turned out, was that we happened to be standing 5 feet from their nest hole!

So, I am back from Bangor – more on that tomorrow – but, first, that photo quiz that I left you with

Let’s rule out what it is OBVIOUSLY NOT. We can eliminate waterfowl, loons, grebes, cormorants, seabirds, shorebird, gulls, raptors, owls, pigeons, doves, parrots, cuckoos, owls, nightjars, hummingbirds, kingfishers, and woodpeckers: basically the first half of the field guide based on the shape and size of the bird, it’s bill, and the fact that it was on a nest in a bush.

What little we see of plumage, as well as the bill structure, can eliminate jays, crows, shrikes, swallows, larks, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, kinglets, thrushes, waxwings, starlings, and blackbirds. The lack of a “conical bill” further eliminates sparrows, finches, and allies. Therefore, we are left with flycatchers, vireos, mimic thrushes other than thrashers, and a few warblers.

Looking at the plumage: dark gray cap on and otherwise gray head. White, or very pale throat, with a thin and indistinct, but darkish, “malar” or “submoustacial” streak. A white supercilium that ends above the eye. Dark eye. COMPLETELY black – right up to the very base and the gape – bill that is fairly broad-based, deep, and a touch chisel-like in shape (which is a very important key)

That’s all we got! So, flipping through the field guide, we are left with only a few good options. Eastern Phoebes doesn’t show a supercilium, and has a much darker head. Eastern Kingbird has a black cap that would strongly contrast with a white face. (All other drab flycatchers have at least some pale at the base of the bill, and most would have a “taller” head). Philadelphia Vireo would have a darker line through the eye and at least some yellow in the throat. Red-eyed Vireo has a red eye, and a much more contrasty head, and pale bill. Northern Waterthrush would be brown, not gray, with a yellowish cast to the lighter parts and with darker streaking.

A few warblers come close in plumage, but Tennessee Warblers have a thin, fine bill – and would likely not be found low to the ground. Orange-crowned Warbler has a bill like a Tennessee, but nests in far northern locations. Female Cerulean Warbler would be close, but much more contrasty – a lot more white than gray - and I wouldn’t trick you with a vagrant!

None of the guesses are bad, but we can rule out wrens by the fact that this bird is mostly gray, not brown, and the bill is thick and straight (all wrens have a sharply pointed bill, and most are at least somewhat downcurved). Yellow-rumped Warblers usually nest much higher, have a much shorter bill, and a very dark cheek that would be much darker than anything else on the head.

Black-throated Blue Warbler SHOULD show a weak crescent under the eye, a cheek darker than the crown, and it has a shorter bill. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher SHOULD show a complete eye-ring, should not show a white supercilium, has a much smaller, finer-pointed, mostly gray bill. Yellow Warbler SHOULD show at least some yellow, somewhere, but females CAN be extremely pale. They should also not show a supercilium, they have a pale supraloral (in front of the eye area), and they have a fine-tipped and grayish bill. American Redstart SHOULD not show a cap darker than the rest of the head.

Let me also add to the mix a dull female Pine Warbler (which SHOULD be nesting high in a conifer, should not show a pale supercilium, should show a complete eye-ring, and it should show a shorter, pointed, dark-gray bill), Warbling Vireo (which SHOULD show a complete supercilium, a gray bill, a shorter, more down-curved upper mandible – almost hook-shaped, and should not show that malar streak.) and Gray Catbird (which SHOULD have a completely dark gray face without the pale supercilium or pale throat).

But, I lied – I will not give you the answer today! I want to continue this great learning excersize – for all of us. I called the bird’s identification twice, and I was wrong both times! I showed this picture to a van-load of some of the finest young-birders in the country, and a few of the folks whose names you might recognize. But, the correct answer IS mentioned above! More soon . . .

And, although this was not a trick question, there is one little thing that is “wrong” with this bird. With that, I will solicit more guesses!

I'm off to Bangor for the next week, to partake in the festivities of the American Birding Association's Convention. On Monday and Tuesday, I will be in the convention center, working at the booth for St. Paul Island Tours (where I worked for three seasons). Wednesday through Friday is the Youth Track, where we will be visiting Baxter State Park, Machias Seal Island, and Reid and Popham Beach State Parks. I'm very much looking forward to the events of the week, and seeing many old friends. I also hope to see many of YOU out there, and even if you haven't registered for the convention workshops, field trips, and speakers, I certainly suggest taking a look around through the vendors at the Convention Center. Hope to see you there!

