Hi all,

My "Maine Birding Field Notes Blog" is moving to its new home on the brand, spanking-new "Maine Outdoor Journal"

Little should change with this blog, although hopefully, uploading photos will become quicker and easier.

Here is the new url for my blog:
http://maineoutdoorjournal.mainetoday.com/fieldnotes

Also, if you are currently signed up to receive "NOTIFICATIONS," you are going to need to sign up again. All you have to do is click "Email me" on the new blog page. You can also now easily remove yourself from receiving emails, such as when you are heading out for a long vacation.

I hope you like the new features of the Maine Outdoor Journal. And, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me an email.

-Derek

I skipped out of work a little early on Friday to check some flooded fields on "my way" home # OK, a very roundabout way home! A single Greater Yellowlegs was in a front lawn on Middle Rd in Cumberland, and two Lesser Yellowlegs and 5 Killdeer were at Spring Brook Farm off of Greely Road. Now, for the record, if you're casually scanning the marsh/flood at Spring Brook Farm with binoculars and you see some wacky passerine feeding in weeds in the distance that just "had to be good," and you rush to your car, almost getting clipped by a dump truck to fetch a scope and camera and then have to wait impatiently for traffic to pass while knowing that the bird was going to leave . . . well . . .don't bother . . . it's a House Sparrow with white wings . . .

Continuing on the loop, there was a Great Egret in the ponds of the Toddy Brook Golf Course. I had high hopes for a patch bird or two when I found the lower fields completely flooded at Old Town House Park in North Yarmouth, but unfortunately, it was shorebird-free. One lone Lesser Yellowlegs was in a flooded field on Merrill Road in Freeport.

Then, on Saturday, my birdwalk group enjoyed an excellent outing to Wharton Point and Highland Road in Brunswick (see our website, as always, for a complete birdwalk summary), which enjoyed 8 species of shorebirds among the other fun stuff.

On Sunday, Doug and I headed south for a long, full day of shorebirding. We met at the store at 6:00am, and rolled back in at almost exactly 6:00pm. 12 hours produced 14 species of shorebirds (a little disappointing, actually), but an extremely enjoyable day. For one thing, we were out birding all day. For another, it was actually dry # and partly sunny # and even rather warm! What a concept!

We began at Biddeford Pool, hitting all of the sites at shorebirding prime-time. Unfortunately, fog precluded us from any early-morning seawatching, and it did hamper our efforts at scanning distant mudflats and sandbars all morning. A smattering of Yellow Warblers included a few high-flying, calling migrants, but our mission was shorebirds.

This juvenile Cooper's Hawk landed on a wire in front of us as we walked Ocean Ave in Biddeford Pool. He was just too cooperative to not snap a few digiscoped shots. Unfortunately, I was too close!

Basket Island and Hill's Beach in the fog.

It was yet another cool and wet morning as I birded a few sites around Portland. Things have gotten pretty quiet at Dragon Field, as expected at this season. The Bobolinks have departed, and I only encountered one Yellow Warbler. Although migrants of both species can be found through September, our local breeders are clearing out in August. Two Indigo Buntings and a fresh, juvenile Cooper's Hawk were also present.

Capisic Pond Park was its usually birdy-self, and today the action included a female Orchard Oriole. I do not believe that they were confirmed to be breeding here this year # in their only regular breeding location in the state # but the fact that a female is still around certainly suggests that they at least tried to nest here this summer.

Finally, I took a stroll in the area along the Commercial Street Extension that I call "Mercy Woods." I was interested in checking out the new trail that was built along the shoreline. A nice gravel path and benches have been added, trash has been picked up, but a whole lot of trees and brush have been cleared. Once again, it looks like Portland's answer to its homeless problem is to simply cut down some trees.

A truly impressive amount of rain fell overnight Thursday and through mid-morning on Friday. Over 6 inches was reported in Freeport, and we had just over 5 in Pownal. A lot of streets were flooded, and some roads were washed out. Needless to say, I didn't venture very far this morning. In fact, the morning's outing was limited to a short romp in the soggy woods at the end of our street during the pouring rain with Sasha. It really wasn't very pleasant!

The rain was coming to an end # for now # just as Jeannette was beginning her shorebird survey in Sprawlborough, but for me, it was feeder watching at the store for the rest of the morning. The volume of Common Grackles (41 today) and House Sparrows (32+) are increasingly rapidly, but we're still seeing excellent overall diversity with 23 species a day visiting the feeders. However, today would be an excellent day to be driving rural roads (the ones that are not flooded, of course) looking for shorebirds in flooded fields and gulls on saturated grassy areas.

