Maine birds And MOAC mountainbiking

Saturday, 31 October 2020

[Maine-birds] Correction: LEUCISTIC Common Grackle today - Southwest Harbor MDI

Thanks to the friendly nudges from several of you on the list, and thanks to a technical article from Louis Bevier, I think Leucistic is the term I should have used to describe today's cool grackle. I've revised my eBird list also.

Leucism
Leucism is defined as a partial or total lack of eumelanin and phaeomelanin in the feathers as a result of inherited disorder of the deposition of these pigments in the feathers. It is probably the most frequently occurring inheritable colour aberration in birds and it is most often – erroneously - called albinism or 'partial albinism'. In leucistic birds, the enzyme tyrosinase is normally present and the production of melanin in the basic colour cells and the transformation into colour cells is normal. However, the deposition of melanin in the feather cells does not occur due to an inherited disturbance disorder of the pigment transfer. As a result, more or less colourless (white) feathers occur at random anywhere in the plumage. Different forms of leucism are known and can vary from only a few white feathers (<25%) to totally white individuals (100%).

Not every white bird is an albino: sense and nonsense about colour aberrations in birds Hein van Grouw, Dutch Birding 2006

Cheers,

Craig

On Sat, Oct 31, 2020 at 12:21 PM Craig Kesselheim <ckesselheim@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all - We had one albinistic Common Grackle in our feeder flock today. I managed to take a few photos and upload them to eBird, fyi. It was a lovely pale salmon (cafe au lait?) color, and it showed a slightly darker cast to the head and upper body where normal grackles have their purple sheen.

I'd appreciate hearing back if you have further thoughts, or can't access the list.

List here.

Also 6 Evening Grosbeaks briefly visited our treetops, but we didn't see them at the feeder. Also, my first of fall Am. Tree Sparrows arrived for the winter.

Best,
Craig K
Southwest Harbor

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Re: [Maine-birds] Carolina Wren - Yarmouth

A friend in Harpswell has had one at her feeder for weeks.

On Sat, Oct 31, 2020 at 2:02 PM Becky Marvil <bmarvil@maine.rr.com> wrote:

A Carolina Wren showed up at my feeders yesterday and is still here today. Hoping it stays. My first in YEARS for my back yard.

Becky Marvil
Yarmouth

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[Maine-birds] Re: Albinistic Common Grackle today - Southwest Harbor MDI

We had six here at the feeders in Hulls Cove too!

Tammy Packie

On Sat, Oct 31, 2020 at 12:21 PM Craig Kesselheim <ckesselheim@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all - We had one albinistic Common Grackle in our feeder flock today. I managed to take a few photos and upload them to eBird, fyi. It was a lovely pale salmon (cafe au lait?) color, and it showed a slightly darker cast to the head and upper body where normal grackles have their purple sheen.

I'd appreciate hearing back if you have further thoughts, or can't access the list.

List here.

Also 6 Evening Grosbeaks briefly visited our treetops, but we didn't see them at the feeder. Also, my first of fall Am. Tree Sparrows arrived for the winter.

Best,
Craig K
Southwest Harbor

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[Maine-birds] Carolina Wren - Yarmouth

A Carolina Wren showed up at my feeders yesterday and is still here today. Hoping it stays. My first in YEARS for my back yard.

Becky Marvil

Yarmouth

[Maine-birds] Cherryfield Evening Grosbeak

Just one at the feeders. Hopefully a scout.

Joel Wilcox

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Re: [Maine-birds] Evening Grosbeak - extralimital

Apologies for a non-Maine post, but I thought people might be interested that Evening Grosbeaks have been showing up in the mid-Atlantic for several days now. A birder at Turkey Point on the upper Chesapeake reported flocks of 8 - 30 passing through this morning, some stopping to feed while others continued on to Maryland's eastern shore.

Leslie Starr
Baltimore MD

> On Oct 31, 2020, at 12:32 PM, 'carl small' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Have one solitary EG coming to feeders- been a long time since seen one- Skip
> Rockport-
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
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[Maine-birds] Evening Grosbeak

Have one solitary EG coming to feeders- been a long time since seen one- Skip
Rockport-

Sent from my iPhone

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[Maine-birds] Albinistic Common Grackle today - Southwest Harbor MDI

Hi all - We had one albinistic Common Grackle in our feeder flock today. I managed to take a few photos and upload them to eBird, fyi. It was a lovely pale salmon (cafe au lait?) color, and it showed a slightly darker cast to the head and upper body where normal grackles have their purple sheen.

I'd appreciate hearing back if you have further thoughts, or can't access the list.

List here.

Also 6 Evening Grosbeaks briefly visited our treetops, but we didn't see them at the feeder. Also, my first of fall Am. Tree Sparrows arrived for the winter.

Best,

Craig K

Southwest Harbor

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Friday, 30 October 2020

[Maine-birds] Additional Highlights This Week, 10/24-30

Hi all,

My other observations of note over the past seven days also included:

- 1 Bobolink, Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth, 10/24 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk Group).

- 1 TENNESSEE WARBLER, Wolfe's Neck Center, Freeport, 10/26.

- 1 distant SHRIKE (FOF), 1 Blue-headed Vireo, 1 Common Yellowthroat, 1 Eastern Phoebe, etc, Private Property in Cape Elizabeth, 10/27 (with Jeannette).

