Maine birds And MOAC mountainbiking

Sunday, 30 June 2013

[Maine-birds] MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND REPORT

No changes with the species mix in these last couple days.

Other than the one lone COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and maybe one young COWBIRD, the land is occupied exclusively by one species of songbird, the SAVANNAH SPARROW and they are very, very visible and vocal. The first clutchs should be hatched by now.

SPOTTED SANDPIPERS have started to emerge and I spent about an hour yesterday in close contact with an adult and a chick of 1 or 2 days age.
The youngster was content to snag spiders, even hunting between my feet, as long as I sat or lay quietly. Even Mama was okay with my presence and, although she kept a close watch on me, she divided her time between her 3 chicks and popped over several times to brood and warm the chick within a metre of me.

The majority of the COMMON EIDERS are hatching. I saw 5 nests in one small area that contained just-drying ducklings. At one point I could hear a mother Eider as she moved slowly through the tall grass, towards the shoreline. She was making the very distinct, low "mutter" used to call her babies.
I was standing near a nest occupied by 4 young eiders, one still wet from the egg and soon there was small movements in the grass and the nestlings grew a bit aggitated.
In seconds, fluffy ducklings began spilling from the vegetation and over running the nest. Some ran-walked-tumbled across the younger, resident nestlings and continued their route into the grass. A couple reversed direction, apparently confused to find strange cousins in their path. Three of the travellers immediately snuggled down with the residents and appeared to fall asleep.
Now I don't speak any duck dialect but I swear those ducklings decided there and then that going to the beach wasn't nearly as much fun as it sounded back at home and they weren't leaving this new, cosy nest 'cus it was nap time.

An increasing number of PUFFINS have new mouths to feed. It's still well below peak but definately picking up.

This weather isn't terrible but young of many species can be affected. HARBOUR SEALS are one such because they pup around this time.
I found one apparently newborn pup yesterday. Cause of death unknown, but full tides and heavy surf may have played a role.

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[Maine-birds] B-n Stilt, Wh-f Ibises, hybrid heron (HYHO) at Scarborough Marsh 29 Jun; Great White Heron - no

Saturday, 29 June
Scarborough Marsh, Eastern Trail:
Black-necked Stilt - male continues (afternoon in the pannes; Seurat should have painted this)
White-faced Ibis - two that looked like the same birds since 17 April (afternoon on high tide)
Tricolored Heron - in wing molt but still spiffy
Tricolored x Snowy - flew over trail 9:20 a.m.; then in Rt 1 pools 11:20 a.m.
This is the same hybrid heron found by Marshall Iliff 3 June
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14325011
Seaside Sparrow - 2 singing birds (one banded; one not)
4 Short-billed Dowitchers, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, and 1 Greater Yellowlegs out there too

Wells, Webhannet marsh:
Four of us searched the area but failed to find the reported Great White Heron. It was low tide and even the big herons were frequently dropping out of sight into deep channels. Bad time to look. There also was a flood tide of NY, CT, MA, and NH license plates.

Louis Bevier
Fairfield

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Saturday, 29 June 2013

[Maine-birds] Cape Neddick West - Mourning Doves as prey

I was late in witnessing the hijacking of yet another MoDo from beneath my feeders. At first I though it was a Blue Jay harassing the doves and the cries were not that of a Blue Jay but I thought possibly could be. Off in the distance I thought the size of the marauder was about Blue Jay size too.

Anyone want to guess what kind of bird it might be on this paltry bit of info? The doves nest in my blue spruce every year so I hate to have them raised as groceries. But then again, I'm a RTHawk watcher on the Cornell web cam for a second year. I just walked away when the doves and chippies brought to the nest got to looking too gruesome.

Reply to a much earlier observation about Thrushes -- I heard a faint call of the Wood Thrush just once this summer about two weeks ago on a woods trail just west of the turnpike on the Ogunquit Cape Neddick line on Ogunquit Rd. Never since. Also, I've never had a BT Green Warbler or Chestnut-sided take up residence in my neck of the woods before.

Thanks to all for furthering my avian education :-)

[Maine-birds] Fwd: Baby Sea Gull sighting

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kate Hassett <hassettack@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 9:50 AM
Subject: Fwd: Baby Sea Gull sighting
To: John Hassett <johnwhassett@gmail.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kate Hassett <hassettack@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 9:48 AM
Subject: Baby Sea Gull sighting
To: maine-birds@googlegroups.com

Attached are photos of a baby seagull that I spotted on the rooftop of a building towards the bottom of Exchange Street in Portland's Old Port. Bizarre sighting! The baby was up moving around but settled on the flat little metal ledge by the time I got my camera out. The barbed wire caught my attention and then I noticed the little fluff ball stretching!