As you know, last week, I made up a little survey for readers of this blog. I was looking for feedback on various topics, and I was collecting some data # especially in regards to changes that may be coming to Mainetoday.com. First and foremost, I want to thank the folks who took the time to fill out the survey. It is greatly appreciated, and your opinion is valuable to me. (It's not too late to offer your opinion, please take a look at the survey here)

One thing that I asked about was the "notifications" feature. This was an important practical question, as there's at least some chance that this feature will not be available in the future. I think this would be a major loss, and your responses suggest that. Of those who receive the notification, none of you think that you would read the blog as regularly without it. For those who didn't know what the "notification" feature is, it is simple a short email that is sent directly to you with a link to the blog every time it is updated. Therefore, you don't need to "check" the blog to see if there's a new entry, you just have to click on the link in your email. You can sign up to receive the notifications by entering your email address in the "Updates" field on the upper right hand side of the blog, below the advertisement, and next to my fat head.

I also received a lot of good feedback and comments, including suggestions for what else to add to the blog. One, was "answering reader's questions." Well, I'm happy to do that anytime! Just send me an email, or use the comment field at the bottom of the page, and I will answer questions on the blog. There was one request for regularly blogging about my Saturday morning birdwalk outings. I already do that! But, those are on the "News" page of www.yarmouthbirds.com. And finally, many thanks to the reader who suggested that I get a raise from Mainetoday.com. I love that idea! However, I would have to get paid first, before I could get paid more!

Jeannette and I had a great day on Tuesday. For one thing, it was dry! For another, the birding was quite good. While the "mostly sunny" day never materialized # it stayed cloudy for almost all of the day # we did not see any rain for a change, and that was most welcome.

We began at the Kennebunk Plains, where we enjoyed the full suite of expected species, including 5 Grasshopper Sparrows (including a few particularly excellent looks) and one Upland Sandpiper. Juveniles, especially Field Sparrows, were plentiful, but I am sure we would have seen even more birds if we hadn't spent so much time bent over feasting on blueberries!

Our next stop was the Sanford Sewerage facility. All of the rain has filled up most of the ponds here, so muddy edges # and therefore shorebirds # were very limited. 7 Least Sandpipers, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers (my first of the fall), 4 Killdeer, and 1 Spotted Sandpiper was all; there are usually hundreds of shorebirds here at this season. The swallow show, however, is progressing nicely, with at least 300 Tree, 6 Barn, 5 Bank, and one Cliff present here today, swirling about over the settling ponds, and alighting now and again.

Then, it was on to the Sanford Groundwater Protection Area. The shorebird habitat looked very good # lots of sandy margins # but only 5 Least and 3 Spotted Sandpipers were present today. Maybe the habitat # a recently-excavated hole in a sandpit # is too young to support enough food? Regardless, this place still has that "good bird" feel to me, so I will make it a regular stop when I am in this neck of the woods.

Next on the route was the Winding Brook Turf Farm. It's a bit early for the uncommon "grasspipers," but we did have another two Pectoral Sandpipers here today, along with 8 Least Sandpipers, and a goodly 51 Killdeer. Plus, a Solitary Sandpiper alighted in a puddle - my first of the fall. Sod farms make excellent shorebird habitat, especially with all of the rain that we have been having. I just wish the sod farm up in New Gloucester was still in existence!

OK, all of this rain is getting a bit old. While we did have a very enjoyable - and dry - birdwalk on Saturday, my Sunday outing was a washout. A quick check of the radar before I left the house suggested that there was only one blob of rain to contend with. I would either drive through that, or have to wait out the end of it by the time I got down to Sprawlborough Marsh.

And, that was right on. The rain came to an end as I turned onto Pine Point Road, and I made my way onto the beach and up towards the expansive sandbar and mudflats at low tide in the Pine Point Narrows. My timing was perfect - the tide was just beginning to come in, and birds were active. Dozens of Common Terns were feeding in the surf, catching small fish to feed to begging juveniles lined up on the beach. About 100 Bonaparte's Gulls were feeding along the channel, along with 75+ Short-billed Dowitchers, and a smattering of other species. Perfect conditions, perfect timing, and I just knew that there was a rarity to be found.

