July 30, 2007

Maine Bird Tour – II

This column is the second in a series of three giving the highlights of a week-long birding tour I led for a group of Maryland birders in June.

On our third day, we left Sanford and headed toward Booth Bay Harbor. We stopped along the way at Maine Audubon in Falmouth where a Willow Flycatcher had been reported. We were able to hear the Willow Flycatcher but it bashfully never gave us a good look.

We made a quick side trip to the Wild Bird Center in Yarmouth to look for the Carolina Wren that had been sighted there. The wren scolded us from the dense shrubbery but like the Willow Flycatcher never gave us a chance to see it.

Booth Bay Harbor was our next stop where we had reservations on a whale-watching cruise. Our goal, of course, was to see some pelagic birds. We had good success in that regard on a wonderfully calm day. We saw at least 30 Greater Shearwaters, ten Sooty Shearwaters, one Northern Fulmar and the occasional Wilson’s Storm-Petrel whizzing by the boat. Northern Gannets, mostly young birds, were abundant. The six finback whales and a Minke whale we saw weren’t too bad, either!

Our last stop of the day was the Salt Bay Heritage Farm in Damariscotta. This delightful area has acres and acres of tall grass, criss-crossed by a number of walking paths. The fields were alive with Bobolinks. A pond with cattails ringing it sits in the middle of the property. A small observation deck permits close observation of the marsh/pond birds. We had Virginia Rails and Soras both calling to us as well as Marsh Wrens. A delightful way to end a day of birding.

After spending the night in Waterville, we left early in the morning for the Sidney Bog along the Middle Road in Sidney. We birded from the road rather than going onto the bog. We had the species one expects in the moat-like habitat ringing a bog: Nashville Warbler, Canada Warbler and Northern Waterthrush. On the bog, we could hear Hermit Thrush, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee and American Goldfinch.

Our next stop was the southwest portion of Messalonskee Lake in Belgrade. Scanning over the marsh from a small parking lot on Depot Street near Hammond’s Lumber, Al Haury found our target bird, Sandhill Crane, in less than a minute. Up to four cranes have been seen at this site.

A visit to the boat landing just a bit south on Route 27 rewarded us with great looks at Black Terns. This area hosts the largest of only a few colonies of this striking bird in the state. Other birds included Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck and Swamp Sparrow.

Highlights of a walk through the Perkins Arboretum at Colby College were a Barred Owl and a Red-shouldered Hawk.

A visit to the Pine Tree State Arboretum is always ornithologically rewarding. Eastern Bluebirds and Eastern Meadowlarks were our highlights during a late afternoon visit.

We rose quite early the next morning and drove to Long Falls Dam Road along the east side of Flagstaff Lake. This road provides easy access to boreal forest habitat. Intermittent rain throughout the morning reduced the frequency of bird song but we nevertheless managed a nice list. Swainson’s Thrushes were abundant along with Alder Flycatchers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Magnolia Warblers and Dark-eyed Juncos. We had nice looks at Black-throated Blue Warblers and heard a distant Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in one of the bogs along the road. Common Ravens flew overhead, uttering an amazing variety of vocalizations. Despite a fine cone crop, no crossbills were nesting in the area this year. No luck with Black-backed Woodpeckers, Boreal Chickadees or Gray Jays this time.

The rain held off long enough for a picnic lunch and we began our trek eastward toward Washington County. We stopped on the way at the Orono Boardwalk (http://www.oronobogwalk.org/), in search of two local specialties, Palm Warbler and Lincoln’s Sparrow. If you haven’t birded this wonderful site, you should make an effort to do so. The mile-long boardwalk is wheel-chair accessible. The boardwalk takes you through forested wetlands and then completes a circuit through a portion of the Orono Bog. We had no problem getting great looks at our two target birds from the boardwalk. Other birds there were Common Ravens, Common Yellowthroats, Song Sparrows and Purple Finches.

Just as we reached our van, the skies opened up. We drove through the rain to the Lubec area in downeast Maine where we spent the next three days.