I leave you with this photo quiz. This incubating bird was on its nest at Yarmouth's Royal River Park during yesterday's Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth Birdwalk. The nest was about 5 feet off the ground, in a dense streamside tangle, about 4-5 feet from the path.

For some reason, this bird's identification gave us fits. I called it everything else before we decided on the conclusion. In retrospect, it's identification is fairly obvious, and I may have been guilty of overanalysis. But, we worked through the ID, and eventually came to the conclusion that I later confirmed with a photo as it stood up to turn the eggs.

The lessons here are that 1)everyone makes mistakes (I made a couple of big ones in "calling" this bird!). 2) Everyone is always learning, and especially: 3)the need to study various details of our more common birds. Jim Danzenbaker, the Naturalist Manager of Brunton Optics, who joined us on our walk suggested cutting a small hole in a piece of paper, and laying it over a bird photograph. From just what you can see through that hole - can you identify the bird?

So, can you identify this bird - just from the top half of it's head?

Use the "Post a Comment" field below to make your guess. I'll work through the identification next weekend.

This morning, I birded with my friend Paul, from NJ, who is in town to lead a pre-ABA Convention birding tour. Today was his day to do a bit of scouting for the trip, and we began at Biddeford Pool. Low tide is not prime time there, so it was not too productive in the Pool. One lingering Ruddy Turnstone and a late immature Great Cormorant was off of East Point Sanctuary, along with a Harlequin Duck – a great bird for June! Meanwhile, 11 Black-bellied Plovers were still on Hill’s Beach.

Scarborough Marsh was our next destination, and the primary location for Paul’s scouting today. The goal was to locate some quick and easy locations for both Nelson’s and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows, which was not difficult to find. In fact, both species were extremely cooperative – providing us with fantastic views. I hope they cooperate for him like this tomorrow! An adult Red Knot in spiffy breeding garb was nice to see, despite the distance and heat shimmer. 75-100 Bonaparte’s Gulls were across the narrows on Western Beach, and a female Gadwall joined a male Blue-winged Teal and a handful of Green-winged Teal in the salt pannes of Eastern Road.

It was a good morning of pretty good birding, good conversation, and pretty darn good weather (OK, we were both soon complaining about the heat!)

Tomorrow, I invite you to join me here at the store for our free birdwalk. We meet, as always, at 8:00am. However, tomorrow we will be joined by Jim Danzenbaker, the Naturalist Manager of Brunton Sports Optics. Jim will be giving us a chance to “test drive” many of Brunton’s products from optics to portable solar panels. At 11:00, Jim will host an optics workshop, discussing how to choose, use, and maintain optics (binoculars and spotting scopes). It will be a great way to play with some fun, new products, and learn more about birding optics. Hope to see you then!

In the interesting fossil discoveries department, a fossil has been discovered in China that may be the missing link between modern birds and their ancient ancestors.

My last pre-ABA Convention Youth Track scouting mission was to Popham Beach State Park this morning. My goal was to locate some Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows there, sorting them out from among the much more numerous Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows. Mission accomplished!

I wandered around the marsh for a couple of hours, and managed to find at least 3 Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows. However, despite stiff breeze, I was pleasantly surprised by the show that the Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows were putting on. I conservatively estimated 25+ birds, many of which were singing, and a few were even giving their prolonged flight displays and song. Good show – I hope they perform like this next week!

I also checked the beach for lingering shorebirds while I was there, and I did have 4 Black-bellied Plovers and 4 Semipalmated Plovers. Certainly the highlight, however, were three immature Bald Eagles tearing at a carcass (small seal?) on the beach, with a small contingent of crows darting between them trying to get a taste. At Fort Popham, a few Roseate Terns were feeding with Common Terns, which is a good sign as this is another one of our “target species” for our trip here next week.

Meanwhile, I thought I’d share some pictures of Baxter:

See that lump in the water?

That is the lump through binoculars.

Double-Top Mountain in the clouds.

No need for binoculars for this cow, that was right in my path.

South Turner Mountain - the skies cleared just as I hit the end of the trail after coming down from the top. Good timing.

I have just returned from a few days at the magnificent Baxter State Park. It was my first visit to the crown jewel of Maine’s park system. Since I am leading a trip there for the Youth Track at next week’s American Birding Association Convention in Bangor, I figured I better get up there to have a look around! Although I have been armed with info from friends as well as the info from a Birder’s Guide to Maine, I wanted to get up there for a couple of days, and really learn the park (the lowland areas anyway), and plan a trip for next week. We only have one day for boreal species, and so our destination will be Baxter (boreal birds, good overall bird diversity, moose, amazing scenery, etc.) But, needing to leave by 1:30pm, means our work will be cut out for us!

