Even though I didn't take many photos during my trip, I thought I would share some with you on this cool, dreary day . . .

4/23. Lake Martin.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on nest.

Barred Owl (in the south, especially in swamps, Barred Owls are often active and conspicuous during the day).

That week went quick – too quick! It seems like just yesterday I was flying in, and here I am already en route back to Maine (somewhere between Houston and New Jersey at the moment). I certainly miss home, Jeannette, Sasha, and Maine birds (actually I begin to miss them all, especially Jeannette and Sasha, our dog, immediately upon leaving Portland!), but this was a great little trip. Saw some great birds, had fun with lots of old friends, made some new ones, and HOPEFULLY convinced at least a few people that they should visit St. Paul Island.

This “job” of mine for the week was not just a chance to reminisce about the Pribilofs – and relive my previous “bird bum” lifestyle! – But it was a great opportunity to promote a place that I truly do love. It wasn’t actually hard for me to tell people why they should visit St. Paul: from great birding (Asian vagrants, thousands of breeding seabirds – Horned and Tufted Puffins, Common and Thick-billed Murres, Northern Fulmar, Black-legged and Red-legged Kittiwakes, Least, Parakeet, and Crested Auklets, and Red-faced Cormorants) hundreds of thousands of Northern Fur Seals, 120+ species of flower plants, fascinating geology, the largest Aleut community in the world, and a cumulative bird list of around 250 species; all of this on a remote 44.4 square mile rock 300 miles out in the Bering Sea.

So, that was the job: talk about birds and birding, promote the joy of birding, and help to promote so-called ecotourism. Not a bad job, ey? I also briefly put on my Birding Magazine hat (I review birding products for my Tools of the Trade column) and played with various optics. The American Birding Association conventions are a great place for me to look for new products to review – and eventually carry at the store. There’s no way that we could fit every binocular out there in our store (nor afford to!), so I use opportunities like this to do a bit of research in order to bring the best options into our display case.

My only complaint about the convention is that the trade show is when I wander around and see all of the other tour companies from around the world – I want to visit them all! I chatted with the representatives from Uganda, Argentina, and Costa Rica to name a few. And, sitting next to my friends who own Tropical Birding, my palette was certainly being whetted – and conversations with them led to some productive brainstorming (was that some highly suggestive foreshadowing???)

Anyway, back to actual birding . . .

On Thursday, Mike, Cameron, and I headed on a whirlwind trip to sample some of the region’s best birding. Getting an early start, we raced down to the coast, to visit the migrant trap on the Gulf Coast of Peveto Woods. Although the major fallout didn’t occur – but it was a good flight – Wednesday afternoon, there were handfuls of migrants “leftover” for us Thursday morning. Although the numbers of individuals was low, diversity was quite high. I was quite satisfied with crippling views of Summer Tanagers, 7+ Orchard Orioles, 5+ Indigo Buntings, and 8 species of warbler.

Greetings from Cajun Country!

I’m down here in Lafayette for the American Birding Association Annual Convention. In a flashback to my “previous life” before the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth, I am representing St. Paul Island (Alaska) Tours, which I worked for three summers and one fall. Of course, that is my “job” here, but when the trade show is closed, we’re out in the field!

We’re in the heart of “Acadiana,” where the French influence is quite reminiscent of Maine – even in the names (Acadiana verses Acadia for example.) Interestingly, Lafayette fortuitously fell between the paths of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, so the area was spared significant damage. The lush growth, warm temperatures (temps have been in the 80’s with high humidity), and the southern birds are certainly a change of pace for me! (Although, I wouldn’t have minded if this trip occurred LAST week, as I wouldn’t mind being in Maine when spring is actually occurring – and it certainly is this week; heckuva hawk flight in the last few days past Bradbury Mountain, for example!)

On Monday morning, my first day in town – and first day ever in Louisiana – my friend Mike, who works for Nikon, and I headed to nearby Lake Martin for a good introduction to the region’s birdlife - and a good start to my recently founded Louisiana state list, of course. Highlights from our morning for me included Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, a male Painted Bunting, a great look at a Barred Owl, a couple of Prothonatory Warblers, a Mississippi Kite, and a few Roseate Spoonbills. There were handfuls of migrants around, including a good pulse of Tennessee Warblers early in the morning. If nothing else, I was excited to be seeing warblers and other migrants, and of course wishing them well on their way back to Maine!