- 8 Red Crossbills and 1 American Woodcock, Chandler Brook Preserve, North Yarmouth, 10/27.

- 1 fly-over Common Redpoll, Runaround Pond Road, Durham, 10/29.

- Bailey Island, Harpswell, 10/30:

1 CLAY-COLORED SPARRROW

1 MAGNOLIA WARBLER

1 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER

1 Blue-headed Vireo

1 Pine Warbler

2 Blackpoll Warblers

31 Common Redpolls

1 Fox Sparrow (FOF)

- Pine Siskin high count this week: 82, Sandy Point, 10/25.

-Derek

*****************************************

Derek and Jeannette Lovitch

Freeport Wild Bird Supply

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Freeport, ME 04032

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****************************************

[Maine-birds] N. Mockingbird, Skowhegan + Feeder & Yard Birds

Saw one N. Mockingbird on lower Russell Rd., Skowhegan at 0830 today. First one I've seen here this year.

Feeders and yard at house on Coburn Ave., Skowhegan have been very busy this week, with up to 13 spp. observed during any given day. Those have included Blue Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Pine Siskin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, American Goldfinch, Evening Grosbeak, Mourning Dove, American Crow, & American Robin.

From my casual observations, I'd say Evening Grosbeaks are dominant at the feeders, putting Blue Jays in second place.

Dark-eyed Juncos lead in getting trapped in the barn, followed by White-throated Sparrows. Both have been easy to rescue, however.

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[Maine-birds] Carolina Wren - backyard

Cape Neddick, West of turnpike. I never get these in my yard much less on the ground beneath the feeders. Cool.

Sent from my iPhone

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[Maine-birds] Red-bellied woodpecker/Belmont - Waldo County

Only mentioning because I've never noticed one in the yard before. Checked out feeders but didn't stay.

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[Maine-birds] Re: Over wintering species

Corrections: 1)not overwintering but wintering 2)White-crowned Sparrows.

On Friday, October 30, 2020 at 7:06:33 AM UTC-4 Pat Ledlie wrote:

We've had about 6 Evening Grosbeaks at our feeder - the first time in many years. Spruce bud worm related? Also while crowed sparrows - it seems early for them?

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[Maine-birds] Over wintering species

We've had about 6 Evening Grosbeaks at our feeder - the first time in many years. Spruce bud worm related? Also while crowed sparrows - it seems early for them?

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Wednesday, 28 October 2020

Re: [Maine-birds] Yarmouth Rufous Hummingbird, 10/28 PM - DEPARTED?

Hi all,

Unless the bird retreated to a very early torpor in today's cold rain, it looks like the Yarmouth Rufous Hummingbird may have departed as it was last seen around 2:00pm. Randy Billmeier reports that today's activity was very different than any other day, with the bird making very quick, darting feeding bouts. If the bird is seen again, Randy will contact me and we'll get the word out immediately.

Cold temperatures, this morning's light wet snowfall, falling pressure, and a light northerly wind may have just been enough to usher him on his way...assuming it would indeed fly south from here. Of course, we don't know if it was a "drift vagrant" that was just a few degrees off course, or entrained in a storm, or is a " Misoriented Migrant) that flew 90 or 180-degrees in the wrong direction and will continue to go in the wrong direction. I'll choose to think happy thoughts (we need more of those in 2020), and that it has continued its course correction by heading south from here to possibly join the growing winter population in the Southeast.

Meanwhile, thank you to everyone who so graciously followed the recommendations for visitation. Things went very well for the Billmeiers and their neighbors, and Randy raved about the graciousness and courtesy of everyone who visited, and "would do it again in a heartbeat." It is just unfortunate that the bird has departed so soon after its presence came to light.

Keep your feeders out, plant more late-blooming flowers, and keep your eyes out. I'm convinced there are more vagrant hummingbirds passing through the state each fall.

Thanks again everyone,

Derek

*****************************************

Derek and Jeannette Lovitch

Freeport Wild Bird Supply

541 Route One, Suite 10

Freeport, ME 04032

207-865-6000

www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com

****************************************

On Monday, October 26, 2020, 08:04:41 PM EDT, 'Derek Lovitch' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Hi all,

An immature male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird is coming to a feeder in Yarmouth and the homeowners, Randy and Nancy Billmeier are graciously welcoming visitors.

It has been present since the 17th or 18th, but just came to our attention today, thanks to our annual call for late hummingbird reports in our store's newsletter. Jeannette and I observed and photographed it as he visited the feeder and the last hosta blossoms in the side yard and (a purple flower out front that I do not know the name of) in the front yard. He came three times between 4:30 and 5:00pm this evening, in a cool light rain and a temperature of 43F!

I believe the extent of rufous on the back (appears to be coming in in places where rufous is not present on Allen's)might be enough to confirm this as a Rufous Hummingbird, but we were unable to observe or photograph the spread tail. Perfect photographs of a spread tail should be enough to confirm that this is not an Allen's Hummingbird (yes, that is a challenge!), which I believe is overdue in Maine.

Assuming it makes it through another chilly night and doesn't depart at first light, this is the first chaseable Selasphorous in Maine in quite some time, so we are very thankful to have been given permission to share this. Please, please, follow the instructions carefully and tread very lightly in this lovely, quiet neighborhood. As usual, we need to be on our best behavior as a birding community to not overstay our welcome and not make the gracious homeowners in any way regret their hospitality.