I arrived on Sunday afternoon, and birded my way up the Tote Road, past the Marston Trail Head, and right up to where the road was closed – and under up to three feet of water! This was not good – the best lowland boreal habitat in the park was on the other side of that flood! And, just as a tease, right at the edge of the flooding a pair of Rusty Blackbirds – one of the target species – were carrying food to a nest. Some of the highlights of the afternoon included a very large bull Moose in Stump Pond, a couple of pairs of Ring-necked Ducks, and a few Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. But, it was very, very quiet – although that was hardly unexpected late in the afternoon in June.

What was more unexpected however, was how quite it was (relatively speaking) early Monday morning. Cool and wet conditions, with a moderate breeze, kept activity to a minimum, as I birded the area around Sandy Stream Pond, the Roaring Brook Campground, and more trails along the Tote Road. I was seeing or hearing some of our target birds, such as Blackpoll Warblers and Swainson’s Thrushes, but I did not see that much. Certainly a highlight however, was a hen Spruce Grouse at the edge of the trail up South Turner Mountain (good thing, too, as at the top all I saw was wind and near zero-visibility fog). This was my only uphill hike of the trip, as this was the only hike I may attempt with the group. The goal would be the chance at Bicknell’s Thrush near the summit, but slowly birding along the way would turn this into a 3-hour excursion, eating up precious time. But, if the group wants the Thrush, this will be the hike we’ll do. Another of the day’s highlights was a Black Bear crossing the road south of the park.

I have been getting asked quite a bit recently about how this weather affects our birds. Well, birds are pretty tough little critters, and they can deal with most of what nature can throw at them. However, there are certainly some effects, both positive and negative that this unusually cool and wet (and long-lasting) has on some of our bird species.

Species that forage on flying insects certainly have a tough time on rainy days, but this weather is especially tough on species such as Purple Martins (rare and local in Maine) and Chimney Swifts that feed higher in the air. Most other swallows readily forage lower. Some of these species, as well as early nesting insect eaters such as Bluebirds, do have problems providing food for youngsters in this weather. Some may not even bother nesting, delay nesting, or unfortunately fail in their nesting attempts.

Birds such as American Woodcocks and some ducks that nest in low wetlands likely had nests flooded, as did riverside bank-nesters such as Northern Rough-winged Swallows. (On the other hand, roaring rivers will cut new nesting habitat for these species) Other species who poorly chose nest sites, or are forced to spend more time away from their nests finding food, may lose young to exposure.

Jeannette and I squeaked in a quick hour and a half of seawatching this morning at Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth, as the strong northeasterly winds continue. Unfortunately for us, they were more north-northeast this morning, reducing the flight of seabirds. Our total from this morning:
Common Loon: 3
Unidentified loon: 1
Sooty Shearwater: 1
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel: 15
Unidentified storm-petrel: 1
Northern Gannet: 27
Double-crested Cormorant: 7
Laughing Gull: 2
Roseate Tern: 3
Common Tern: 18
Black Guillemot: 3
Razorbill: 1
Unidentified waterbird: 1

Especially with the repeated sightings of a Yellow-nosed Albatross along the New England Coast (one sighting in Cape Ann, Massachusetts this week, and 2 in New Hampshire), seawatching is a good way to enjoy these otherwise wet and dreary mornings!

Some News and Notes:

Scientists in Mauritius have launched a project to discover why the Dodo became extinct.

Meanwhile, we struggle to stop other species from “going the way of the Dodo”, but the Red Knot continues to decline precipitously. Recent studies are showing a serious declining trend that is following a model published in 2004 that predicts that the Eastern North American subspecies of the Red Knot could become extinct by 2010.

On Saturday, here at the store, Jeannette and I will be welcoming Rodney Polland to our 3rd Maine Artist Feature Day. Rodney will be here from 10-4 displaying his handmade rustic, decorative birdhouses.

Jeannette and I had a fantastic outing to the Kennebunk Plains yesterday. First, it was sunny – and warm – a very nice change. Secondly, the birding was great!

We walked just about all of the Plains, doing a very informal census of the breeding specialties there. We were treated by good shows from 4-6 displaying Upland Sandpipers. A dozen Grasshopper Sparrows was a good count, and we tallied 18 Prairie Warblers, 18 Vesper Sparrows, 15 Savannah Sparrows, 6 Field Sparrows, 7 Bobolink, 5 Eastern Meadowlarks, and a pair of American Kestrels (plus a number of other species along the wooded edges of the Plains).