On Tuesday, I joined the field trip to McGee’s Landing in the Atchafalaya Basin and Lake Martin. The Atchafalaya is an impressive cypress-dominated bottomland swamp. Huge, and bird-filled. We began with an extremely relaxing, interesting, and quite productive (bird-wise) outing. The local guide and boat captain was fantastic, as he provided informative commentary and local flavor.

This is Jeannette reporting for Derek who is busy looking for Swainson's Warblers in Louisiana. He's trying to get the "stupid wireless" to work so that he can say hi. Until then, here is the hawkwatch week 5 update:

This week started off with no count on Tuesday due to the persistent Nor'easter that took up residence in Maine. But, as predicted, things kicked into high gear by Saturday. The first five Broad-winged Hawks of the season were counted on Friday. With several days of southerly winds, these birds, along with Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawks and American Kestrels came by the hawkwatch in good numbers. The high day for the season so far was set on Monday with 250 birds. There are still many more birds to come!

The following totals are for Week 5 (Tuesday, April 17 through Monday, April 23). The First number is this week’s tally, the second number is the season-to-date total.

BLACK VULTURE: 0, 1
Turkey Vulture: 0, 70
Osprey: 138, 196
Bald Eagle: 0, 31
Northern Harrier: 15, 36
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 170, 260
Cooper’s Hawk: 1, 21
Northern Goshawk: 0, 4
Red-shouldered Hawk: 3, 27
Broad-winged Hawk: 200, 200
Red-tailed Hawk: 3, 173
Rough-legged Hawk: 0, 3
American Kestrel: 106, 137
Merlin: 8, 15
Peregrine Falcon: 0, 1
Unidentified: 1, 11

Total Week 5: 645
Total, Season to Date: 1186

NOW it feels like spring! What a day! (And finally, I might add!).

Yesterday, I was finally getting the bluebird houses up at the edge of the store’s parking lot. The giant pile of snow has been precluding me from doing this sooner. Although we don’t expect to ever see bluebirds nesting in front of our store, we set the boxes up as a display to show the recommended positioning. Last year, a pair of Black-capped Chickadees fledged three young from one of the houses. Yesterday, after getting the first box in the ground, I had just begun to dig the second hole when a blur whizzes over my shoulder. The blur turned out to be a chickadee, and before I even had the shovel to the ground, it was in the box! That’s didn’t take long! Guess he was thinking about spring.

Meanwhile, the skies finally cleared last night, but the northerly breeze continued well into the night. Therefore, there didn’t seem to be a ton of migrants on the move last night. I didn’t hear anything going over in a short listening session, but there were a few new things around this morning.

I stepped outside the door to hear my first Winter Wren of the spring singing its impressively complex and beautiful song. At Florida Lake, my first Spotted Sandpiper of the spring was foraging along the lakeshore, and other migrants there included a Northern Flicker and two Tree Swallows plus 20 Ring-necked Ducks and a very good total of 18 Wood Ducks. Not much at Bayview Preserve – except for the continuing Carolina Wren, and Cumberland’s Twin Brook Recreation area wasn’t too eventful either.

However, I think things will change in the next few nights. Clear and calm conditions should allow the migratory floodgates to burst (as opposed to the regular floodgates that burst in the storm). I would expect a good wave of White-throated Sparrows to arrive in the next few nights, along with lots of Dark-eyed Juncos, and an increase in new arrivals. The overall progress of many migrants has been stalled due to our nasty weather of late. However, I think much of that may be recovered in the next few days.

As long as the seabreezes don’t get too strong, I also think diurnal migrants – especially raptors – should make some good progress in the next few days as well. This could be one of our biggest weekends, and weeks, at the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch. The conditions are right – let’s just hope the birds oblige!

Unfortunately, I will miss it all! Jeannette’s out of town for a few days, so my birding in the next couple of mornings will be rather limited to the first couple of hours of daylight – no showing up late to look for hawks! Other than our store’s free Saturday morning birdwalk that might just HAVE TO head up to the Hawkwatch tomorrow, I won’t be able to get up on the hill for the next few days. Then, on Sunday, I head to Louisiana for a week.