[Maine-birds] south unity

have had 2 pair of rose breasted grosbeaks here for over 3 weeks. lots of doves, purple finches and the usuals.. have not had an oriole here in 2 years. Diana in south unity

[Maine-birds] Sanford Sewage Plant, black-billed cuckoo

watched a black-billed cuckoo for several minutes...........nice walk in the
rain
I got a few good shots of birds in GA while on vacation this spring.
Killdeer, purple martin, bluebird, and the coolest red-headed woodpecker
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/ (the least terns are in
Maine)
purple martin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/8926677207/
killdeer:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/8914094546/in/photostream/
red-headed woodpecker:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/8904708561/in/photostream/
video of red-headed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/8902779028/in/photostream/
bluebird in my sons back yard, I made two boxes for them last year and they
came within the hour to check them out, and have raised young several times.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/8884392267/in/photostream/

Sanford Sewage Plant, York, US-ME
Jun 29, 2013 6:30 AM - 8:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Comments: foggy light drizzle
31 species

Canada Goose 37
Wood Duck 21
Mallard 6
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Green Heron 1
Killdeer 10
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Mourning Dove 2
Black-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 4
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
Warbling Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 4
American Crow 1
Tree Swallow 44
Bank Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 1
Veery 2
Gray Catbird 3
European Starling 12
Common Yellowthroat 4
American Redstart 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 10
Scarlet Tanager 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle 14
American Goldfinch 5

View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14527956

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/me)

Happy birding
Andy Aldrich
North Berwick

Directions: take Gavel Rd. east off of Rte. 4 at blinking light, 3.7 miles
south of jct. of Rtes. 4 and 111, (in Alfred) or 0.7 miles north of jct. of
Rtes. 4 and 109., (in S. Sanford)

Hours as posted: 6-4:30 MON-FRI, WEEKENDS: 7-8:30 SAT+SUN Holidays are
usually the same hours as weekend hours.

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Friday, 28 June 2013

RE: [Maine-birds] phippsburg glossy ibis #

I happened to be at Sebasco Resort today for a conference and was thrilled to count 29 Glossy Ibis there.

Mike

From: maine-birds@googlegroups.com [maine-birds@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Robin R Robinson [rrrobinson2010@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 6:30 PM
To: maine-birds@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Maine-birds] phippsburg glossy ibis #

Phippsburg, Maine Sebasco just now

Glossy ibis # 25
Got a call from a neighbor that there were "hundreds of black ibis" at Sebasco Resort. Jumped in the car though it was nearly dark and fog pea soup thick. My husband and I counted 25 on the drive going to the resort on the right. Birds took off when pedestrian came along. My consolation for their take off and no possible way to get pics was to have ice cream: Maine Moose Tracks. Highly recommend it.
Robin R Robinson

[Maine-birds] This Week's Highlights, 6/23-28

Hi all,
Not surprisingly, most of my week was spent catching up from being away on tour, but I did sneak out a few times. Those highlights included:

-1 BLACK-NECKED STILT, 1-2 SEASIDE SPARROWS, and 1 Greater Yellowlegs,
Eastern Road Trail, Scarborough Marsh, 6/23 (with Danny Akers).
- 3 Yellow-throated Vireos, 1 family group of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and 1 Pied-billed Grebe, Morgan Meadow WMA, 6/25 (with Danny Akers and Jeannette).
- 1 continuing family group of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 6/25 (with Danny Akers and Jeannette).
- Scarborough Marsh, 6/28 (With a client - despite the weather, we cleaned up!):
- BLACK-NECKED STILT and 1 SEASIDE SPARROW continues off of Eastern Road.
- TRICOLORED HERON and two AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS at Pine Point.
- 50+ Roseate Terns.
- 1 Short-billed Dowitcher (First of fall!?), 8 Black-bellied Plovers, and 6 Greater Yellowlegs, Pine Point. Increase in shorebirds could be a combination of northbound wandering non-breeders and now possibly the first southbound non- or failed breeders.

Meanwhile, my blog (with photos) from my aforementioned WINGS tour, can be found here:
http://mebirdingfieldnotes.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/2013-maine-new-hampshire-tour-for-wings-2/

-Derek

------------------
Jeannette and Derek Lovitch
Freeport Wild Bird Supply
541 Route One, Suite 10
Freeport, ME 04032
Ph: (207)865-6000/Fax: (207)865-6069
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com
Visit our E-store
http://store.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/

[Maine-birds] phippsburg glossy ibis #

[Maine-birds] Purple Finch juveniles

Nice to see several Purple Finch fledglings being fed by their mom and dad in the yard today here in Unity. Juvenile Downy Woodpecker arrived earlier in the week. Phoebes remain in the nest but should be out any day along with the noisy sapsucker nestlings. Hopefully today's downpours don't cause a lot of mortality among the little guys.

Good birding,

tom

[Maine-birds] Finding Bicknell's at Baxter SP

Hi All -

My wife and I are nearing the end of our 12 day visit in Maine. We'd like to put a full day into finding a Bicknell's Thrush at Baxter SP. We are capable of hiking a good distance and were thinking of doing the Chimney Pond trail and returning to the start at Roaring Brook Campground via the Helon Taylor trail. Between the elevation change and the length of the combined trails, I was hoping you experienced Maine birders could tell me an easier way to accomplish our objective. We'd prefer using the southeast entrance.

Thanks for your help. We've immensely enjoyed our stay in your beautiful state.