The bird is at 97 Ledgewood Drive in Yarmouth. Ledgewood is a lightly traveled neighborhood road, but it is rather narrow. Please park along one side of the road only (the homeowner's side/odd numbers) so as not to block traffic. Please be sure not to block any driveways, and avoid turning around in driveways whenever possible. We saw numerous young children out on bikes despite the weather, so please drive very slowly and carefully.

Once at the house, walk to the white picket fence on the RIGHT side of the house. The small hummingbird feeder is on the backside of the bay window. The best line for observations and photographs is several feet to the right of the gate.

Under no circumstances should anyone enter the yard, neighboring yard, or walk in, through, or on any garden beds.

Please include the above instructions in EVERY eBird or any other post...We cannot let people show up with only a GPS location or address and assume they'll figure out where to see the feeder or where not to be a bother.

Ellen Blanchard, the host of the Golden-crowned Sparrow was in the store today and raved about the best behavior of the birders who were fortunate enough to visit. Let's make sure the Billmeiers and their neighbors have only good things to say about the birding community here, too.

Jeannette's photos from this evening can be seen here:

http://www.facebook.com/198877036808925/posts/3891399680889957/?extid=0&d=n

Happy twitching,
Derek and Jeannette

Sent from my iPhone

[Maine-birds] Black-backed Woodpecker

I finally had a chance to walk part of the new Penobscot River Trails in Grindstone this morning. Friends had told me they believed Black-backed Woodpeckers might be present. I walked four miles out, and four miles back, only to hear one calling just behind the headquarters building where I had started from. She flew right past me and landed in a convenient tree for a photo op.

So, yes, they are present. Or this one was wandering. (They do that in late autumn.)

Bob Duchesne

Woodpecker Whisperer

Virus-free. www.avast.com

[Maine-birds] Re: Webber pond, Bremen

Wow! Wood ducks are always such a special sighting.

I have never seen them foraging on land, though I've read that they do.

Thanks for sharing this!

On Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 11:26:50 AM UTC-4 Ann Nesslage wrote:

October is wood duck month here--with as many as 12 wood ducks foraging for acorns in my yard near the pond at the beginning of the month and more recently over 24 diving for acorns along the shoreline. Also had a hooded merganser pair along the shore yesterday, and to my surprise two loons were in the middle of the pond calling--(think it may have been this summer's young loon and one adult)--
the geese are still around--grackles have been sweeping through, and robins are on the apples and crabapples--
red bellied woodpecker on the suet--
cardinals around more often and an occasional purple finch
-- crow numbers have gone from 5 to 7 regulars--with squirrels chasing them yesterday--
today the crows actually managed to get onto the platform feeder and reach down for the suet--

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[Maine-birds] Pine Grosbeaks - Anson

Two male pine grosbeaks showed up this morning and are eyeballing the feeders already. Also have a large flock of redpolls working the birch trees with the occasional feeder stop. Evening grosbeaks are daily as well. The blue Jay's are overwhelming the feeders and draining them within hours.

Should be a great winter!

Garth

⁣Garth McElroy / McElroy Productions
Natural History and Wildlife Filming
garth@mcelroyproductions.com
Anson, Maine USA 04911
207-860-0885

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[Maine-birds] Rufous Hummingbird YES

Very busy, seen frequently

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Tuesday, 27 October 2020

[Maine-birds] Thank you for Northern Pintail ID

Thank you to the experts here who looked at the fuzzy photos and were able to identify the duck in an Englishmans Bay estuary as a Northern Pintail. The explanations and identification are much appreciated.

Today in the fading light and using the last shots before the camera battery gave out I took pictures of a ground-feeding sparrow near the Englishmans River and just a few meters from Englishmans Bay.

The sparrow had a flat head with a median stripe, a post ocular dark stripe, an unstreaked breast, wing bars, and a small bill. It looked a lot like a White-throated Sparrow but lacked the bib. I posted the egregiously awful photos on iNaturalist and called it a Chipping Sparrow. If you would like to correct this, please take a look. My user name on iNaturalist is carol-in-maine.

We have had a Tufted Titmouse in Roque Bluffs for 12 days in a row! We can't remember having seen one here before. Are others in Washington County seeing this species? Pine Siskins made a stop at the feeder two days ago but seem to have flown elsewhere. Carol

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[Maine-birds] Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds

Below are two interesting articles on the relationship between Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds.The first describes differences in rectrices, the second deals with the zone of hybridization between the two species in N. California and S.Oregon. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to see and appreciate the bird. Danny Danforth

https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/nabb/v030n01/p0021-p0026.pdf

https://animalaeroacoustics.ucr.edu/pdf/Myers%20et%202019%20allens%20x%20rufous%20hybrid%20zone.pdf

Loring M. Danforth

Telephone: 207-786-6081

Fax: 207-786-8333

4 Andrews Rd.

Bates College

Lewiston, ME 04240

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Re: [Maine-birds] Selasphorous Hummingbird (probable Rufous), Yarmouth, 10/26

Hi all,
Don Thompson sent me a spread tail photo, which I have added to the growing collection of photos in the "comments" section of our original Facebook post. As expected and suggested in the field, it looks pretty darn conclusive for an immature male Rufous Hummingbird.
-Derek

