[Maine-birds] Rarity Roundup X results, 11/3

Hi all,

 

119 species (preliminary totals) were tallied by the 8 teams of the TENTH Annual South Coastal Maine Rarity Roundup, six species above our 10-year average of 113, despite somewhat more limited coverage than in the past few years. The continuing "Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler was added to the cumulative checklist, while we also had our second-ever Snowy Egret, Prairie Warbler, and Nelson's Sparrow.  Blackpoll Warbler and Clay-colored Sparrow appeared for the third time.

Most teams experienced a decidedly "birdy" day, especially from Portland through Scarborough.  A fallout of Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, and Hermit Thrushes occurred with overnight northwesterly winds and a line of pre-dawn showers, with the fallout especially evident on the Portland Peninsula.  I'll have more about the fallout on a blog entry later today.

Record high tallies were set for Pectoral Sandpiper (13), Northern Flicker (10), Carolina Wren (11), Hermit Thrush (52: the 26 in Portland alone was only one short of the previous all-time high), "Western" Palm Warbler (3), Chipping Sparrow (12), Field Sparrow (3; tie), and Lapland Longspur (37).  9 species of warblers was a new record as well, and Painted Turtle was added to our non-feather species list.  All but the longspurs can likely be explained by the unusually warm season to date.

Territory Highlights were as follows:

- Area 1, Kittery-York: Davis Finch.

1 NASHVILLE WARBLER, Legion Pond, Kittery.

1 Pine Warbler, Fort Foster.

1 PRAIRIE WARBLER, Fort Foster.

1 "AUDUBON'S" YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, Fort Foster.

- Area 2, Ogunquit/Kennebunport: Turk Duddy.

2 American Wigeon, Phillip's Cove, Ogunquit.

1 Northern Pintail, Phillip's Cove, Ogunquit.

1 Lesser Yellowlegs, Goose Rocks Beach.

- Area 3, Wells/Kennebunk: Doug Suitor, David Ladd, and Slade Moore.

2 Semipalmated Sandpipers, Webhannet Marsh

2 Gray Catbirds, Laudholm Farm.

- Area 4, Biddeford-Saco: Pat Moynhan, Marian Zimmerman, Joanne Stevens, et al.

1 NASHVILLE WARBLER, Saco Yacht Club.

1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, Timber Point.

1 NELSON'S SPARROW, Day's Landing.

2 Lapland Longspurs, Day's Landing.

- Area 5, Scarborough: Ed Hess, Noah Gibb, and Leon Mooney.

8 Great Egrets

1 SNOWY EGRET, Pelreco marsh

12 American Coots, Prout's Pond.

8 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, Eastern Road.

35 Lapland Longspurs

- Area 6, Cape Elizabeth: International Man of Mystery, Claudia, Robby Lambert.

2 "Western" Palm Warblers, private property

1 "Yellow" Palm Warbler, private property

1 DICKCISSEL, Higgin's Beach.

- Area 7, South Portland: John Berry and Gordon Smith.

1 Ring-necked Pheasant, Fort Williams Park.

1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Calvary Cemetary.

1 Pine Warbler, Bug Light Park

- Area 8, Portland: Derek Lovitch and Kristen Lindquist; Jeannette Lovitch (Capisic and Evergreen); and a cameo by Doug Hitchcox.

2 Eastern Phoebes, Eastern Promenade.

1 BLUE-HEADED VIREO, Mercy Pond.

1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, Eastern Promenade.

1 BLACKPOLL WARBLER, Sheridan Street.

1 White-crowned Sparrow, West Commercial Street.

 

-Derek