Steve Semanchuk

Weaverville, NC

[Maine-birds] GREAT WHITE HERON, Webhannet Marsh area, Wells 25-26 June

Doug Hitchcox received a report by Brian Harris of a GREAT WHITE HERON in the Webhannet marsh and adjacent wetlands between Mile Road and Harbor Road in Wells. The bird was found Tuesday the 25th and photographed Wednesday. Being like a Great Blue, folks might focus on areas nearer freshwater inlets or ponds around the margins of the marsh.

This is a form currently classified as a subspecies of Great Blue Heron and would be a first state record for the taxon (Ardea herodias occidentalis). It is a local endemic to the Florida Keys, western and northern Greater Antilles, and perhaps the northern Yucatan Peninsula. There is a strong pattern of vagrancy to the north of the Keys with records as far as Nova Scotia. In New England, it has occurred in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. There are a couple of records for New York, as well as several points south.

The bird resembles a Great Egret but has the same build as a Great Blue Heron, having a stocky body and neck, proportionately short legs that are grayish-yellow (this bird with black on the front of the tarsus) and not entirely black as on Great Egret. The bill is heavier and broader than a Great Egret and shows a slight upturn toward the tip of the lower mandible (Great Egret tapers to the tip, curving slightly along upper and lower mandibles evenly). The Great White Heron shows a pale greenish horizontal slash in the gray loral skin in front of the eye, a mark that is shared with Great Blue and not (I think) shown by Great Egret, which is either greenish or yellowish.

The taxonomic status of Great White Heron is uncertain, but I think it is best to treat this as a distinct form well-worth studying and recording. It's occurrence in Maine is of great interest. Some have suggested Great White Heron is a distinct species, whereas others have given it no status at all, considering it a color morph that is predominant in one geographic area. Some people off-handedly will call Great Egrets Great White Heron, and I think that is behind a report this past April from Scarborough on our list (https://groups.google.com/d/msg/maine-birds/91oGUAEqODI/WIxIHXDZLbQJ). Most of the vagrant records are summer into fall, a typical pattern for post-breeding dispersal in herons and egrets from the South. A mid-April report would be even more unusual. In any case, no other information came from this report. The current report from Wells fits perfectly, however.

The Maine Bird Records Committee would appreciate reports of the Wells Great White Heron, especially descriptions and photos. Please send those to me or Doug Hitchcox.

Louis Bevier
Fairfield

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[Maine-birds] Red-neck Stint

Realizing not a Maine bird but my wife Linda and myself had to go for such a rare bird. Found on beach 7 on Plum Island , Mass.
Beautiful colorations with great looks. The bird is still being seen. Even in pouring rain the bird is actively feeding.
Breeds in Northern Ak. and considered an Asian species.
Go for it.
Skip Small
Rock port.

Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

[Maine-birds] First Rose Breasted Grosbeak

Yesterday morning at 8:30 a.m. I saw my first Rose Breasted Grosbeak!! I saw the bird eating at my bird feeder. They really are beautiful birds !!

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Thursday, 27 June 2013

[Maine-birds] purple finch display, Webber Pond, Bremen

this morning, one of the two purple finch males who come to my feeders was balanced on the roof of the platform feeder. He began flapping his wings--at first slowly and then more and more quickly until the motion was a blur--then he rose above the feeder standing in the air until he and the female purple finch suddenly dove together and then zoomed out of sight

in the oak trees--the whole display was beautiful and amazing--I can't get over the blur of his wing motion!

[Maine-birds] MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND REPORT

I returned to the island on Wednesday, June 19th, from a rather unplanned absence of about 8 months.

The Alcids are well into their breeding cycle, albeit running later than usual by a good bit. Friends tell me the same story from Great Britian.
Perhaps because of the wide spread and widely reported seabird deaths, there seems to be fewer PUFFINS this year.
I've never made any secret that I believe the situation is much worse than is general acknowledged but it's hard to see bad things apparently come true.
Fingers crossed .......... maybe this is mainly a combination of normal cycles. Rabbits (VARYING HARE) have cyclic population drops in the order of 99%.

A nice little bunch of TERNS were here for a while today and some remain. There are also some in each night.
I doubt that much will hatch and I expect to win several lotteries before I see a Tern fledge here again.
Nonetheless, it's pleasing to see them around.

Our resident song birds, the SAVANNAH SPARROWS, are in full breeding mode and in their usual good numbers. It's no trouble to stop most anywhere and see a dozen to a dozen and a half individuals on territory.

There's been a COMMON YELLOW THROAT (male) around and singing his little heart out for at least several days. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have much luck attracting a mate ...... at least nobody has seen a second Common Yellow Throat around and this fellow isn't sticking to a single territorial area.

More recently, likely just this last night or two, we have acquired a couple male HOODED WARBLERS; 1 or 2 NOTHERN PARULAS; a HERMIT THRUSH; a VEERY; a CATBIRD and a couple of "finchy" looking fellows that refuse to allow identification.

Time to put out the Grape jelly.
Catbirds and Parulas like it but maybe I'll get something new .......... hummmmmmm.
I wonder if Shearwaters have a sweet tooth?

