[Maine-birds] Northern Maine Birds: Stilt Sandpiper, Snow Goose, Greater Scaup, Am Coot

The first good pulse of migrant waterfowl arrived in northern Maine earlier this week and the light southerlies appear to have slowed the shorebird movement through the area.  Though the warblers and flycatchers have mostly passed, flocks of sparrows and American Robins have appeared on the landscape.  So far, September has been warmer than July and the first frost is nowhere in sight.

I spent the AM birding central Aroostook County and found 64 species including 17 species of waterfowl and ten kinds of shorebirds.

Christina Reservoir in Fort Fairfield was the busiest place with more than 1000 waterfowl.  Best find was a juvenile Stilt Sandpiper feeding with a nice assortment of other shorebirds including Solitary, Spotted, Pectoral and Least Sandpipers, both yellowlegs and Killdeer and a young Semipalmated Plover.  The Stilt Sandpiper was only my second in northern Maine and the first in 12 years.

Other than sheer numbers, duck highlights were 4+ Redheads and several Ruddy Ducks that were molting into winter plumage. An American Coot was also in the mix.  I put some photos of the Stilt Sandpiper and others on the eBird list:  http://ebird.org/ebird/me/view/checklist?subID=S25096489

Lake Josephine in Easton was pretty slow, but a nice assortment of ducks was found in the small ponds just south of the main lake.  My first Northern Pintail of the fall were in the southmost pond: http://ebird.org/ebird/me/view/checklist?subID=S25096467

In Limestone, the first Snow Goose of the fall season was cooling its feet on the dam at the mill pond in that town.  It seemed out of place in the unseasonable 80 degree heat: http://ebird.org/ebird/me/view/checklist?subID=S25096455  A male Greater Scaup was the other noteworthy of the day at Puddledock Pond in Fort Fairfield : http://ebird.org/ebird/me/view/checklist?subID=S25096467

Cheers

Bill

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Bill Sheehan
Woodland, Aroostook Co., Maine

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