Somehow, I found myself on Maguire Rd standing next to my car at 4:15 this morning, shivering in the unexpectedly cold night air with only a fleece and a pair of biking gloves that somehow (against all logic and reason) only conspired to make my fingers colder. Who would have thought it would be 26 degrees in May? But it was all worth it, for all around me there were Whip-poor-wills giving their unearthly calls. I counted at least 9 along Mcguire rd before the grassland bird morning chorus started to drown them out. Then I was surrounded by Field, Vesper and Savannah Sparrows, Eastern Towhees, several Eastern Meadowlarks, a few Brown Thrashers and a single Grasshopper Sparrow (north of Maguire Rd, about half way between the powerline and that little parking spot on the south side of the road). Two Upland Sandpipers added their strange voices to the dawn chorus as well, and I later saw them fly overhead calling together.
Once the sun rose I headed over the the Well's Barrens to check it out, and found a few Prairie Warblers, a Nashville Warbler, an Ovenbird and another Brown Thrasher, but nothing unusual.
A walk around Sanford Sewer Ponds was productive for warblers, with 10 species of warblers including my FOS Yellow Warbler. Ducks included a lingering Bufflehead drake, a hen Ruddy Duck and Hooded Merganser, at pair of Blue-winged Teal as well as the usual Green-winged Teal, Mallards, Black Ducks and Canada Geese. Also had my FOS Baltimore Oriole and Warbling Vireo.
Good birding!
David Rankin
University of New England
Graduate Student
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