Today,Thursday June 27th.

Fog, rain.
Rain, fog.
Fog, rain, fog ......
Okay, you all get the idea. I want sunny, hot, sweltering weather.

Things here are chugging along as usual.
The RAZORBILL chicks are progressing towards their first and last walk to the sea with daddy.

The PUFFINS are finally begining to hatch and the Puffin Peekers are getting their happy fix with Puffins carrying fish.

"Our" COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (after 2 weeks or so he seems like a resident) is still singing up a storm but he can't sing up a mate.

CATBIRD, THRUSH, HOODED WARBLER & GOLDFINCHES from a few days ago seem to have moved on. The newest arrivals have been a young BROWN HEADED COWBIRD (today) and a KINGBIRD (seen briefly yesterday).

PEREGRINE FALCON(S) continues to make irregular but nearly daily forays into the colony.

The TERNS are still making some effort to nest and much of the time lately at least a few have been present on or over the island. I'm pessimistic about the chance of any Terns fledging but it's barely possible that some few might hatch.

The COMMON EIDERS are hitting their stride with their hatch. Although there were maybe a handful of early clutches, the lion's share of nests should hatch about now.
I always expected to see the little fluff balls by the 1st day of June along the mainland coast but out here the 1st of July is the due date.

SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, our only shorebird, seem a bit low in number this year but that might be more perception than fact. I haven't really been around the island enough to make a good estimate. The one nest which I checked today has 4 eggs and I haven't seen any chicks yet.

[Maine-birds] Re: Maine-birds Guidelines

On Sunday, October 28, 2012 7:56:09 PM UTC-4, Doug Hitchcox wrote:

Hello Maine-birders:

First I want to thank everyone for your participation on the listserv: this marks the 10,000th message to be posted since we switched servers in June 2010. Since then our membership continues to grow: now at 727 members and it was just November of last year that we crossed 600. Now as we continue through rarity season and approach winter, I want to recirculate the listserv guidelines. These are listed below but always available at: https://sites.google.com/site/birding207/home/guidelines

Things have been running smoothly with the listserv. Some of you may notice a lag in joining or posting to the listserv because I need to approve all new members and any messages flagged by Google as spam manually. There are a few other things of note that members should be aware of:

***Photos
I would like to ask that members post photos (or other media) through a host such as Picasa or flickr and provide a link within a message sent to the group. Hosting photos through an external site, rather than as an attachment, keeps the size of our emails small which can otherwise be an issue for members with slow dial-up connections and/or limited data plans on their phones. Also, many websites that collate messages from listservs (including the very popular http://birding.aba.org) do not save attachments and those photos will not show up there.

***eBird
I also want to strongly encourage members to use other resources, especially eBird, as a source of birding information. I do not want to discourage anyone from posting on the listserv but this can be a great place to answer questions about status and distribution. Viewing the Maine Bar Charts may be one of the best ways to learn if something is unusual at a certain time.

For example, there have recently been a few posts about Hermit Thrush sightings. It is great to see them this late in the year but did you know they are the only Catharus thrush that overwinters in Maine: checking eBird again shows that by mid-November they are being reported on <1% of checkslists submitted to the database and by February it is around 0.1%. You can also look at the Range Maps for a species, area, and even date range to see where birds are or have been seen.

There is a tremendous amount of information available through eBird, which only gets better with the more people who use it. eBird will keep track of all your lists for you as you submit your sightings and also provides beautiful checklists that you can share with the listserv. After completing a checklist, you can send the URL to the listserv as a sleek way to share sightings. As an example, here is a checklist from last fall: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S9132125. From that link you can see my entire list, photos of the birds, and even get a map of the location. Feel free to email me directly if you have any questions about using eBird.

***Participation
We are currently averaging about 14 messages per day. This is great but I want to encourage everyone to be mindful of your posts. Please include relevant information in your subject lines (species, location, date). If you are replying to someone on the list, make sure you are emailing just them and not the entire group. Stay on topic: what wild birds are you seeing that others should know about? And please contribute! 27% of the messages here are posted by one of 10 members.

---------------------------------

Maine-birds is an email forum devoted to the discussion of birds and birding in the state of Maine. The primary function of the list is to provide an efficient means of reporting wild bird sightings in the state. Posts related to identification, behavior, conservation issues related to Maine birds are welcome.

The determination of what is and what is not appropriate to discuss on the list is ultimately at the discretion of the Moderator/Listowner. The Listowner may decide to terminate a discussion.

Subscription and Settings

You can modify aspects of your subscription or unsubscribe by pointing your browser to: http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds/subscribe

The URL for our guidelines and listerv information is given at the bottom of every Maine-birds post.

List Rules

1) This list has lots of subscribers with varying interests and experience, so you should expect to see a variety of posts. Some may be technical while others may simply express wonder at a particular observation. Please give each post the respect you would expect from your own posts.

2) The daily traffic on the list is currently at a moderate level. Please carefully consider if a post will be of sufficient interest to justify putting it on the list. In most cases, a list member should not post more than once a day.