Although I am not complaining about this, I would have been quite a bit happier about being away LAST week! But, I will be having a great time, no doubt, at the American Birding Association’s Annual Convention, which this year will be in Lafayette, LA. I was asked to represent St. Paul Island Tours, which I spent three seasons working for. I couldn’t turn down a paid vacation! I’m sure I’ll get some birding time in, and hopefully, I’ll snag a couple of lifers (Swainson’s Warbler and Fulvous Whistling-Duck).

Birding has a lot to do with luck. Finding rarities often has even more to do with luck. Despite my efforts to find rarities during the recent storm, I ended up finding a rarity when I least expected it.

Instead of birding in the morning yesterday, I got a bunch of work done – including restoring the feeding station here at the store, which was a bit disheveled after the storm! Instead, I left a bit early to check the Abagadasset River in Bowdoinham at low tide. Knowing how high the water is, I was hoping for some shoreline mud as low tide neared. That was not to be – the water was still right up to the road (although, apparently, a couple of hours earlier, it was still rushing over the road!). Only a few Ring-necked and American Black Ducks were around.

Since Sasha, and I, needed an afternoon stretch, I decided to take her for a walk down Brown’s Point Rd. I was hoping for something like a Rusty Blackbird, or maybe a Wilson’s Snipe, but when I came upon a flooded field about half way down the dirt stretch of the road, I found where (many) of the ducks that are usually in the mouth of the Abby are hanging out. Among dozens of Green-winged Teal, bunches of Mallards, American Black Ducks, and some Canada Geese. Out towards the back corner, however, I spied a bright chestnut head with a spiffy creamy-gold stripe through the middle. An Eurasian Wigeon!

Only the second that I have seen in the state, this gorgeous drake was just glowing in the sun (remember what that looks like? I almost forgot!). It was keeping company with 6 American Wigeons. A lucky find indeed!

After watching it for a couple of minutes, a Bald Eagle passed overhead, and the birds flushed, but I soon found the lot in the river just a little further down the road. After going back to the car for my camera (and this time driving up the road), I waited for the ducks to return. Unfortunately, the Eurasian Wigeon did not come back in the short time I had to wait (I had to get home to make sure our power was still off – it was – so I could call Jeannette to pick up a pizza on her way home. And, by the way, as of today, our power was still off. Lucky us!)

This morning’s birding was less eventful, as I visited a handful of Portland locations. My first Northern Flicker of the spring sounded off at Dragon Field, and I flushed a Wilson’s Snipe. Three Fox Sparrows, including one in song, an American Woodcock and a Hermit Thrush – my first of spring – were highlights from Evergreen Cemetery. There wasn’t much at Capisic Pond Park, and there was very little along the Commercial Street Extension. Plenty of Buffleheads and Red-breasted Mergansers were still in Back Cove, but not a whole lot else other than the usual resident gulls. I guess I was trying to hard again today!

As I have often mentioned in this blog, bad weather can often produce good birding. Spring-time Nor’Easters are no exception. Reports of rarities like a Sooty Tern in West-central Connecticut, 3 Sooty Terns in Rhode Island, a Painted Bunting on Nantucket, and American Golden Plover and Franklin’s Gull in Eastern Mass, along with numerous Leach’s Storm Petrels along the Massachusetts and New Hampshire coasts proved far too tempting for me not to go birding in the rain and wind yesterday.

Besides, we were without power, again (and still) so we were not going to be a whole lot colder outside than in! At least there’s heat in the car! Obviously, Jeannette and I did not have to be up on the Hawkwatch yesterday, so we spent most of the day birding Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth.

Although we didn’t find any rarities, or many storm-blown birds (a Great Cormorant in Massacre Pond and Green-winged Teal in the soccer fields of the Wainright Farm Recreation Area were the only seemingly storm-related sightings of the day), we actually had a very productive day of birding.