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 27, 2020, at 2:54 PM, 'Doug Hitchcox' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Many thanks to Derek and the Billmeiers for getting information about this bird out and allowing people to try seeing it. To help with sharing the access information I created a stakeout hotspot in eBird that includes a tinyurl to Derek's instructions. With so many people using the eBird app to create checklists from the field, I know people will find it difficult or be delayed in having these instructions in each list, but hopefully if everyone uses this hotspot that will keep the rules attached to each report.
>
> The stakeout hotspot is called: stakeout Rufous Hummingbird (2020) Access: tinyurl.com/2020ruhu
> This should also make finding updates on sighting easier by accessing recent sighting here (but I encourage the more timely reporting method of using this listserv): https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12605016
>
> And you've probably noticed I named the hotspot "Rufous Hummingbird" because Louis Bevier shared a spread-tail photo that appears to show a slight notch in r2, a broad white tip to r3, and r5 looks relatively wide, which on an immature male is good for Rufous over Allen's.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Good birding,
>
>
> Doug Hitchcox
> Maine Bird Atlas - Outreach Coordinator
> Maine Audubon - Staff Naturalist
> 207-781-2330 x237
> dhitchcox@maineaudubon.org
>
>> On Oct 26, 2020, at 8:04 PM, 'Derek Lovitch' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> An immature male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird is coming to a feeder in Yarmouth and the homeowners, Randy and Nancy Billmeier are graciously welcoming visitors.
>>
>> It has been present since the 17th or 18th, but just came to our attention today, thanks to our annual call for late hummingbird reports in our store's newsletter. Jeannette and I observed and photographed it as he visited the feeder and the last hosta blossoms in the side yard and (a purple flower out front that I do not know the name of) in the front yard. He came three times between 4:30 and 5:00pm this evening, in a cool light rain and a temperature of 43F!
>>
>> I believe the extent of rufous on the back (appears to be coming in in places where rufous is not present on Allen's)might be enough to confirm this as a Rufous Hummingbird, but we were unable to observe or photograph the spread tail. Perfect photographs of a spread tail should be enough to confirm that this is not an Allen's Hummingbird (yes, that is a challenge!), which I believe is overdue in Maine.
>>
>> Assuming it makes it through another chilly night and doesn't depart at first light, this is the first chaseable Selasphorous in Maine in quite some time, so we are very thankful to have been given permission to share this. Please, please, follow the instructions carefully and tread very lightly in this lovely, quiet neighborhood. As usual, we need to be on our best behavior as a birding community to not overstay our welcome and not make the gracious homeowners in any way regret their hospitality.
>>
>> The bird is at 97 Ledgewood Drive in Yarmouth. Ledgewood is a lightly traveled neighborhood road, but it is rather narrow. Please park along one side of the road only (the homeowner's side/odd numbers) so as not to block traffic. Please be sure not to block any driveways, and avoid turning around in driveways whenever possible. We saw numerous young children out on bikes despite the weather, so please drive very slowly and carefully.
>>
>> Once at the house, walk to the white picket fence on the RIGHT side of the house. The small hummingbird feeder is on the backside of the bay window. The best line for observations and photographs is several feet to the right of the gate.
>>
>> Under no circumstances should anyone enter the yard, neighboring yard, or walk in, through, or on any garden beds.
>>
>> Please include the above instructions in EVERY eBird or any other post...We cannot let people show up with only a GPS location or address and assume they'll figure out where to see the feeder or where not to be a bother.
>>
>> Ellen Blanchard, the host of the Golden-crowned Sparrow was in the store today and raved about the best behavior of the birders who were fortunate enough to visit. Let's make sure the Billmeiers and their neighbors have only good things to say about the birding community here, too.
>>
>> Jeannette's photos from this evening can be seen here:
>> http://www.facebook.com/198877036808925/posts/3891399680889957/?extid=0&d=n
>>
>> Happy twitching,
>> Derek and Jeannette
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> --
>> Maine birds mailing list
>> maine-birds@googlegroups.com
>> http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds
>> https://sites.google.com/site/birding207
>> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/8A0DC14B-EA82-4CA2-B28E-834576C41581%40yahoo.com.
>
> --
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Re: [Maine-birds] Selasphorous Hummingbird (probable Rufous), Yarmouth, 10/26

If it's not on the feeder, it's worth looking in the tree with red berries to the left of the house's blue door. It's perched there several times this afternoon, sometimes dropping to visit the flowers along the low fence.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 27, 2020, at 16:03, Weston Barker <westonbarker26@gmail.com> wrote:

The bird is still visiting the feeder and neighboring flowers as of 3:50 PM

-Weston Barker

On Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 2:54 PM 'Doug Hitchcox' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Many thanks to Derek and the Billmeiers for getting information about this bird out and allowing people to try seeing it. To help with sharing the access information I created a stakeout hotspot in eBird that includes a tinyurl to Derek's instructions. With so many people using the eBird app to create checklists from the field, I know people will find it difficult or be delayed in having these instructions in each list, but hopefully if everyone uses this hotspot that will keep the rules attached to each report.