3) Use the subject line to describe the nature of your post as clearly and succinctly as possible. If you are reporting a sighting, list members would appreciate knowing the location where you made the observation either in the subject line or in the body of the message.

4) Commercial posts are not permitted on this list server. Posts that may be of interest to the community, and which the poster seeks no personal financial gain, may be allowed. Please contact the Listowner (dhit...@mac.com) if you have questions on whether a post will violate the non-commercial requirement.

5) Posting messages with attachments is not recommended. A poster should use other hosts, such as picasa or flickr, to share photos, videos, or other media.

6) Please maintain civility and respect in all postings. Flaming and offensive comments will not be tolerated. Violators will be suspended immediately and perhaps banned from the list permanently.

7) The list software is set so that a reply to that post will go only to the original poster, not the entire list. Unless a response is of interest to the entire list, replies to posts should be sent only to the original poster.

8) Not all messages posted to the list will be of interest to a list member. Please use your delete key liberally to avoid posts on particular topics. If some posts continue to bother a subscriber, please contact the Listowner (dhit...@mac.com).

9) These rules are intended to be as minimal as possible. The format of posts is up to the discretion of each subscriber. Membership on this list is considered a privilege. Failure to follow the rules may result in removal from the list. In most cases, a subscriber will be given a warning first.

Thanks for your participation in the group and good birding,

Doug Hitchcox
Hollis, ME

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

[Maine-birds] Red breasted grosbeak

Hi all-

Just male red breasted grosbeak at my suet feeder. 1st one I've seen in several years. I'm in Camden, near the SnowBowl.

Happy birding!

Kali

[Maine-birds] Maine RBA - June 25, 2013

Name: Maine Audubon Rare Bird Alert
Reporting Period: June 19 – 25, 2013
Area: State of Maine
Compilers: Doug Hitchcox

Noteworthy Species Mentioned:
Red-billed Tropicbird+
Swallow-tailed Kite+
Tricolored Heron
White-faced Ibis+
American Golden-Plover
Black-necked Stilt
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Clay-colored Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow

(+ Details requested by Maine Bird Records Committee)

York County

A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continues to be seen at the Kennebunk Plains on the north side of Route 99.

Very uncommon in the summer, an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was photographed at Fortune's Rocks Beach in Biddeford on the 18th. Presumably the same bird was seen at Hill's Beach on the 25th.

The BLACK-NECKED STILT (more below) made a brief appearance in York County when it spent the 20th on Stratton Island.

Greater Portland

The BLACK-NECKED STILT continued sporadically throughout this week: spending the 19th in the marsh off the Eastern Trail, the 20th on Stratton Island, and back in the Scarborough Marsh on the 22nd through the 24th. Two SEASIDE SPARROWS were also seen this week from the Eastern Trail.

The WHITE-FACED IBIS and TRICOLORED HERON continue at various locations around the Scarborough Marsh.

A probably SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was reported over Plainview Farm Perennials on Mountfort Road in North Yarmouth on the 24th.eee

Penobscot Bay

The RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD that has taken residence on Seal Island again this year was reported on the 23rd.

Central Maine

An AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER was seen at the Nesowadnehunk Campground in Baxter State Park on the 20th.

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[Maine-birds] BNST & SESP - Scarborough Marsh Bird Walk, 6/26

I had the pleasure of leading the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center's first walk of the season this morning. These walks meet at the nature center and go out each Wednesday morning throughout the summer. The sharp-tailed sparrows are our usual targets but those were very easy compared to the other highlights of this morning's walk along the Eastern Trail:

One of the SEASIDE SPARROWS (SESP) continued in its typical location but was easy for us to pick up because it would sit up on a birdhouse and sing for a few minutes at a time. Check the birdhouses pretty far out but especially near one occupied by Tree Swallows.

The BLACK-NECKED STILT (BNST) was spotted by Pat Moynahan in the panne closer to the hunting blind where others have been reporting it. Soon after spotting it, the bird flew a short distance south to the large panne that is in line with Seavey's Landing. The bird was feeding in a small panne behind the large one that is visible from the trail, it could be seen by climbing up the large tree near the end of the trail though! It took awhile for everyone to get a good look but eventually the bird stepped closer and gave us all great scope views.

Our focus on the rarities limited us to 35 species on the trail this morning. Pat had the WHITE-FACED IBIS on the west side of the Eastern Trail before we started this morning. Here is a complete list from our walk:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/email?subID=S14506832

Good birding,

Doug Hitchcox
Hollis, ME

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[Maine-birds] Black-necked Stilt - YES , Eastern Road Trail, 6/16

Hi all,

Danny Akers reports that the BLACK-NECKED STILT continues in the salt pannes off of the Eastern Road Trail as of 11:30 this morning.

-Derek

------------------
Jeannette and Derek Lovitch
Freeport Wild Bird Supply
541 Route One, Suite 10
Freeport, ME 04032
Ph: (207)865-6000/Fax: (207)865-6069
www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com
Visit our E-store http://store.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/

[Maine-birds] Weskeag wren

A singing long-billed marsh wren was near the front panne by the parking area at Weskeag Marsh this AM about 10:00. Never seen one there before. Glenn

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

[Maine-birds] Broad-winged Hawk

Broad-wing Hawk hanging around my property in Rock port today.