We began by walking the Eastern Rd Trail, seeing if anything unusual had been forced to the raised trail by the flooding in the marsh (highlights were our first two Savannah Sparrows of spring, 3 Gadwall, and a fly-over Eastern Meadowlark). We then birded Dunstan Landing (flooded), Pelreco (flooded), Pine Pt and Pine Pt Beach, Seavy’s Landing, Prout’s Pond (about 10 Tree Swallows and 71 Double-crested Cormorants, but not a single duck – pure-bred or not!), Wainright Farm (4 Green-winged Teal and 10 Killdeer), Grondin Pond (a female Canvasback, which has been here for a few days, was a great bird for spring in Maine, and likely our “best” bird of the day), Ferry Beach (lots of Common Loons and Horned Grebes), Massacre Pond (subadult Great Cormorant and 2 Greater Scaup), Higgins Beach (more surfers than birds), Kettle Cove (8 Brant and our first 4 Laughing Gulls of the year), Dyer Pt (1 adult Northern Gannet), Great Pond (72 Double-crested Cormorants and 1 Common Merganser), Spurwink Marsh, and finishing up at Mill Creek Cove in South Portland. If nothing else, we were thorough, as we scoured the area, searching every nook and cranny that we could think of!

The Dunstan Landing section of the "marsh"

Despite the feeling that this would be a complete waste of time, I begrudgingly rolled out of bed this morning well before dawn, in order to head down to Cape Elizabeth to do some Nor’Easter Seawatching. The rain pelting the house, the windows shaking from the wind, and the pool of water at the base of our hill should have told me to go back to sleep.

BUT NO! I stubbornly got suited up, downed a bowl of cereal, and stepped out the door. The fact that the wind nearly ripped the door from its hinges should have suggested I turn around, but instead, I got in the car and drove away. The ponding water and fallen branches along the road further reminded me that this was a dumb idea, but I carried on.

Hydroplaning and nearly blowing off the highway (I love driving a light-weight, fuel efficient car – except in gale force winds!) could also have stopped me. But no, seawatching awaited. The winds might be too strong, the rain might be too hard, but it didn’t matter – I set out to seawatch at Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth and seawatch I will.

Tomorrow morning might be better, but I have a program to give at The Highlands in Topsham. Wednesday morning is a busy one for me, so I wouldn’t likely have much time to seawatch. Therefore today was the day, and with the storm a’raging, I wasn’t going to miss that mega-rarity that was no doubt going to be blown in.

But then, I got to Dyer Point and saw this . . .

When you can’t see the sea, it’s kinda tough to seawatch! Plus, that was with the luxury of windshield wipers. Here’s what it looked like without wipers on – a much better representation of the day’s conditions. The binoculars shall remain firmly planted on the dashboard this morning, I decided.

Should have trusted my gut and stayed in bed!

In the calm before the storm this morning, I birded from Biddeford Pool through Saco, and into Scarborough. I began at the East Point Sanctuary, with a short (1/2 hr) spell of seawatching. 303 Double-crested Cormorants passed during this short time, along with a handful of other things, like 2 Brant, 3 Razorbills, and my first northbound Northern Gannet of the spring.

Spiffy breeding-plumaged Horned and Red-necked Grebes were scattered along the shoreline and a lone Yellow-rumped Warbler. There was a lot of activity around the neighborhood, but not including anything unusual. My first 2 Black-bellied Plovers (still in basic plumage, except one had about 3 new black feathers on its breast!) of the spring, along with 2 Greater Yellowlegs, were in the marsh behind Hattie’s Deli, but there wasn’t much at all – other than some Bufflehead and two Common Goldeneyes in the ponds at Fortunes Rocks Beach.

After a few stops along the Saco River, I turned inland, to check the wet fields of Boom Rd in Saco. A few large puddles and muddy areas held a few nice birds, including a Pied-billed Grebe, my first Eastern Meadowlark of the spring, and an adult Snow Goose. The highlight however, was the volume of American Robins (at least 600 total) in many of the fields.

