[Maine-birds] Gilsland Farm Bird Walk, 10/27

Hey everyone:

Just wanted to share some sightings from yesterday's bird walk at Gilsland Farm. The temperature never exceeded our species total (38) but there was a nice mix of lingering 'summer' birds and arriving 'winter' birds.

My first Buffleheads of the fall were off the West Meadow - these usually arrive en masse so it was a little funny to only see a pair. Double-crested Cormorants are still around in big numbers with one raft of 100+ taking off out of the river. A solo Great Egret was spotted along the shore near 295, possibly the same individual that has been lingering in Back Cove. There was a pretty good movement of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Juncos, and White-throated Sparrows the night before which gave us some good flocks to sort through. One (maybe two) American Pipit flew over the West Meadow, a bird I've yet to see land on Gilsland Farm soil. This last week of October seems to be prime-time for pipits in Audubon airspace: http://tinyurl.com/zxys8bp.

A birder who kept exploring after the walk wrapped up managed to find a roosting Northern Saw-whet Owl! I delayed posting this yesterday to keep the bird from being disturbed. Sounds like we're having a great year for saw-whets. I know BRI has had several nights banding 30+ owls and reports from around the northeast seem to echo that.

Here is a complete checklist from the walk: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32252291

Also, just saw Nancy's post about a tern from Pine Point and thought I would mention a late Common Tern I had at Hill's Beach on 26 October. (Bad photo at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32268234) The group of 4 American Oystercatchers were still present and the Marbled Godwit was foraging on the flats of the pool. No sign of the lingering Red Knots but easily could have been mixed in the distant shorebirds in the pool (200+ presumably mostly Dunlin).

Good birding,


Doug Hitchcox
Staff Naturalist
Maine Audubon
207-781-2330 x237
dhitchcox@maineaudubon.org

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