Skip Small

[Maine-birds] Oystercatchers on Appledore Island

Rich Aaronian just e-mailed me at 4 PM from Appledore Island in Maine to
report 2 American Oystercatchers seen heading south toward the NH State
line. Perhaps they'll end up in Hampton harbor, NH?

Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA

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[Maine-birds] Stilt NO

I watched and waited at the Eastern Rd. salt pannes from 12:30 PM until 4:00 PM and much to my dismay, never saw the Black-necked Stilt.
Julie Krasne
Yarmouth

[Maine-birds] RFI: Scarborough Marsh/White-faced Ibis, Black-necked Stilt & Kennebunk Clay-colored Sparrow Details

Would someone be kind enough to provide directions and specifics for
someone unfamiliar with these areas?
I'll be heading north on Friday morning for several days in Rangeley.
I would like to add these species to my trip list... :-)
Thank you.

Cordially,

Eddie

**************************************
Edward M. Giles, president
Brookline Bird Club, Inc.
http://www.brooklinebirdclub.org/
egiles@brooklinebirdclub.org

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[Maine-birds] Cancellation on Stratton today's trip

We just had a cancellation for one for the 1 o'clock Stratton trip if anyone's interested please call Linda at 207-415-8331

Linda Woodard
207-415-8331
Sent from my iPhone
>

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[Maine-birds] Possible SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, North Yarmouth, 6/24

Hi all,
I have received a report, albeit with limited details, of what sure sounds like a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE observed over Plainview Farm Perennials on Mountfort Road in NorthYarmouth yesterday at approximately 11:00am, moving from east to west overhead. The observer is not a "birder," per se, and presumably did not have binoculars, but obviously, there isn't much that one can mistake this for.

-Derek

Sent from my iPhone

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Monday, 24 June 2013

[Maine-birds] Black-necked Stilt, etc. Scarborough Marsh

The bird was foraging in a panne, two to the SW from the duck blind this morning. This panne has little to no Spartina fringing the edges. At about 10:40 AM, it flew to the nearest panne to the Eastern Trail, where it loafed with a few mallards.

Other items on the walk out across the marsh included:

1 singing Seaside Sparrow (and a possible, silent second bird)

Pair of Blue-winged Teal

1 Lesser Yellowlegs (seems unusual for this date)

1 Pectoral Sandpiper (seems very unusual for this date)

[Maine-birds] BB Cuckoo in Harmony, more Ovenbirds?

New yardbird for us. Coloring suggests this is a juvenile.

We are seeing and hearing more Ovenbirds this summer, and our WT Sparrows are excellent singers. We can hear every syllable of Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.

Maggie Strickland

Harmony ME

[Maine-birds] Black stilt Scarborough marsh eastern trail pannes

Now. 5:25
Peter

Sent from my iPhone

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[Maine-birds] Waterville meadowlarks

I have been doing a lot of birding by bicycle this spring/summer and have heard many things I would not have heard by car. Today I had not one, but two meadowlarks. The first was on the Webb Road on the corner of 8 Rod Road. The second was further down 8 Rod Road. I missed the one on Town Farm Road in Sidney this time. I have driven these roads a zillion times in the nine years I've lived here and never saw (or heard) the meadowlarks. It's amazing what getting out of the car will do!

Julia

[Maine-birds] gull wing tag sighting In Princeton, ME

Hi Folks,

My daughter and her fiancé saw a wing-tagged ring-billed gull on June 21 at the Princeton Town Landing. They were able to get the wing tag number without binoculars. There is an attachment with the history of sightings for this bird. Banded as a juvenile on 11-15-12 in Worcester, MA, it gets around and appears to be adept at begging based on some of the sighting locations (e.g., Little Ceasar's). It also likes boat launches.

Color tagged gulls are cool!

Norm Famous

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Joe Musante <joemusante@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 24, 2013 at 2:45 PM
Subject: Fw: gull wing tag sighting
To: Erica Famous <erica.famous@gmail.com>, Norman Famous <nfamous@maine.edu>, "randall.kat@gmail.com" <randall.kat@gmail.com>

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "MacKenzie, Ken (DCR)" <ken.mackenzie@state.ma.us>
To: 'Joe Musante' <joemusante@yahoo.com>; "Clark, Dan (DCR)" <dan.clark@state.ma.us>
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2013 9:05 AM
Subject: RE: gull wing tag sighting

Great! Thanks. You saw a juvenile Ringed-bill gull. See attached for info on the gull you saw.

Ken

Ken MacKenzie

Senior Wildlife Biologist

DCR- Division of Water Supply Protection

180 Beaman Street

West Boylston, MA 01583

508-792-7423 x313

From: Joe Musante [mailto:joemusante@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2013 7:52 AM
To: MacKenzie, Ken (DCR); Clark, Dan (DCR)
Subject: Re: gull wing tag sighting

Ahh the formatting must have messed it up... it was A with 705 beneath the A.

