- RBA
* Maine
* Southcoastal
* September 8, 2005
* MESC0509.08
- Species Mentioned:
Red-necked Grebe
Cory's Shearwater
Greater Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Wilson's Storm Petrel
American Bittern
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
WESTERN SANDPIPER
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Red Phalarope
Parasitic Jaeger
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-breasted Nuthatch
BLUE-WINGED WARBLER
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Mourning Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Purple Finch
- Transcript:
Hotline: Southcoastal Maine Rare Bird Alert
(Internet Only).
Date: September 8, 2005 compiled at: 5:00pm.
To report: (207) 846-8002, or
birds@yarmouthbirds.com.
Coverage: York, Cumberland, and Sagadahoc
Counties.
This is Derek Lovitch welcoming you to the
Southcoastal Maine Rare Bird Alert, sponsored by
the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth at 500 Route One,
Yarmouth, Maine. All locations not found in A
Birder's Guide to Maine by Pierson, et al. are
referenced to the Delorme Maine Atlas.
Transcripts of current and past messages can be
found at www.yarmouthbirds.com.
This alert was updated on Thursday, September 8,
2005 with highlights that include: a
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, continuing AMERICAN
OYSTERCATCHERS, a couple of WESTERN SANDPIPERS,
and an increase in passerine migration.
In contrast to last week, this week was
delightfully uneventful weather-wise. Other than
weak, dry cold fronts on Friday and Saturday
nights, high pressure remained in control through
the end of the week. A few scattered
thunderstorms on Sunday provided the only
precipitation this week. Temperature remained
near, or above, normal for highs, with very cool,
and often slightly below normal nights as
temperatures in some place fell to the upper 40's.
The fair weather provided excellent flying
conditions for shorebirds to vacate -and most
shorebird counts were down, and for passerines to
move through.
A whale watch trip out of Portland that looped out
to Tannin's Ledge on 9/5 produced 1 CORY'S
SHEARWATERS, 9 GREATER SHEARWATERS, 1 MANX
SHEARWATER, and 4 WILSON'S STORM PETRELS. Birders
aboard this boat were also treated to views of a
subadult light morph PARASITIC JAEGER chasing and
eventually catching a female PURPLE FINCH who
found herself about 3 miles offshore.
The first two RED-NECKED GREBES of fall were
spotted off Biddeford Pool Beach on 9/7.
One AMERICAN BITTERN was seen from Eastern Road in
Scarborough Marsh on 9/6.
One AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER was seen on Hill's
Beach in Biddeford 9/4-6.
3 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were feeding on Western
Beach in Scarborough (Delorme Map 3: B-4) on 9/8.
Single juvenile RED KNOTS were at Popham Beach
State Park in Phippsburg on the 4th and on Hill's
Beach in Biddeford the next day, while three were
on Ferry Beach in Scarborough (Delorme Map 3: B-4)
on 9/8.
One juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was on the beach
just south of the Old Orchard Beach/Scarborough
town lines (Delorme Map 3: B-3) on the 3rd, one
juvenile was at the north end of Biddeford Pool
Beach on 9/3, while two were there on 9/5. Another
Baird's was at Popham Beach State Park in
Phippsburg on the 4th, and one was along Jones
Creek in Scarborough Marsh on the 8th. A WESTERN
SANDPIPER arrived at the north end of Biddeford
Pool Beach on the 1st, with another or the same
bird there on the 5th. Meanwhile, 3-4 Westerns
were found at Popham Beach State Park on the 4th.
The first DUNLIN arrived on Pine Point Beach on
9/3.
A lone RED PHALAROPE was seen from a Portland
whale watch trip on 9/5.