The stakeout hotspot is called: stakeout Rufous Hummingbird (2020) Access: tinyurl.com/2020ruhu
This should also make finding updates on sighting easier by accessing recent sighting here (but I encourage the more timely reporting method of using this listserv): https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12605016

And you've probably noticed I named the hotspot "Rufous Hummingbird" because Louis Bevier shared a spread-tail photo that appears to show a slight notch in r2, a broad white tip to r3, and r5 looks relatively wide, which on an immature male is good for Rufous over Allen's.

Hope this helps!

Good birding,

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

> On Oct 26, 2020, at 8:04 PM, 'Derek Lovitch' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> An immature male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird is coming to a feeder in Yarmouth and the homeowners, Randy and Nancy Billmeier are graciously welcoming visitors.
>
> It has been present since the 17th or 18th, but just came to our attention today, thanks to our annual call for late hummingbird reports in our store's newsletter. Jeannette and I observed and photographed it as he visited the feeder and the last hosta blossoms in the side yard and (a purple flower out front that I do not know the name of) in the front yard. He came three times between 4:30 and 5:00pm this evening, in a cool light rain and a temperature of 43F!
>
> I believe the extent of rufous on the back (appears to be coming in in places where rufous is not present on Allen's)might be enough to confirm this as a Rufous Hummingbird, but we were unable to observe or photograph the spread tail. Perfect photographs of a spread tail should be enough to confirm that this is not an Allen's Hummingbird (yes, that is a challenge!), which I believe is overdue in Maine.
>
> Assuming it makes it through another chilly night and doesn't depart at first light, this is the first chaseable Selasphorous in Maine in quite some time, so we are very thankful to have been given permission to share this. Please, please, follow the instructions carefully and tread very lightly in this lovely, quiet neighborhood. As usual, we need to be on our best behavior as a birding community to not overstay our welcome and not make the gracious homeowners in any way regret their hospitality.
>
> The bird is at 97 Ledgewood Drive in Yarmouth. Ledgewood is a lightly traveled neighborhood road, but it is rather narrow. Please park along one side of the road only (the homeowner's side/odd numbers) so as not to block traffic. Please be sure not to block any driveways, and avoid turning around in driveways whenever possible. We saw numerous young children out on bikes despite the weather, so please drive very slowly and carefully.
>
> Once at the house, walk to the white picket fence on the RIGHT side of the house. The small hummingbird feeder is on the backside of the bay window. The best line for observations and photographs is several feet to the right of the gate.
>
> Under no circumstances should anyone enter the yard, neighboring yard, or walk in, through, or on any garden beds.
>
> Please include the above instructions in EVERY eBird or any other post...We cannot let people show up with only a GPS location or address and assume they'll figure out where to see the feeder or where not to be a bother.
>
> Ellen Blanchard, the host of the Golden-crowned Sparrow was in the store today and raved about the best behavior of the birders who were fortunate enough to visit. Let's make sure the Billmeiers and their neighbors have only good things to say about the birding community here, too.
>
> Jeannette's photos from this evening can be seen here:
> http://www.facebook.com/198877036808925/posts/3891399680889957/?extid=0&d=n
>
> Happy twitching,
> Derek and Jeannette
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> --
> Maine birds mailing list
> maine-birds@googlegroups.com
> http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds
> https://sites.google.com/site/birding207
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/8A0DC14B-EA82-4CA2-B28E-834576C41581%40yahoo.com.

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Re: [Maine-birds] Selasphorous Hummingbird (probable Rufous), Yarmouth, 10/26

The bird is still visiting the feeder and neighboring flowers as of 3:50 PM

-Weston Barker

On Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 2:54 PM 'Doug Hitchcox' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Many thanks to Derek and the Billmeiers for getting information about this bird out and allowing people to try seeing it. To help with sharing the access information I created a stakeout hotspot in eBird that includes a tinyurl to Derek's instructions. With so many people using the eBird app to create checklists from the field, I know people will find it difficult or be delayed in having these instructions in each list, but hopefully if everyone uses this hotspot that will keep the rules attached to each report.

The stakeout hotspot is called: stakeout Rufous Hummingbird (2020) Access: tinyurl.com/2020ruhu
This should also make finding updates on sighting easier by accessing recent sighting here (but I encourage the more timely reporting method of using this listserv): https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12605016

And you've probably noticed I named the hotspot "Rufous Hummingbird" because Louis Bevier shared a spread-tail photo that appears to show a slight notch in r2, a broad white tip to r3, and r5 looks relatively wide, which on an immature male is good for Rufous over Allen's.

Hope this helps!