From: "MacKenzie, Ken (DCR)" <ken.mackenzie@state.ma.us>
To: 'Joe Musante' <joemusante@yahoo.com>; "Clark, Dan (DCR)" <dan.clark@state.ma.us>
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 3:25 PM
Subject: RE: gull wing tag sighting

Joe,

Thanks for the report of the tagged gull. Did the tag have anything else besides an "A" on it?

Ken MacKenzie

Senior Wildlife Biologist

DCR- Division of Water Supply Protection

180 Beaman Street

West Boylston, MA 01583

508-792-7423 x313

From: Joe Musante [mailto:joemusante@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 2:29 PM
To: MacKenzie, Ken (DCR); Clark, Dan (DCR)
Subject: gull wing tag sighting

Hi Ken and Dan

Just saw a wing tagged and leg banded gull up here in Princeton, Maine and a google search yielded your contact info. I'm not gull expert but I think it was a herring gull with adult plumage. Was hanging out at our town boat landing looking for handouts this afternoon, June 21st, 2013, around 1:30pm. Had 3 other similar gulls with it with no tags. Tag and leg band were both bright orange and label was: A
705

Any return info you can send me would be an interesting read.

Joe Musante

Water Quality Biologist

Passamaquoddy Tribe

Indian Township, Maine

Norman Famous, Wetlands and Wildlife Ecologist

513 Eight Rod Road

Augusta, ME 04330

(207) 623 6072

[Maine-birds] Red Knot, etc.-Popham Beach SP, 6.23.13

Spurred on by my husband's desire to see a Least Tern, we drove to Popham Beach SP last yesterday afternoon. The tide was very low thanks to the full moon.

Highlights of our hour-long visit:

LEAST TERN-18 standing around on beach and feeding, several seen carrying little fish from water's edge back to nest

Common Tern-1

PIPING PLOVER-6 standing around on beach,1 sitting on nest

Black-bellied Plover-8 in varying plumages

RED KNOT-1 feeding with Black-bellied Plovers, very pretty in "red" breeding plumage

Semi-palmated Sandpiper-1

Snowy Egret-1

Osprey-1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird-1 in parking lot

Pine Warbler-1 in pines around parking lot

Need to spend more time next visit.

Kristen

--
Kristen Lindquist
12 Mount Battie St.
Camden, ME 04843
www.klindquist.blogspot.com

"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
--Mary Oliver

Re: [Maine-birds] Warbler question....

Kayla,

Birding by ear is a marvelous way to move through the world, isn't it?

There are at least six variations of Black-throated Blue songs and at least five variations of Cerulean songs. One of the Black-throated Blue songs is quite similar to one of the Cerulean songs, and their preferred habitat types overlap. Although there is a difference in pitch and rhythm for the similar songs, it's pretty easy to confuse either one for the other, even for someone who primarily birds by ear. For that song-type pair, it's safer to confirm the ID visually.

However, for the White Mountains in late June, you can be close to certain which species you heard. While the preferred habitat for Ceruleans does exist in MA, VT, and southern NH, it does not exist in the White Mountains in NH or ME. You probably heard a Black-throated Blue singing that similar pattern.

Scott Spangenberg
Amherst, NH

On Jun 23, 2013, at 6:13 PM, Kayla Pelletier wrote:

> OK so every single weekend I go hiking in the White Mountains and because I like to hike fast, I like to bird by ear. I thought I was getting to be pretty pro at this but I keep hearing this warbler that confuses me and I need an opinion. This bird sounds like a cross between a black throated blue and a black throated green....aka it sounds like a cerulean warbler. Instead of a laid back zee zee zo zo zeet, its more like a zee zee + rapid bunch of zo's + zeet. Listen to Cornell's recording of a cerulean.,,, It sounds like that. I have heard it many times in the Pemi wilderness this summer and last (this weekend it was on the way up Lafayette via Old Bridle Path but in the past I've heard it in Lincoln woods...if anyone is familiar with the area). I am wondering if a black throated blue or a black throated green might make a cerulean-esque song? Range maps of the cerulean don't seem to include the whites. Any thoughts would be great. I have yet to see it and am doubtful that I will. I only seem to see warblers on their terms, not mine.
>
>

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[Maine-birds] Re. banded Ibis, Scarborough

Re. the banded Ibis I reported at Eastern Road, Scarborough Marsh on Thursday: it's been brought to my attention that the bird in my photo shows no specific characteristics of a White-faced Ibis (such as pink legs, which I knew the bird didn't have, but was ready to call it a WFIB anyway, as some sources and photos give examples of this species with drab legs with only a hint of pink around the knees), and subtler details I'm not familiar enough with the species to pick out. However I DID see the face clearly and the white around the eyes appeared very pronounced, and I've seen plenty of Glossies with a thin whitish outline around their eyes... this one appeared to have much wider "spectacles" than any Glossy I've seen before. However, due to the fact that my photo isn't conclusive, in the interest of science I'm willing to call this one "Unspecified banded Ibis" for the time being. If anyone relocates the bird, please drop me an email with your observations/feedback. Thanks,

Sean Smith

Sunday, 23 June 2013

[Maine-birds] Re: Warbler question....

