[Maine-birds] weekend birds

Hi all,

Much as I tried to lock myself in my room and catch up on homework, the birds were just too hard to ignore this weekend. A few highlights are as follows:

Sanford STP hosted a Clay-colored Sparrow (the only spizella I saw, oddly), amongst the oddles of Swamps, Songs and Savannahs. A Dunlin was a bit odd to see there, but they've been arriving in force this week. A few Pintail, a Northern Shoveler, 2 Blue-winged Teal, 2 Ruddy Ducks and 2 Buffleheads rounded out the more common ducks, and I had my FOS Rusty Blackbird

Timber Point held a Laughing Gull that resisted my best attempts to transmogrify it into a Franklin's Gull and my first Yellow Palm Warbler of the season.

Biddeford Pool still holds a good collection of shorebirds, including at least 1 Red Knot and ever increasing numbers of Dunlin. A few White-rumped Sandpipers linger on as well. Also of note were good number of Northern Gannets on Saturday and a notable lack of Double-crested Cormorants today, along with my first Great Cormorant of the year. Had all three species of Scoters for the first time this fall as well. Another Lesser Black-backed Gull was only mildly surprising at this point, on Hill's Beach. It was another adult, lending further credence to my theory that immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls don't exists; rather the adults spring fully formed from eggs incubated deep within Icelandic volcanoes with too many syllables. The alternative (that I can't ID immature gulls) is untenable. 

Swing by and made a quick check, the Snow Goose on West st was still there this evening. I've checked that field dozens of times last year, hoping for something interesting, I'm glad to find that it's not a total dud! 

Finally, Pine Point hosted both a Hudsonian and a Marbled Godwit today, both preferring the sandbar out towards Ferry Beach, though the hudwit did briefly set down on the on the beach next to the lobster co-op before being flushed by a hunting Merlin. One Western Willet continues as well.

Gilsland Farms was pretty quiet this morning in the dense fog.

The End

--
David Rankin

University of New England

Graduate Student

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