[Maine-birds] Green-winged Teals- large numbers late in the migration

I know this is the season of herons and migrant passerines, at last!

But.

In there past week I've seen 170+ Green-wings at the mouth of the Abby (Bowdoinham) and 220+ at Green Point (Dresden), these along the Eastern River.

These numbers markedly exceed the peak numbers in late March and early to mid-April, the height of the Green-wing migration.

These large concentrations have behaved differently from regular migrants in that they have been packed into tight bunches rather than being spaced out. Flocks have been so compact, both on the mudflats and at high tide, that it can be challenging to count them. During migration, Green-wings can be in small clusters but they're not so tight and certainly not so numerous.

I asked Bill Sheehan about this and he thinks these late clusters are probably reverse migrants. He only saw a handful of Green-wings this past weekend when there should have been dozens pretty much everywhere. The lakes up north remain largely frozen and Maine has experienced a cold snap in the past 10 days or so. I'm certainly not going to disagree will Bill on this since he knows a wicked more about ducks than I do.

But I can saw with certainty that I've never seen this many teal this late in the season and additional eBird reports don't contradict these observations. The BNA account doesn't mention reverse migrations.

Thought it was worth passing along. Now back to the warblers.

Best, Peter

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