Maine Outdoor Journal

Other noteworthy birds were REDHEAD, CANVASBACK, NORTHERN SHOVELER, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, PIPING PLOVER, SHORT-EARED OWL, SNOWY OWL, HOARY REDPOLL, and LAPLAND LONGSPUR.

York County

There were five BLUE-WINGED TEAL and four BRANT at Drakes Island in Wells on April 6.

Twenty BRANT and four lingering HARLEQUIN DUCKS were at East Point Sanctuary in Biddeford Pool on April 6.

A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was seen in Biddeford Pool on April 9.

Two EVENING GROSBEAKS were in a Sanford yard on April 9.

Scarborough Marsh

GREATER YELLOWLEGS were seen from Dunstan Landing and behind the Pelreco building along Pine Point Road on April 11.

Thirty-five SNOW GEESE were seen behind the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center on April 5 and 6.

A GLOSSY IBIS was seen behind Pelreco on April 5 along with eight GADWALL and two NORTHERN SHOVELERS. One drake NORTHERN SHOVELER continues through April 11.

A PEREGRINE FALCON was hunting over the marsh on April 5.

Two BLUE-WINGED TEAL and a PEREGRINE FALCON were seen on April 6 at Pelreco.

A hybrid EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL x AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was found behind Pelreco on April 6.

An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was discovered April 6 behind the Clambake Restaurant on Pine Point Road.

Greater Portland

FISH CROWS have returned to their usual haunts in southern Maine.

A WINTER WREN was singing at the Fuller Farm in Scarborough on April 11.

A SWAMP SPARROW was singing at the edge of the pond at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth on April 10.

Two PIPING PLOVERS were on Higgins Beach on April 8.

Thirty-eight SNOW GEESE, two RING-NECKED PHEASANTS, and a WILSON’S SNIPE were seen in the Spurwink Marsh in Cape Elizabeth on April 5.

Two LESSER SCAUP and a LAPLAND LONGSPUR were seen on April 5 at Jordan Farm in Cape Elizabeth.

A drake CANVASBACK was seen in Back Cove in Portland on April 5.

A pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL was in the pond at the Fore River campus of Mercy Hospital in Portland on April 5.

RUSTY BLACKBIRD sightings this week included 31 in Bayview Preserve on April 5, two at Sweetsers Apple Orchard in Yarmouth on April 5, and one near the junk pond in Evergreen Cemetery on April 6.

Midcoast

Waterfowl at Wharton Point in Brunswick included 3 drake CANVASBACKS on April 5 and a REDHEAD on April 6.

A drake CANVASBACK was in the Kennebec River near the Winnegance Bridge in Bath on April 6.

Three LESSER YELLOWLEGS were in Bath on April 5.

On April 6, there were 80 SNOW GEESE on the Beedle Road in Richmond, just east of the interstate.

Over 10,000 ducks and geese are congregating at the mouth of the Abagadasset River in Bowdoinham. The majority of the flock is comprised of AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS and MALLARDS but high counts of 400 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 80 NORTHERN PINTAILS, 60 WOOD DUCKS, and 80 RING-NECKED DUCKS have been reported. Recently, GADWALL, NORTHERN SHOVELER and BLUE-WINGED TEAL have been noted at this location.

Elsewhere in Bowdoinham, a well-described adult YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was reported on private property on April 5 and 6.

Twelve RUDDY TURNSTONES and a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER were seen on Samoset Road in Boothbay on May 6.

An EVENING GROSBEAK was photographed on Monhegan this week.

Kennebec Valley (Augusta-Waterville)

A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen from Indiana Road in West Gardiner on April 7.

Two HOARY REDPOLLS were part of a flock of 120 COMMON REDPOLLS at feeders in Belgrade on April 9.

A HOARY REDPOLL continues occasionally at a feeder in Clinton.

Among the birds seen at Messalonskee Lake on April 7 were 150 RING-NECKED DUCKS, a PIED-BILLED GREBE, a BELTED KINGFISHER, and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD.

Two SANDHILL CRANES returned to Smithfield on April 8.

An ICELAND GULL was on the Kennebec River in Augusta on April 8.

Central - Bangor

As of April 7 in Orrington, eleven waterfowl species were in the Sedgeunkedunk Marsh including 120 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 42 WOOD DUCKS, a pair of AMERICAN WIGEON, and a drake CANVASBACK.

Two YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were seen on Fields Pond Road near the Audubon Center.

Eight-one COMMON MERGANSERS, including 78 drakes, were in the Penobscot River in downtown Bangor on April 5.

Western Mountains

A KILLDEER and a small flock of CANADA GEESE arrived in Rangeley on April 7.

TREE SWALLOWS arrived in Farmington on April 9.

Penobscot Bay

A sub-adult PEREGRINE FALCON visited Weskeag Marsh in South Thomaston on April 6.

Four RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were found in South Brooksville on April 4.

Downeast

A GLAUCOUS GULL was seen at the Southwest Harbor "Causeway Club" on April 5.

Twelve GREAT CORMORANTS, 25 GREATER SCAUP, seven BALD EAGLES, 30 RAZORBILLS, two COMMON MURRES, and 42 BLACK GUILLEMOTS were among the birds seen in Englishman Bay near Jonesboro on a Fields Pond Audubon Center field trip on April 6.

A SHORT-EARED OWL was seen flying from Eastport to Campobello Island on April 6.

A SNOWY OWL at the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park was reported on April 7.

Gulf of Maine

An observer on the NOAA ship Albatross IV stationed on the northeast end of Georges Bank had many NORTHERN FULMARS and two SOOTY SHEARWATERS on April 9, the first they have seen.

Northern Maine- Aroostook

An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen below the Caribou dam in Caribou on April 8 and 9.

Species arriving in Aroostook County this past week included AMERICAN WOODCOCK and AMERICAN ROBIN on April 4, NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED HAWK, and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on April 6, WILSON’S SNIPE and GREAT BLUE HERON on April 7, and RING-BILLED GULL and EASTERN PHOEBE on April 8.

PINE GROSBEAKS have dwindled to twos and threes but are still being seen in Woodland and Caribou.

SNOW BUNTINGS were widely reported with a flock of 130+ in Chapman.