Last week, when visiting the Plains with Glenn and Maryanne, I found a Clay-colored Sparrow in a park that borders the Plain’s western edge. The next day another birder found a Clay-colored Sparrow along the Maguire Road section of the Plains. Same bird wandering around the Plains looking for love? Maybe. Two birds? Since Clay-colored Sparrows are rare in Maine (with the exception of Monhegan Island in the fall, where a small number is fairly regular), we can’t assume that there would be more than one around at a given place. I was hoping to find out.

While we didn’t see, or hear, the sparrow at the park at the western edge of the Plains, we did later find one in the far northeastern corner of the Plains. Was this the same bird that was in the park last week? The same bird that was at Maguire Rd the next day? Are there two birds around?

When we arrived at the electrical substation along Maguire Rd – where the other Clay-colored was seen on Monday – we immediately heard and saw one. OK, so there are two birds – it didn’t fly this far in the last half-hour! But, wait, what was that?

Yet another Clay-colored bursts into song, about 50 yards away. THREE Clay-colored Sparrows! Wow!

Here’s one of them:

I spent this morning birding Reid State Park, scouting for the trip that I will be leading there for the Young Birder Track at this summer’s American Birding Association’s Convention in Bangor. I hoped to pin down a couple of target species, and explore a couple of sites on the way to and from the park.

A couple of stops along Rte 127 produced the Marsh Wrens and Swamp Sparrows that I expected, but I also heard a single Virginia Rail. I will make more of an effort for these, and Soras, when we come down here on the trip.

Reid itself was very productive today. Nesting (and Endangered) Piping Plovers were quite active early this morning, and I sat on the beach enjoying the show of three males trying to out-style each other, as Least Terns passed overhead. A Wilson’s Warbler sang from the dune edge; a tardy migrant. Shorebird numbers are still quite good, including a total of 37 Black-bellied Plovers, and a very good tally of 54 Ruddy Turnstones. A late Red-throated Loon passed offshore, and a few White-winged and Surf Scoters lingered off of Todd’s Point. Breeding activity is certainly picking up. This morning I enjoyed watching a female Northern Parula gathering moss, raucous displaying Willets in the marsh, and scuffling Black-throated Green Warblers in the woods.

Most of the time, however, was spent tromping around the marsh, evaluating my chances of getting Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows for the group here. I saw one today. Not a good sign, but I think I’ll have a better chance of seeing them at Popham anyway. Plenty of very good looks at Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow though, and one probable hybrid.

Luke and I began the morning seawatching at Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth. We spent two hours (7:15-9:15) scanning the water, with light drizzle, a moderate (17-18mph) North-Northeast wind, and improving moderate visibility. In addition to late migrating Common Loons, foraging and commuting terns, our hope was for the “true seabirds:” the “tubenoses.” Species that range in size from the swallow-like Storm-Petrels to the giant albatross, tubenoses are a group of pelagic species that have a distinctive bony, tube-like nostril plate that apparently has to do with expelling excess salt from the body (since they consume seawater), and possibly with the sense of smell as well.

The tubenoses that we hoped for were a few species of shearwaters, one, the Manx Shearwater which breeds in the North Atlantic, and a couple of other species that breed in the Southern Hemisphere and spend their “winters” with us in our summer. Another wintering species, the Wilson’s Storm-Petrel are very common off our coast during our summer, while we hope to catch a glimpse of the closely related Leach’s Storm-Petrel, which breeds on a few offshore islands in Maine.

Not long after we began our scanning, we noticed some Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, and then some more, and some more. Although we hoped for shearwaters, we were certainly not expecting to see one as close, and as well, as the single Sooty Shearwater that passed by. A little while later, a Manx Shearwater passed by a little father offshore. Unfortunately I missed the Razorbill, however, that Luke spotted while I was trying to dry off our binoculars in the car!

As I was babbling about yesterday, spring migration is drawing to a close. However, that certainly doesn’t mean that birding is over! Too many birders put down their binoculars at the end of May. If you do, you don’t know what you are missing!

Here are 7 reasons to be birding in June (in no particular order):
1) Migrants.
Late migrant passerines will continue to trickle through well into the first week or two of the month. Blackpoll Warblers, Black-billed Cuckoos, and Olive-sided Flycatchers – just to name a few – are still on the move.

