February 2023

We had a particularly brutal cold spell in Maine from February 3-6, with temperatures falling below -20 °F and winds exceeding 60 mph. The wind chill values approached -50 °F here in central Maine. As we struggle to tolerate intense cold and biting wind chill, we have to marvel at the ability of our wintering birds to deal with such intense weather. Here is a link to a short talk (in Pecha Kucha style) that I gave as an overview of the remarkable adaptations birds have to winter temperature stress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaYZkGA0Et8

This post is a recounting some of the notable events of birds and birding in Maine in 2022. It was an amazing year.

This past summer was the fifth and final year of the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas. Remote, unsampled areas were a focus of the final year of field work. The project used 7.5-minute topographical quadrangle maps (over 660 in Maine) to divide up the state, each divided into six nine square-mile blocks.  At least one block in every quadrangle was completed, a mammoth effort ensuring that the entire state is adequately covered.

You can see maps of all the bird species by googling Maine Breeding Bird Atlas. The field work is just the beginning. The coordinators will now devote themselves to analysis of the maps. This atlas allows us to see changes in Maine bird populations since the publication of the first Maine atlas, based on field work from 1979 to 1983 and will provide a solid basis for comparison of changes in future atlases.

A parallel project is the Maine Winter Bird Atlas, now in its final year. Google Maine Winter Bird Atlas to see how you can contribute. Even a few hours of birding make a difference.

Avian Haven in Freedom administered wild bird care to 3200 injured birds and 75 turtles. Twenty new volunteers joined the team at the facility and there are now 350 drivers who transport injured birds to the facility.

As far as rare birds in Maine in 2022, the Steller’s Sea-eagle must be the undisputed star. This vagrant from eastern Asia appeared at Five Islands in late December of 2021 and delighted hundreds of birds until early March. The sea-eagle was, of course, a first record for Maine. Many birders from out of state came to the Midcoast to see the eagle, a significant boost to local merchants and lodging establishments.

We know the sea-eagle next moved to the north shore of Nova Scotia and spent much of the summer and fall in Newfoundland. It has recently been seen in the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, well west of Newfoundland. Amazingly, it was resighted in the Arrowsic area on February 4, 2023 and is still present as of this writing!

Technology played a role in the success of seeing the sea-eagle as birders used the group-messaging app called GroupMe. Observers posted information on the location of the bird so other birders could see the sea-eagle.

We know have a GroupMe group called Maine Rare Bird Alert that is used to share information about rare birds in Maine. I find this app to be extraordinarily useful. It’s free and works on IOS, Android and Web phones.

A Barnacle Goose that appeared in Rockland in November of 2021 lingered into 2022, moving around the peninsula and then reappearing at a farm in Warren in April. The closest breeding population of these geese is Greenland. There are ten previous records for the state.

Henslow’s Sparrow is a grassland sparrow nesting in the Midwest eastward to New York. A secretive bird, its presence is usually first detected by the buzzy tzelick song in the breeding season. Gordon Smith recognized the song from his car at a rural intersection in Brunswick on July 5. A pair stayed until August 2, providing the first solid evidence of breeding bird in Maine. There are three earlier single-day records for the state.

Northern Lapwing is a jazzy plover found in Europe and Asia. One appeared in Thomaston on December 11 and a flock of five appeared in Hodgdon near Houlton between December 11 and 16, providing the sixth and seventh records of the state. Broad-tailed Hummingbirds occur at high elevations in the western United States. One appeared in Freeport at a hummingbird feeder on November 7 and is still reported present as of December 22. Distinguishing young hummingbirds is difficult but this one was captured by a bander to confirm the identification. It is the first record for Maine.