Good birding,

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

> On Oct 26, 2020, at 8:04 PM, 'Derek Lovitch' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> An immature male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird is coming to a feeder in Yarmouth and the homeowners, Randy and Nancy Billmeier are graciously welcoming visitors.
>
> It has been present since the 17th or 18th, but just came to our attention today, thanks to our annual call for late hummingbird reports in our store's newsletter. Jeannette and I observed and photographed it as he visited the feeder and the last hosta blossoms in the side yard and (a purple flower out front that I do not know the name of) in the front yard. He came three times between 4:30 and 5:00pm this evening, in a cool light rain and a temperature of 43F!
>
> I believe the extent of rufous on the back (appears to be coming in in places where rufous is not present on Allen's)might be enough to confirm this as a Rufous Hummingbird, but we were unable to observe or photograph the spread tail. Perfect photographs of a spread tail should be enough to confirm that this is not an Allen's Hummingbird (yes, that is a challenge!), which I believe is overdue in Maine.
>
> Assuming it makes it through another chilly night and doesn't depart at first light, this is the first chaseable Selasphorous in Maine in quite some time, so we are very thankful to have been given permission to share this. Please, please, follow the instructions carefully and tread very lightly in this lovely, quiet neighborhood. As usual, we need to be on our best behavior as a birding community to not overstay our welcome and not make the gracious homeowners in any way regret their hospitality.
>
> The bird is at 97 Ledgewood Drive in Yarmouth. Ledgewood is a lightly traveled neighborhood road, but it is rather narrow. Please park along one side of the road only (the homeowner's side/odd numbers) so as not to block traffic. Please be sure not to block any driveways, and avoid turning around in driveways whenever possible. We saw numerous young children out on bikes despite the weather, so please drive very slowly and carefully.
>
> Once at the house, walk to the white picket fence on the RIGHT side of the house. The small hummingbird feeder is on the backside of the bay window. The best line for observations and photographs is several feet to the right of the gate.
>
> Under no circumstances should anyone enter the yard, neighboring yard, or walk in, through, or on any garden beds.
>
> Please include the above instructions in EVERY eBird or any other post...We cannot let people show up with only a GPS location or address and assume they'll figure out where to see the feeder or where not to be a bother.
>
> Ellen Blanchard, the host of the Golden-crowned Sparrow was in the store today and raved about the best behavior of the birders who were fortunate enough to visit. Let's make sure the Billmeiers and their neighbors have only good things to say about the birding community here, too.
>
> Jeannette's photos from this evening can be seen here:
> http://www.facebook.com/198877036808925/posts/3891399680889957/?extid=0&d=n
>
> Happy twitching,
> Derek and Jeannette
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> --
> Maine birds mailing list
> maine-birds@googlegroups.com
> http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds
> https://sites.google.com/site/birding207
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/8A0DC14B-EA82-4CA2-B28E-834576C41581%40yahoo.com.

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[Maine-birds] SSDW (Same Siskins, Different Warbler) Tennessee Warbler Cumberland

Noticed a large uptick in almost all the species that were present yesterday. Most species nearly doubled including the Pine Siskins and the Dark Eyed Juncos were even further.

The pleasant surprise of the day was a female Tennessee Warbler working the tree line. It seemed to be moving through with a group of juncos and white-throated sparrows, spending time in the saplings and kicking around the leaf litter at the end of the forest. I had blown a large amount of the leaves from the yard over there on Saturday and I am now wondering if I had stirred up the area making it food more readily accessible for them.

Not going to analyze it too much. Seems better just to enjoy it.

Cheers,

Rob O'Connell

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Re: [Maine-birds] Selasphorous Hummingbird (probable Rufous), Yarmouth, 10/26

Many thanks to Derek and the Billmeiers for getting information about this bird out and allowing people to try seeing it. To help with sharing the access information I created a stakeout hotspot in eBird that includes a tinyurl to Derek's instructions. With so many people using the eBird app to create checklists from the field, I know people will find it difficult or be delayed in having these instructions in each list, but hopefully if everyone uses this hotspot that will keep the rules attached to each report.

The stakeout hotspot is called: stakeout Rufous Hummingbird (2020) Access: tinyurl.com/2020ruhu
This should also make finding updates on sighting easier by accessing recent sighting here (but I encourage the more timely reporting method of using this listserv): https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12605016

And you've probably noticed I named the hotspot "Rufous Hummingbird" because Louis Bevier shared a spread-tail photo that appears to show a slight notch in r2, a broad white tip to r3, and r5 looks relatively wide, which on an immature male is good for Rufous over Allen's.

Hope this helps!

Good birding,

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

> On Oct 26, 2020, at 8:04 PM, 'Derek Lovitch' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> An immature male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird is coming to a feeder in Yarmouth and the homeowners, Randy and Nancy Billmeier are graciously welcoming visitors.
>
> It has been present since the 17th or 18th, but just came to our attention today, thanks to our annual call for late hummingbird reports in our store's newsletter. Jeannette and I observed and photographed it as he visited the feeder and the last hosta blossoms in the side yard and (a purple flower out front that I do not know the name of) in the front yard. He came three times between 4:30 and 5:00pm this evening, in a cool light rain and a temperature of 43F!
>
> I believe the extent of rufous on the back (appears to be coming in in places where rufous is not present on Allen's)might be enough to confirm this as a Rufous Hummingbird, but we were unable to observe or photograph the spread tail. Perfect photographs of a spread tail should be enough to confirm that this is not an Allen's Hummingbird (yes, that is a challenge!), which I believe is overdue in Maine.
>
> Assuming it makes it through another chilly night and doesn't depart at first light, this is the first chaseable Selasphorous in Maine in quite some time, so we are very thankful to have been given permission to share this. Please, please, follow the instructions carefully and tread very lightly in this lovely, quiet neighborhood. As usual, we need to be on our best behavior as a birding community to not overstay our welcome and not make the gracious homeowners in any way regret their hospitality.
>
> The bird is at 97 Ledgewood Drive in Yarmouth. Ledgewood is a lightly traveled neighborhood road, but it is rather narrow. Please park along one side of the road only (the homeowner's side/odd numbers) so as not to block traffic. Please be sure not to block any driveways, and avoid turning around in driveways whenever possible. We saw numerous young children out on bikes despite the weather, so please drive very slowly and carefully.
>
> Once at the house, walk to the white picket fence on the RIGHT side of the house. The small hummingbird feeder is on the backside of the bay window. The best line for observations and photographs is several feet to the right of the gate.
>
> Under no circumstances should anyone enter the yard, neighboring yard, or walk in, through, or on any garden beds.
>
> Please include the above instructions in EVERY eBird or any other post...We cannot let people show up with only a GPS location or address and assume they'll figure out where to see the feeder or where not to be a bother.
>
> Ellen Blanchard, the host of the Golden-crowned Sparrow was in the store today and raved about the best behavior of the birders who were fortunate enough to visit. Let's make sure the Billmeiers and their neighbors have only good things to say about the birding community here, too.
>
> Jeannette's photos from this evening can be seen here:
> http://www.facebook.com/198877036808925/posts/3891399680889957/?extid=0&d=n
>
> Happy twitching,
> Derek and Jeannette
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> --
> Maine birds mailing list
> maine-birds@googlegroups.com
> http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds
> https://sites.google.com/site/birding207
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/8A0DC14B-EA82-4CA2-B28E-834576C41581%40yahoo.com.