My enjoyment lasted all of about a half-hour. That's when some very distant thunder quickly became some not-so-distant thunder. I could see the wall of rain inching its way up Old Orchard Beach, so I - and the dozens of walkers, dog-walkers, fishermen, etc - all made an abrupt turn back to the parking lot. I made it just as the skies completely opened up. Unfortunately, this was no passing downpour. Torrential rains lasted nearly an hour, and after waiting in the car at Pine Point, I finally gave up, cut my losses, and headed to Yarmouth to take the early shift at the store. (Of course, the sun came out about an hour later - figures!). While I was in fact hoping to be out in some rain - as I have just begun my next product review for Birding magazine on the new Leica Ultravid HD's that have this remarkable new hydro-phobic lens coating - this was just a little too much rain for my tastes, and too much rain for birding - even with binoculars with hydro-phobic lenses.

As the tide was heading out in the afternoon, I visited Brunswick's Wharton Point to check on the shorebirds there. There were significantly fewer than a week ago, but numbers of Lesser Yellowlegs in particular were still quite impressive. A single Ruddy Turnstone was rather unusual for this location # I don't think that I've had one here before. Here's the count:
118 Lesser Yellowlegs
79 Short-billed Dowitchers
48 Semipalmated Sandpipers
22 Semipalmated Plovers
13 Greater Yellowlegs
7 Black-bellied Plovers
3 Least Sandpipers
1 Ruddy Turnstone

Luckily, feeder-watching from the dry-side of the window continues to be very productive, both here at the store, and at our home. At home, it is now downright dangerous to be out on the back porch. At least 5 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds continue in our yard, and are constantly fighting. They chase each other in circles around the house, and one needs to be careful not to be speared by one as you round a corner! Also at home, Jeannette and I have been enjoying an interesting behavior by an Ovenbird. Normally secretive forest ground-dwellers, this one bird has taken to sitting on the edge of our woods just behind our feeding station, and sallying for flying insects. I have never seen this behavior from an Ovenbird.

Jeannette and I made a quick escape this week, taking a couple of days off to camp, hike, and bird around Moosehead Lake. Nicole, who has been working at the store for the summer has been doing a good job, so we used the excuse to give her a few more hours # and some more practice running the show # to take a short break.

We choose the Moosehead area since neither of us has spent much time in the region, and because we wanted to have a look around and enjoy the area in case the Plum Creek Boondoggle comes to fruition. And, the more I read and learn about this massive development scheme # the largest in the state's history, by far # the more I believe the term "boondoggle" may be the best word to describe it.

But, I could go on, and on, and on, about my opinion about the proposal. I'll spare everyone today. Instead, I will highly recommend taking a long look at the Maine Policy Review produced by the Open Space Institute. There's a ton of really good information, and it is superior to the "increasingly polarized debate" that I feel has clouded the real issues at stake here. It is not "jobs vs. trees" as some people on both sides of the issue have made it. It's much, much bigger, with permanent, and statewide ramifications.

OK, enough about that . . . now, about the area, and our visit. While we did spend some time birding on Plum Creek timberlands, and we did spend some time in specific places that have been in the news lately # like Lily Bay, our trip was in fact a vacation, not a bona fide fact-finding mission. However, I feel I have learned a lot more about the area, and that knowledge will further allow me to continue to develop my opinion about this debacle, err, plan (Hmm, did I give away my opinion again???)

We got an early start on Tuesday morning, and headed north. Finding Lily Bay State Park to be near capacity, we elected to find a campsite a little more remote, and decided to check out the Long Pond Campground nestled well off the beaten track in the lands of the KI-Jo Mary Multiple Use Forest (a very cool, and unique consortium of landowners that provide public access to working forest. Check out the website.

But, once again I digress. . . so we chose the campsite, made a few wrong turns on sketchy logging roads, and found this awesome remote campground consisting of only three sites, nestled in deep woods a stone's throw from Long Pond. There was one other party in the campground, so clearly this was going to be a less active location than Lily Bay!

Upon our arrival at the campsite, a small mixed foraging flock consisting of a family group each of Northern Parula and Nashville Warblers, 1 American Redstart, 1 Magnolia Warbler, 1 Black-and-white Warbler, and a few Black-capped Chickadees moved through # a good sign indeed! A rain shower moved in just as we finished setting up the tent, and then we went on our way to hike the Gulf Hagas. Billed as the "Grand Canyon of Maine," we had a very enjoyable hike, especially after the rain shower ended. Now, I'll admit, calling this the "Grand Canyon of Maine," is a little bold to say the least, but it was a gorgeous area, and a very enjoyable hike (7.6 miles, plus a bunch of little side trails to overlooks). Since it was the middle of the day, and it was late July, the mixed woods of the area were expectedly quiet, but we did encounter some of the typical residents of the habitat, such as Black-throated Blue Warblers and Swainson's Thrushes.