Crossing back to the Oceanside, I poked around Camp Ellis (for the “before” view - and yes, the road has been repaired just in time for this next storm), then Goosefare Brook, and then up into Scarborough Marsh. A pair of Gadwall continue behind the Pelreco building, and the out-of-place American Coot was back in the Jones Creek area. Wading birds are definitely increasing, with a total of 9 Great and 10 Snowy Egrets, and 47 Glossy Ibis (45 of which were at Dunstan Landing) in my few stops along the marsh’s south shore. But, by now the rain had begun – and it was a cold rain (which soon turned to snow), and it wasn’t nice to be out in. Plus, it was just about time for me to head back, so I called it a day.

Although I skipped Prout’s Pond today, I soon found that the Franken-Aythya (Ayhtya is the genus for Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, scaup, etc, by the way) debate has gone nationwide. Discussion on the bird’s identity is now underway on the ID-Frontiers listserve. Take a look, especially, at the comments by Chris Vogel (the first one in particular) and Louis Bevier.

So, with the – uh, let’s say, “less than pleasant” weather being predicted for the next few days, I do have a few suggestions for potentially productive birding, at least during the slightly-less-wet periods. For one, with the stiff easterly winds, seawatching may be very good. Also, as the rain falls and snow melts, we’ll see lots of fields – like those along Boom Rd – flooding. Keep an eye out for ducks and early shorebirds (like yellowlegs and snipe). Driving rural roads looking for large puddles may be a good way to find some good birds while staying dry!

OK, this really is getting a bit ridiculous! Another 4-12 inches (more away from the coast) fell yesterday and last night. Yeesh. Here’s what our street looks like – it would be nice in January, but I’m ready for spring now!

Well, not much value in complaining about it – it certainly doesn’t change anything, does it? So, I got out to enjoy it this morning, taking the dog on my 6-mile Pownal “neighborhood” loop.

Avian highlights included an immature Northern Shrike (getting a bit late), an adult Red-shouldered Hawk (likely one of the local birds that we have been seeing from the Hawkwatch), and a male American Kestrel (no doubt waiting for Lionel to get up to the hawkwatch before continuing on). I also observed a few small flocks of “reverse-migrant” American Robins heading back south, once again forced to retreat from the snowfall.

Yup, it's snowing again . . . OK, I'm now officially sick of snow, and ready for spring!

The calm weather and clear nights of the past couple of days have allowed a few migrants to trickle in and out. I happily added Green-winged Teal to my Hedgehog Mountain Park Patch List yesterday morning, as a pair was hanging out in the small pond there. A lot of Dark-eyed Juncos have cleared out, especially last night, but my first Chipping Sparrow of the year arrived in our yard and was vigorously defending the platform of white millet from the remaining juncos.

A quick walk around Yarmouth's Bayview Preserve produced a singing Carolina Wren, my first for this park, and a very nice diversity of ducks in the pond there: 8 Wood Ducks, 1 male Ring-necked Duck, a pair of Green-winged Teal, a single hen Red-breasted Merganser, and a small group of Mallards and American Black Ducks.

Yesterday afternoon, I raced down to Prout's Pond to try and get some nice, sunny shots of the Redhead hybrid. Unfortunately, the after-work golfers had arrived, so the birds remained tucked into a distance corner. However, I did score a few digiscoped shots that at least show the interesting head color (I was trying to put a name to it - how about "deep redwood," or "reddish-mahogany?

More than a little fuzzy, but it gives you the idea of the colors . . .

I've assembled an array of photographs that I took yesterday, 4/10 at Prout's Pond in Scarborough. Also included are photos from Marie Jordan, taken on 4/9. Jeannette and I identified the bird on Sunday, 4/8, but it likely had arrived the day before.

Prout's Pond is a deep, former sand pit behind the Pleasant Hill Driving Range and "The Food Guy" restuarant on Pleasant Hill Rd in Scarborough (Delorme Map 3: A-4).

The bird seems to be a Redhead crossed with another member of the genus Aythya, with Ring-necked Duck being the most likely candidate. Comments and "guesses" are welcome and encouraged. Please submit those via the "comment" field below - just DON'T hit the preview button (a bug in the system seems to cause the text to be deleted when you preview it!). Email me if you want to be sent full-sized images.

Notes from our first sighting are also included below the photos.