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[Maine-birds] American Pipits, Farmington

Greetings, birding friends! The turn of the year is well along now in the western mountains. We had our first "frozen precipitation" event on Saturday night. Hearing Pine Siskins regularly and encountered my first Common Redpolls :-D on Saturday. This morning in farm fields along the Sandy River in Farmington, Tashi flushed a skittish flock of 12 American Pipits. Also down that way were Savannah, White-crowned, Song, Chipping and White-throated Sparrows plus Dark-eyed Juncos, Yellow-rumped Warblers (already on the wane) a female Common Merganser, and tracks and other sign of American River Otter. A beautiful morning for sure.

Peace & good birding,

Scott Cronenweth
Industry, ME
scottcronenweth@icloud.com

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[Maine-birds] Webber pond, Bremen

October is wood duck month here--with as many as 12 wood ducks foraging for acorns in my yard near the pond at the beginning of the month and more recently over 24 diving for acorns along the shoreline. Also had a hooded merganser pair along the shore yesterday, and to my surprise two loons were in the middle of the pond calling--(think it may have been this summer's young loon and one adult)--

the geese are still around--grackles have been sweeping through, and robins are on the apples and crabapples--

red bellied woodpecker on the suet--

cardinals around more often and an occasional purple finch

-- crow numbers have gone from 5 to 7 regulars--with squirrels chasing them yesterday--

today the crows actually managed to get onto the platform feeder and reach down for the suet--

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[Maine-birds] Pine Siskins South Portland

At least 65 around my feeders this morning.

Had been averaging only 25 at a time for last several days.

Spotted a Redbreasted Nuthatch again yesterday. Thrid sighting this year.

3 Juncos and several White-throated Sparrows around most of the time along with my usual feeder birds.

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Re: [Maine-birds] Selasphorous Hummingbird (probable Rufous), Yarmouth, 10/26

It is still present at the same location this morning at 8-9:20.

Tod

On Mon, Oct 26, 2020, 8:04 PM 'Derek Lovitch' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Hi all,

An immature male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird is coming to a feeder in Yarmouth and the homeowners, Randy and Nancy Billmeier are graciously welcoming visitors.

It has been present since the 17th or 18th, but just came to our attention today, thanks to our annual call for late hummingbird reports in our store's newsletter. Jeannette and I observed and photographed it as he visited the feeder and the last hosta blossoms in the side yard and (a purple flower out front that I do not know the name of) in the front yard. He came three times between 4:30 and 5:00pm this evening, in a cool light rain and a temperature of 43F!

I believe the extent of rufous on the back (appears to be coming in in places where rufous is not present on Allen's)might be enough to confirm this as a Rufous Hummingbird, but we were unable to observe or photograph the spread tail. Perfect photographs of a spread tail should be enough to confirm that this is not an Allen's Hummingbird (yes, that is a challenge!), which I believe is overdue in Maine.

Assuming it makes it through another chilly night and doesn't depart at first light, this is the first chaseable Selasphorous in Maine in quite some time, so we are very thankful to have been given permission to share this. Please, please, follow the instructions carefully and tread very lightly in this lovely, quiet neighborhood. As usual, we need to be on our best behavior as a birding community to not overstay our welcome and not make the gracious homeowners in any way regret their hospitality.

The bird is at 97 Ledgewood Drive in Yarmouth. Ledgewood is a lightly traveled neighborhood road, but it is rather narrow. Please park along one side of the road only (the homeowner's side/odd numbers) so as not to block traffic. Please be sure not to block any driveways, and avoid turning around in driveways whenever possible. We saw numerous young children out on bikes despite the weather, so please drive very slowly and carefully.

Once at the house, walk to the white picket fence on the RIGHT side of the house. The small hummingbird feeder is on the backside of the bay window. The best line for observations and photographs is several feet to the right of the gate.

Under no circumstances should anyone enter the yard, neighboring yard, or walk in, through, or on any garden beds.

Please include the above instructions in EVERY eBird or any other post...We cannot let people show up with only a GPS location or address and assume they'll figure out where to see the feeder or where not to be a bother.