Maine Bird Tour – I

From June 16 to June 23, 2007, I led an eight-day whirlwind birding tour of Maine for six members of the Maryland Ornithological Society. Three of the group (Al Haury, Dottie Mumford and Bobbi Reichwein) were on the similar tour I led in 2003. Linda Baker, Mary Gruver-Byers and Brent Byers were new additions. Brent took the marvelous photographs that are inserted into the text. I’ll devote three columns to the highlights of the trip, sharing information on some of my favorite birding spots in the state.

After picking up the group at the Portland airport around noon on June 16, we drove to Capisic Pond for a picnic lunch. Both Orchard Orioles and Baltimore Orioles serenaded us as we ate. Other birds there were Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warblers, American Redstarts, a Green Heron and tons of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. An Indigo Bunting sang from the top of a tree.

With our appetites sated, we headed for Evergreen Cemetery. This site is best during the spring migration but has much to offer at other seasons. We had good warbler diversity: Black-throated Green Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers and Common Yellowthroats being particularly common. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak first sang for us and then posed in full view. A Fish Crow gave its hoarse uh-uh call, making a nice addition to our trip list.

Next we headed to Scarborough Marsh. A quick stop at Dunstan’s Landing produced Glossy Ibis, Great Egret, Snowy Egret and Mallards. A Willet called its pill-will-willet cry, flashing the white patches on its wings as it flew across the marsh.

We made the short drive to Eastern Road in search of sharp-tailed sparrows. Scarborough Marsh is the perfect spot for these salt marsh sparrows because both the northern Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows and southern Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows nest here. Occasionally, hybrids are seen.

On a calm June morning, males of both species will sing from the top of salt marsh grasses. However, we were at Eastern Road in the afternoon of a windy day. The sparrows could be heard singing but were reluctant to show themselves for more than a fleeting glimpse.

Our last stop of the day was Pine Point. At least 30 Bonaparte’s Gulls were present. The expected Common Terns were joined by a couple of Arctic Terns. The terns were flying close enough to allow us to see the uniformly gray upper wings of the Arctic Terns and distinctive black wedge near the tip of the wings of the Common Terns. A couple of Least Terns were present as well, distinguished by their small size, yellow bill and white forehead. As we were getting ready to call it a day, I saw a ghostly white tern fly by with a very long tail – a Roseate Tern!

After a nice meal at a Scarborough seafood restaurant, we drove to Sanford for the night. Our first stop in the morning was the Kennebunk Plains, the largest remnant of grassland in the state. Despite our fairly early start, we were not early enough for one of our target species, the Grasshopper Sparrow that breed in small numbers here. We did however have excellent views of the other specialties of the area. Upland Sandpipers gave their eerie whistles. Vesper Sparrows were in full voice and easy to see. Prairie Warblers sang from the short trees ringing the plains. Savannah Sparrows were abundant and a few Eastern Meadowlarks, a species of concern, were singing as well.

A female Northern Harrier was hunting over the grasslands along Maguire Road. At the power line cut, Eastern Towhees and a Yellow-breasted Chat were vocalizing.

The next stop was Laudholm Farm, a beautiful site with varied habitats. A Northern Mockingbird greeted us in the parking lot. The fields were full of Bobolinks. A walk through some of the woodlands produced a Red-eyed Vireo, one of whose songs was an excellent mimic of a Great Crested Flycatcher. A House Wren sang vigorously from scrubby vegetation.

A walk along the beach produced a number of Northern Gannets, some flying quite close to shore. Least Terns loafed on the beach. A highlight of the beach walk was a pair of Sanderlings in their reddish breeding plumage, quite a contrast to the pale winter plumage we normally see here.

Stops at Biddeford Pool and Eastern Point Sanctuary did not yield any surprises. We ended the day with a walk through the Saco Heath. The boardwalk provides easy access to this charming bog. Highlights were a Canada Warbler, singing Hermit Thrushes and a Blue-headed Vireo in the surrounding woods. Other people on the trail saw a moose but we had to be content with seeing only the tracks.