All of my photos were "digiscoped" using a Canon Powershot A-95 and a Leica APO Televid 77 with a 32x fixed eyepiece. Photos have not been manipulated, except where noted, with the exception of cropping. Unfortunately, overcast skies for the past few days have not offered any help in getting stunning shots. Hopefully, that will change today!

This is the above photo using Photoshop's "Smart Fix."

Most of my morning yesterday was spent in the Bowdoin Library (but I did hear my first Fish Crow of the spring out the window!), but I did visit the mouth of the Abbagadaset River in Bowdoinham beforehand. The ice is finally out here, and the duck numbers are rapidly increasing:
471 American Black Duck
236 Mallard
(with hybrids thereof included in these totals.)
112 Green-winged Teal
55 Canada Goose
53 Common Merganser
9 Ring-necked Duck
7 Northern Pintail
6 Common Goldeneye
2 American Wigeon (one pair)
1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneye
Also: 5 Double-crested Cormorants, 3-4 Bald Eagles, and 1 male Northern Harrier.

Today, Jeannette and I began the day taking Sasha for a run on Pine Point Beach. That was our excuse, anyway, for heading down to Scarborough to visit Prout’s Pond again! I wanted to study the Redhead hybrid some more, and hopefully get some pictures. Both missions accomplished, and I will post photos – and some photos sent to me as well – here tomorrow. A quick stop at Dunstan Landing produced my first Greater Yellowlegs of the spring.

Today’s duck counts from Prout’s Pond:
55 Ring-necked Duck
32 Common Merganser
8 American Black Duck
5 Red-breasted Merganser
5 Hooded Merganser
3 Lesser Scaup
1 REDHEAD X AYTHYA SP. hybrid
1 Greater Scaup
Plus: 2 Double-crested Cormorants, 1 Pied-billed Grebes, 7 American Tree Sparrows, and 1 American Kestrel.

Jeannette and I had quite a day of birding today. It began at home, with some feeder-watching. Once again, Dark-eyed Juncos (40-50) were around en mass, along with our continuing two Fox Sparrows and single Song Sparrow. Today, however, they were joined by a single American Tree Sparrow, which, quite surprisingly, was a “Yard Bird” for us. When we bought the house, the property was mature woods and lawn - nothing in between. Now, the mowed lawn area has been reduced about 75% and the up-and-coming brush is beginning to provide some good sparrow habitat. The four species of sparrows today was our highest total in the 2+ years we lived here. That’s sure to change, however.

After an hour at the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch (only 1 Red-shouldered Hawk and 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk), the winds had switched to the west and increased, so we headed over to Florida Lake Park for some snowshoeing. Now, I don’t mind snow in April, but to have to snowshoe into the park from the road was just ridiculous! Our effort, however, was rewarded with a nice mix of birds on the lake (which was only about 20% open): 35 American Black Ducks, 20 Mallards, 12 Hooded Mergansers, 8 Wood Ducks, 4 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Common Goldeneye, 3 Great Blue Herons, and a pair of Canada Geese but expectedly little in the woods.

After lunch, we headed down to Scarborough Marsh as the tide was reaching its high for the day. Our goal was simply to see some of the recent arrivals. Not having birded here in a few weeks, a number of species have shown up – and have been frequently reported, but I haven’t seen them yet this year. Although I don’t keep an official “Year List,” it’s always nice to spot one’s “First of Year” individuals. This mission was a success, with my “First of Year” Great Egrets (4 at Dunstan Landing and off Eastern Rd), Snowy Egrets (2 at Dunstan Landing), Glossy Ibis (3 at Dunstan Landing and along Pine Pt Rd), Lesser Scaup (8 at Seavy’s Landing and Prout’s Pond), and Pied-billed Grebe (2 at Prout’s Pond) Plus, I saw many more Green-winged Teal (76 total) and Killdeer (18 total), than I have seen to date.

We also had quite a few great birds. These included what appears to be a hybrid Redhead (mixed with either a Ring-necked Duck or a Scaup), a “Eurasian” Green-winged Teal, a “Eurasian” x “American” Green-winged Teal hybrid, a Rough-legged Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon, and an American Coot. I posted details about these sightings – including my notes on the fascinating hybrid Redhead – to the Maine-birds listserve earlier this evening. Here’s the link to it on birdingonthe.net for those who are interested. I also strongly suggest heading down to Prout’s Pond to take a look at this Redhead mutt. It’s really a unique and beautiful bird. I've certainly never seen one. Good thing I forgot my camera today (which I am still kicking myself for!) - although that could be the reason for all of the good birds!