2) Shorebirds!
Shorebird migration is still underway. In fact, it never really ends. Sometime in late June, the first southbound (usually a failed breeder) migrant will arrive as the last straggling northbound migrant (usually immature birds) are still moseying north. Other non-breeding birds may simply linger in places such as Scarborough Marsh, not bothering to make the flight up to the tundra (usually immature birds as well). Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Black-bellied Plovers are just a few of the non-breeding shorebirds than can often be see throughout June in Maine.

3) Breeding Stuff.
In addition to observing fascinating breeding behavior from our common species, I always enjoy exploring various areas to see what breeds there. Do you know what birds breed in your backyard, your neighborhood, your local patch? How many Red-bellied Woodpeckers really are nesting in southern Maine now? Where can we find local species such as a Blue-winged Warbler or Prairie Warblers? These are questions to be answered in June and July.

4) Kids!
Many of our early-nesting species such as Hairy Woodpeckers and Eastern Bluebirds are fledging young early in the month, and many more youngsters have left the nest by the end of the month. Parents feeding noisy fledglings can often be easily found and observed.

5) Vagrants.
Always expect the unexpected. In fact early June, especially, is a great time to find vagrants. Rare spring overshoots such as a Cerulean Warbler or Summer Tanager could turn up, stray western species, slightly-out-of-range Midwestern species such as Clay-colored Sparrows, nomadic birds such as American White Pelicans, seabirds, shorebirds, etc, etc. Ya never know! In fact, all of the aforementioned species occurred in June in Maine last year!

6) Studying.
About 15 species of warblers breed in the Greater Portland area alone. It’s a heckuva lot easier try to learn them by studying them one by one for the whole summer, than flipping through the field guide each time you see one of the 25 or so species that pass through Evergreen Cemetery each May! A lot of birds, especially their songs, are easier to learn and study when they are on territory, rather than just passing through.

7) ABA Convention.
This summer, we also have the opportunity to attend the field trips, workshops, lectures, and trade show at the American Birding Association’s Annual Convention, which this year takes place June 19 - 25 in Bangor.

But then again, over 150 species breeding in Southcoastal Maine, so do you really need any of these excuses to get out into the field?

Spring passerine migration is definitely drawing to a close. In the past few days, migrants have become fewer and farther between. A few Blackpoll Warblers here, a few flycatchers of various flavors there. While migration is never really “over” (more on that tomorrow), the bulk of it has certainly now passed by. A good amount of shorebirds are still on the move, but the activity in the woods is mostly from breeding species now.

Birder’s have a curious habit of rating a migration – whether or not it was “good” or “bad.” However, what produces “good migration” in our eyes is often “bad” for the migrants. A strong overnight cold front carrying strong headwinds and heavy rain is “bad” for a migrant, but good for a birder below hoping for a “fallout.”

This spring’s migration was really neither good, nor bad. It was interesting though. A warm start to the spring got things going ahead of schedule – ducks especially moved through fast and furious with no ice to delay their progress. The earliest passerine migrants, such as Yellow-rumped Warblers and sparrows also moved through very quickly. Good for them, not great for us. Migration was progressing near normal pace, or maybe even a touch ahead of schedule through the first week of May.

Then, the rain began. On May 9, we began an all-time record-setting streak (for any month) of 16 straight days of measurable rainfall in Portland. During this time, frequent onshore winds forced birds inland (in theory anyway), possibly bypassing the coastal migration hotspots so thoroughly covered by birders. A bird’s got to move when a bird’s got to move, so inclement weather can only stall progress far so long. Breaks in the rain and bad weather allowed for some very good waves of migrants. At the end of the month, frequent southwesterly winds allowed for another wave of migrants to rapidly push through.

One of the issues for birders this spring, however, was that due to the warm and wetness, leaves were well developed when most of the warblers arrived. So, in addition to simply blocking our views of them, many species were high up in the treetop feeding on all of the insects that feed upon those newly unfurling leaves. In a late-leaf spring, many birds forage lower to the ground, where insect life is flourishing earlier in the season.

This spring’s birder also showed produced a handful of rarities, although the best rarities (such as a Fork-tailed Flycatcher on Stratton Island and a Magnificent Frigatebird over Cape Elizabeth) were not chaseable. For me personally, I had a productive spring, adding a few birds to various Patch Lists, and a few to my state list (Golden-winged Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Wilson’s Phalarope). I also "missed" Cape May Warbler and Olive-sided Flycatcher (which could still occur as a migrant in the next week or so). Hopefully, I will see both while birding in the mountains this summer.

Although “spring migration” is certainly winding down, it is by no means time to put down your binoculars!