Ellen Blanchard, the host of the Golden-crowned Sparrow was in the store today and raved about the best behavior of the birders who were fortunate enough to visit. Let's make sure the Billmeiers and their neighbors have only good things to say about the birding community here, too.

Jeannette's photos from this evening can be seen here:
http://www.facebook.com/198877036808925/posts/3891399680889957/?extid=0&d=n

Happy twitching,
Derek and Jeannette

Sent from my iPhone

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[Maine-birds] I have finally seen migrating American Crows

As many of you know, I have spent many a sunset period watching crows come into the Lawrence MA winter crow roost (some of you have even been to see it with me) but, until Sunday I had not seen massive numbers of migrating crows..

NEW HAMPSHIRE - October 25th, from the Woodmont Farm parking lot in Hollis NH where I was sitting while Bob, my husband, unsuccessfully was searching for Susan Wrisley's rare Longspur, I finally witnessed crows migrating. Over a thousand crows from 9 - 11 am they came up low from low from the NE, crossed Rt. 122 and then went up over the hill of Woodmont Farms to the SW and out of sight. There was a steady stream of them with periodic pods of 40 or so. A few landed in the apple trees but most just flowed over. A few flocks swirled. According to the Birds of North America, they often spend the night in existing roosts on their way north or south.

MASSACHUSETTS - Wayne Petersen of Mass Audubon just alerted me that the hawk watch at Mt. Wachusett MA had 1,200 American Crows pass by. The same crows????? Oh, how much more I would like to know.

MAINE - Allan from near Waterville, Maine reported thousands of crows at Exit 130 off of Rt. 95 in Waterville on October 20th.

My posting on NHBirds prompted All Maley to email me this today:

ONTARIO CANADA - Here's a comment from Holiday Beach on the north shore of Lake Erie in Ontario:

American Crows were abundant today with 7,230 individuals migrating over.

They have a knack for finding the perfect time to fly; at the same time as

masses of Turkey Vultures. Makes for good clicker fun!

They normally record over a hundred thousand crows here each fall

Please let me know if you see more migrating crows.

Thanks,

Dana Duxbury-Fox

North Andover, MA

Fwd: [Maine-birds] Selasphorous Hummingbird (probable Rufous), Yarmouth, 10/26 - YES, 10/27

Randy Billmeier reports the hummer made his first appearance around 7:30 this am. Please see visitation instructions below.

And let's get some tail photos!

-Derek

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: 'Derek Lovitch' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com>
Date: October 26, 2020 at 8:04:41 PM EDT
To: Maine-birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Maine-birds] Selasphorous Hummingbird (probable Rufous), Yarmouth, 10/26
Reply-To: Derek Lovitch <freeportwildbird@yahoo.com>

Hi all,

An immature male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird is coming to a feeder in Yarmouth and the homeowners, Randy and Nancy Billmeier are graciously welcoming visitors.

It has been present since the 17th or 18th, but just came to our attention today, thanks to our annual call for late hummingbird reports in our store's newsletter. Jeannette and I observed and photographed it as he visited the feeder and the last hosta blossoms in the side yard and (a purple flower out front that I do not know the name of) in the front yard. He came three times between 4:30 and 5:00pm this evening, in a cool light rain and a temperature of 43F!

I believe the extent of rufous on the back (appears to be coming in in places where rufous is not present on Allen's)might be enough to confirm this as a Rufous Hummingbird, but we were unable to observe or photograph the spread tail. Perfect photographs of a spread tail should be enough to confirm that this is not an Allen's Hummingbird (yes, that is a challenge!), which I believe is overdue in Maine.

Assuming it makes it through another chilly night and doesn't depart at first light, this is the first chaseable Selasphorous in Maine in quite some time, so we are very thankful to have been given permission to share this. Please, please, follow the instructions carefully and tread very lightly in this lovely, quiet neighborhood. As usual, we need to be on our best behavior as a birding community to not overstay our welcome and not make the gracious homeowners in any way regret their hospitality.

The bird is at 97 Ledgewood Drive in Yarmouth. Ledgewood is a lightly traveled neighborhood road, but it is rather narrow. Please park along one side of the road only (the homeowner's side/odd numbers) so as not to block traffic. Please be sure not to block any driveways, and avoid turning around in driveways whenever possible. We saw numerous young children out on bikes despite the weather, so please drive very slowly and carefully.

Once at the house, walk to the white picket fence on the RIGHT side of the house. The small hummingbird feeder is on the backside of the bay window. The best line for observations and photographs is several feet to the right of the gate.

Under no circumstances should anyone enter the yard, neighboring yard, or walk in, through, or on any garden beds.

Please include the above instructions in EVERY eBird or any other post...We cannot let people show up with only a GPS location or address and assume they'll figure out where to see the feeder or where not to be a bother.

Ellen Blanchard, the host of the Golden-crowned Sparrow was in the store today and raved about the best behavior of the birders who were fortunate enough to visit. Let's make sure the Billmeiers and their neighbors have only good things to say about the birding community here, too.

Jeannette's photos from this evening can be seen here:
http://www.facebook.com/198877036808925/posts/3891399680889957/?extid=0&d=n

Happy twitching,
Derek and Jeannette

Sent from my iPhone

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