High counts of other shorebirds this week
included:
60 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS (Hill's Beach, Biddeford,
9/4); 80 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS (Popham Beach State
Park, 9/4); 41 KILLDEER (Mayhall Road sod farms,
Gray, 9/7); 13 GREATER YELLOWLEGS (Reid Beach
State Park, Georgetown, 9/5); 13 LESSER YELLOWLEGS
(Jones Creek, Scarborough Marsh, 9/8); 2 WILLETS
(Reid Beach State Park, 9/5); 1 SPOTTED SANDPIPER
(Winslow Park, Freeport, 9/2); 11 WHIMBREL (Wells
Reserve at Laudholm Farms, 9/8); 2 RUDDY
TURNSTONES (Hill's Beach, Biddeford, 9/5); 300
SANDERLINGS (Pine Point/Old Orchard Beach, 9/8);
800 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS (Popham Beach State
Park, 9/4); 40+ LEAST SANDPIPERS (Popham Beach
State Park, 9/4); 2-3 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS
(Pine Point /Old Orchard Beaches, 9/3); and 5
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS (Hill's Beach, Biddeford,
9/4).
A YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was in a Falmouth yard
on the 4th, while 21 EASTERN PHOEBES tallied at
Pineland Center in New Gloucester (Delorme Map 5:
C-4) on the 7th was a very good count of this
common, but rarely concentrated, species.
A YELLOW-THROATED VIREO was banded on Appledore
Island (Delorme Map 1: D-5) on 9/2 and a
PHILADELPHIA VIREO visited a Falmouth yard on the
4th and 5th.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES seem especially common in
the area right now, and migrants were noted at a
number of locations, included 2 that tried to land
on a whale watching boat out of Portland on the
5th.
The pleasant weather was welcome by migrant
warblers, who could be heard passing overhead each
night this week. However, with little to ground
them, few concentrations were noted. Exceptions
included 17 species in a Falmouth yard on the 4th,
and 10 species - including a good tally of 20+
PINE along with one PRAIRIE WARBLER - were at
Pineland Center on the 7th. An impressive 5
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT were banded in 6 days on
Appledore Island this week, along with BLUE-WINGED
and MOURNING WARBLERS, for a total of 22 warbler
species netted.
PURPLE FINCHES also seem to be on the move, as
exemplified by 25 banded in three days on
Appledore Island this week.
NOTE: A blog about birding in Maine can now be
found at:
http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/naturewatching/fieldnotes/.
Check it out!
- End transcript
* Maine
* Southcoastal
* September 8, 2005
* MESC0509.08
- Species Mentioned:
Red-necked Grebe
Cory's Shearwater
Greater Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Wilson's Storm Petrel
American Bittern
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
WESTERN SANDPIPER
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Red Phalarope
Parasitic Jaeger
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-breasted Nuthatch
BLUE-WINGED WARBLER
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Mourning Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Purple Finch
- Transcript:
Hotline: Southcoastal Maine Rare Bird Alert
(Internet Only).
Date: September 8, 2005 compiled at: 5:00pm.
To report: (207) 846-8002, or
birds@yarmouthbirds.com.
Coverage: York, Cumberland, and Sagadahoc
Counties.
This is Derek Lovitch welcoming you to the
Southcoastal Maine Rare Bird Alert, sponsored by
the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth at 500 Route One,
Yarmouth, Maine. All locations not found in A
Birder's Guide to Maine by Pierson, et al. are
referenced to the Delorme Maine Atlas.
Transcripts of current and past messages can be
found at www.yarmouthbirds.com.
This alert was updated on Thursday, September 8,
2005 with highlights that include: a
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, continuing AMERICAN
OYSTERCATCHERS, a couple of WESTERN SANDPIPERS,
and an increase in passerine migration.
In contrast to last week, this week was
delightfully uneventful weather-wise. Other than
weak, dry cold fronts on Friday and Saturday
nights, high pressure remained in control through
the end of the week. A few scattered
thunderstorms on Sunday provided the only
precipitation this week. Temperature remained
near, or above, normal for highs, with very cool,
and often slightly below normal nights as
temperatures in some place fell to the upper 40's.
The fair weather provided excellent flying
conditions for shorebirds to vacate -and most
shorebird counts were down, and for passerines to
move through.
A whale watch trip out of Portland that looped out
to Tannin's Ledge on 9/5 produced 1 CORY'S
SHEARWATERS, 9 GREATER SHEARWATERS, 1 MANX
SHEARWATER, and 4 WILSON'S STORM PETRELS. Birders
aboard this boat were also treated to views of a
subadult light morph PARASITIC JAEGER chasing and
eventually catching a female PURPLE FINCH who
found herself about 3 miles offshore.