Switching gears now, I want to share this article sent to me by Bob Duchesne (and posted here with his permission). I think his message is critically important, as Tuesday is shaping up to be a contentious day in Augusta – and one that may have significant impacts on birds and conservation in Maine. So please take a moment to read and hear Bob’s message:

A walk yesterday afternoon to Royal River Park here in Yarmouth produced a couple of interesting observations. First, I noticed that small flocks of American Robins were moving south overhead. In fact, throughout the afternoon, I noticed the same phenomenon, and it continues today as well. Every now and then a few Common Grackles were heading in the same direction.

Sometimes this is referred to as “reverse” migration. However, I’m not sure if that term technically applies in this case. American Robins, Common Grackles and other blackbirds, along with species like Tree Swallows, are all “facultative migrants.” Essentially, they can come and go as the conditions allow. An “obligate migrant” is a species that picks up and leaves one place at a fairly specific time, and goes to another place, arriving at a fairly specific time. Most of our warblers, for example, are obligate migrants – when they gotta go, they gotta go (whichever direction they’re heading)!

Facultative migrants are more flexible. They can test the waters – which is exactly what many species of ducks do. In the case of robins and most of our blackbirds, when the ground gets covered with snow – as it most certainly did this week – they’ll retreat. Likely, they’ll head no further south than they have to – to open, snow-free ground, or in the case of robins, perhaps no further than a big cluster of crabapples.

No worries though, they’ll be back as soon as the patches of dirt begin to reappear, and with the strong April sun, that really shouldn’t be too long. For example, the strip of garden in front of our store, sandwiched between a southerly-facing building and a warm black-topped parking lot, is already nearly snow free and the crocuses are poking through already.

Well, it IS after all, April in Maine. Yesterday’s light, wet snow throughout the day wasn’t exceptional. April weather in Maine is dynamic, and on some days, the conditions will make it feel more like early March. Another day might feel like June.

What was exceptional, however, was the amount of snow that had accumulated by this morning! A couple inches had fallen by dusk yesterday, but by this morning, up 15 inches had fallen in the Greater Portland area. I unofficially measured 16” in our Pownal yard. THAT was unexpected!

Eastern Phoebes – like the one I saw yesterday in the snow at Hedgehog Mountain, Tree Swallows, and other early mostly-insectivorous migrants are not happy, that’s for sure. Sparrows, on the other hand, do just fine – especially when there’s a bird feeder nearby. Feeder watching has been fantastic during the past two days, that’s for sure.

This morning, while trying to motivate to go out to get the driveway cleared, we enjoyed a ton of activity at our feeders at home. Essentially the same cast of characters as Tuesday’s feeder watching, but a few less Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches today. Boy, those Fox Sparrows really stood out on the bright white background.

The store’s feeders have been quite active as well, but here we only have 1 Dark-eyed Junco, hanging out with about 10 Song Sparrows and a single American Tree Sparrow. 1-2 Carolina Wrens continue as well. Here, however, our feeders are dominated by blackbirds, with estimates in the past two days of about 60 Common Grackles, 20 Brown-headed Cowbirds, along with 8 Red-winged Blackbirds. Odd to see so many blackbirds walking around on top of a foot of snow!

Our hopper feeder, filled with corn for those blackbirds, narrowly escaped the plowing.

Well, the second week of the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch has been completed. I am very pleased with the total to date of 367 birds so far. A distant Black Vulture on Sunday was the “bird of the season” to date, but we’re really just getting started. 104 birds were tallied on Sunday, but then Lionel got completely skunked on Monday in 6 hours of observation. Well, at least the average of 52 birds a day for those two days was still very good!

The first number is the total for the second week of the count, Tuesday March 27th through Monday, April 2. The second number is the total for that species to date.