Thanks to the replies. I was inspired to google atypical black throated blue songs and came up with this one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/7315935404

That's what I heard. At least now I can sleep tonight.

[Maine-birds] Banded White-face Ibis

At Eastern Rd., Scarborough Marsh on Thurs. 6-20 there was a WHITE-FACED IBIS nearby off the trail that I got a photo of just before it turned and flew off. The photo is from a back angle but you can still see the white spectacle (prominent when seen before it turned) and there's a band (appears grey or green) on the right leg, something I didn't notice until looking at the photo today. I know they've been seen there recently but didn't know if anyone had reported a banded one yet.

Sean Smith

[Maine-birds] Warbler question....

OK so every single weekend I go hiking in the White Mountains and because I like to hike fast, I like to bird by ear. I thought I was getting to be pretty pro at this but I keep hearing this warbler that confuses me and I need an opinion. This bird sounds like a cross between a black throated blue and a black throated green....aka it sounds like a cerulean warbler. Instead of a laid back zee zee zo zo zeet, its more like a zee zee + rapid bunch of zo's + zeet. Listen to Cornell's recording of a cerulean.,,, It sounds like that. I have heard it many times in the Pemi wilderness this summer and last (this weekend it was on the way up Lafayette via Old Bridle Path but in the past I've heard it in Lincoln woods...if anyone is familiar with the area). I am wondering if a black throated blue or a black throated green might make a cerulean-esque song? Range maps of the cerulean don't seem to include the whites. Any thoughts would be great. I have yet to see it and am doubtful that I will. I only seem to see warblers on their terms, not mine.

Re: [Maine-birds] Black- necked Stilt

Still present at 2, same area. Casey

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 23, 2013, at 9:43 AM, rob speirs <rspeirs1@gmail.com> wrote:

Oops..my original email went to the wrong address. Stilt still there at 7:30 this am...pannes...way out by duck blind. rob cumberland

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Re: [Maine-birds] Maine-New Hampshire Tour results (163 species), 6/16-22

Hah! After all we went through to see it (as the formerly reliable locations have mysteriously become less reliable), followed by an unbelievable experience, I cannot believe I ommitted Spruce Grouse!

-Derek

From: Derek and Jeannette Lovitch <freeportwildbird@yahoo.com>
To: Maine-birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com>; "nhbirds@googlegroups.com" <nhbirds@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2013 11:57 AM
Subject: [Maine-birds] Maine-New Hampshire Tour results (163 species), 6/16-22

Hi all,

I just completed my comprehensive 9-day (7 full days of birding) Maine-New Hampshire tour for WINGS. We logged just about 1200 miles, and a total of 163 species. 22 species were seen on all seven days.

Highlights included (locations for rare or unexpected birds seen only once):

- BRANT: 1 Pine Point, Scarborough, 6/16.

- White-winged Scoter: 16, Pine Point Beach, 6/16.

- Long-tailed Duck: 6 Simpson's Point, Brunswick, 6/22.

- Red-throated Loon: 1 Pine Point Beach, 6/16.

- NORTHERN FULMAR: 1, off Bar Harbor, 6/21.

- Great Shearwater: 125 off Bar Harbor, 6/21.

- Sooty Shearwater: 6 off Bar Harbor, 6/21.

- Leach's Storm-Petrel: 18+ with 500+ Wilson's Storm-Petrels, off Bar Harbor, 6/21.

- GREAT CORMORANT: 1 immature, Sand Beach, Acadia National Park, 6/22.

- SANDHILLS CRANE: 2 Messalonskee Lake, 6/18.

- Black-bellied Plover: 4, Pine Point, 6/16.

- AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS: 3 Pine Point, 6/16.

- Upland Sandpipers: 4, Kennebunk Plains, 6/16.

- Black Terns: 15+ Messalonskee Lake, 6/18.

- Common Murre

- Razorbill

- Atlantic Puffin

- Black-backed Woodpecker: 1 nest w/ 4 young and both adults seen, Trudeau Road, White Mountain NF, NH (thanks to Duane Cross and Steve Mirick for the specifics).

- Olive-sided Flycatcher

- Philadelphia Vireo (NH only).

- Red-eyed Vireo: every day of course, but one out on Machias Seal Island was a surprise.

- Gray Jay

- Boreal Chickadee (three days).

- BICKNELL'S THRUSH (two days; NH only).

- 20 species of warblers (low; a few holes on the list)

- CLAY-COLORED SPARROW: 1 continuing bird in the Kennebunk Plains

- no crossbill, siskins, or Evening Grosbeak.

I'll have more on my blog in coming days, and photos to Flickr and the store's Facebook Page.

-Derek

------------------
Jeannette and Derek Lovitch
Freeport Wild Bird Supply
541 Route One, Suite 10
Freeport, ME 04032
Ph: (207)865-6000/Fax: (207)865-6069
http://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/
Visit our E-store http://store.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/
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