The first two RED-NECKED GREBES of fall were
spotted off Biddeford Pool Beach on 9/7.
One AMERICAN BITTERN was seen from Eastern Road in
Scarborough Marsh on 9/6.
One AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER was seen on Hill's
Beach in Biddeford 9/4-6.
3 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were feeding on Western
Beach in Scarborough (Delorme Map 3: B-4) on 9/8.
Single juvenile RED KNOTS were at Popham Beach
State Park in Phippsburg on the 4th and on Hill's
Beach in Biddeford the next day, while three were
on Ferry Beach in Scarborough (Delorme Map 3: B-4)
on 9/8.
One juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was on the beach
just south of the Old Orchard Beach/Scarborough
town lines (Delorme Map 3: B-3) on the 3rd, one
juvenile was at the north end of Biddeford Pool
Beach on 9/3, while two were there on 9/5. Another
Baird's was at Popham Beach State Park in
Phippsburg on the 4th, and one was along Jones
Creek in Scarborough Marsh on the 8th. A WESTERN
SANDPIPER arrived at the north end of Biddeford
Pool Beach on the 1st, with another or the same
bird there on the 5th. Meanwhile, 3-4 Westerns
were found at Popham Beach State Park on the 4th.
The first DUNLIN arrived on Pine Point Beach on
9/3.
A lone RED PHALAROPE was seen from a Portland
whale watch trip on 9/5.
High counts of other shorebirds this week
included:
60 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS (Hill's Beach, Biddeford,
9/4); 80 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS (Popham Beach State
Park, 9/4); 41 KILLDEER (Mayhall Road sod farms,
Gray, 9/7); 13 GREATER YELLOWLEGS (Reid Beach
State Park, Georgetown, 9/5); 13 LESSER YELLOWLEGS
(Jones Creek, Scarborough Marsh, 9/8); 2 WILLETS
(Reid Beach State Park, 9/5); 1 SPOTTED SANDPIPER
(Winslow Park, Freeport, 9/2); 11 WHIMBREL (Wells
Reserve at Laudholm Farms, 9/8); 2 RUDDY
TURNSTONES (Hill's Beach, Biddeford, 9/5); 300
SANDERLINGS (Pine Point/Old Orchard Beach, 9/8);
800 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS (Popham Beach State
Park, 9/4); 40+ LEAST SANDPIPERS (Popham Beach
State Park, 9/4); 2-3 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS
(Pine Point /Old Orchard Beaches, 9/3); and 5
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS (Hill's Beach, Biddeford,
9/4).
A YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was in a Falmouth yard
on the 4th, while 21 EASTERN PHOEBES tallied at
Pineland Center in New Gloucester (Delorme Map 5:
C-4) on the 7th was a very good count of this
common, but rarely concentrated, species.
A YELLOW-THROATED VIREO was banded on Appledore
Island (Delorme Map 1: D-5) on 9/2 and a
PHILADELPHIA VIREO visited a Falmouth yard on the
4th and 5th.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES seem especially common in
the area right now, and migrants were noted at a
number of locations, included 2 that tried to land
on a whale watching boat out of Portland on the
5th.
The pleasant weather was welcome by migrant
warblers, who could be heard passing overhead each
night this week. However, with little to ground
them, few concentrations were noted. Exceptions
included 17 species in a Falmouth yard on the 4th,
and 10 species - including a good tally of 20+
PINE along with one PRAIRIE WARBLER - were at
Pineland Center on the 7th. An impressive 5
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT were banded in 6 days on
Appledore Island this week, along with BLUE-WINGED
and MOURNING WARBLERS, for a total of 22 warbler
species netted.
PURPLE FINCHES also seem to be on the move, as
exemplified by 25 banded in three days on
Appledore Island this week.
NOTE: A blog about birding in Maine can now be
found at:
http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/naturewatching/fieldnotes/.
Check it out!
- End transcript