BLACK VULTURE (4/1): 1, 1
Turkey Vulture: 40, 67
Osprey: 6, 6
Bald Eagle: 6, 27
Northern Harrier: 5, 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 26, 30
Cooper’s Hawk: 11, 19
Northern Goshawk: 1, 3
Red-shouldered Hawk: 4, 21
Broad-winged Hawk: 0, 0
Red-tailed Hawk: 62, 147
Rough-legged Hawk: 0, 2
American Kestrel: 23, 24
Merlin: 2, 6
Peregrine Falcon: 0, 1
Unidentified: 4, 8
Week Two total: 191
Season-to-date total: 367

Week Three got off to a brutally slow start. I watched little else other than snowflakes from 9am to 11:30am today. In fact, the only birds I had in flight were local American Crows and commuting Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. Singing Purple Finches, Brown Creeper, and lots of Dark-eyed Juncos kept me company however. Visibility came and went, but the winds were light. Unfortunately, they were out of the East. Lately, I have sometimes wondered why I left the field biologist life. Today, was one of those days when I wasn’t wondering! It reminded me far too much of the first week of the hawkwatch at Whitefish Point, Michigan – but not as windy, or my first couple of weeks at the Tussey Mountain Hawkwatch in Central Pennsylvania, but less cold and with fewer Golden Eagles.

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, I was watching a flood of migrants and dozens of hawks overhead with only a fleece pull-over. Today, I was struggling to find migrants, standing around in sleet, and wearing 2/3rds of my closet.

Not many hawks were going to move today (yesterday, by the way, we topped 100 birds for the day at Bradbury Mountain for the first time this season!), and not much likely moved last night either. Therefore, my only chance to witness the migration phenomena this morning was a bit of seawatching at Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth.

Winds were forecasted to be out of the south or southeast, which would be excellent for waterbird migration. With the cold air in place, fog is less of an issue. So, with high hopes, I headed down to Cape E, but when I arrived, the drizzle began to mix with sleet. And, the winds were east-southeast, much less productive.

In a chilly hour under the roof of the Lobster Shack, I tallied the following birds heading north:
119 Common Eider
8 Long-tailed Ducks
8 Ring-billed Gulls
6 Red-throated Loons
4 Common Loons
3 White-winged Scoters
2 Surf Scoters
2 Black Scoters
2 Unidentified ducks
2 Red-necked Grebes

Calm winds Friday morning encouraged me to head up to the hawkwatch for a bit. However, with unexpectedly thick cloud cover, the lack of insolation prevented thermals from developing, and very little was on the move. By 10:30, we had only tallied three birds: one each of Turkey Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, and Red-tailed Hawk. Our store’s birdwalk to Portland’s Dragon Field on Sat enjoyed an Eastern Phoebe and a Wilson’s Snipe – a “first of spring” for all of us. The highlight of that outing, however, was the local pair of Red-tailed Hawks that were observed quite closely, as they flew above and below us around the quarry, then proceeded to begin making new Red-tails, if you will. (I requested that folks advert their gaze.)

This trickle of migrants over the last few days became a flood on calm winds and clear skies last night. The flight was lead by Song Sparrows and American Robins it seemed, with lots of Dark-eyed Juncos on the move as well.

I wanted to check the Lower Harraseeket River in South Freeport at low tide (after checking at high tide on Thursday) to see if any Barrow’s Goldeneye were still around (none were seen). It took me a while to get to Winslow Park though, as I had to stop every half-mile or so along the road as flock after flock of Song Sparrows were flushing from the edges. I estimated at least 200 along Pine St. between Rte 1 and “downtown” South Freeport. Then, at Winslow, I tallied 152 Song Sparrows! (Plus a few American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos).

Nearby Sayles Field Preserve held suprisingly few sparrows, but at least 100 American Robins were in the field – which seemed to be the case for every other large patch of open field or lawn that I passed today.

Next, I headed up to Bradbury Mountain for some hawkwatching. Light and variable winds and mostly sunny skies –especially after three days of northwest winds – encouraged a great flight. Hundreds of American Robins and Common Grackles were passing overhead, along with a flock of 11 Killdeer, handfuls of Common Mergansers, and my first Tree Swallows (3) of the spring. 4 rare-in-Maine Snow Geese passed by as well - a great sighting for the mountain.