Bird Alert

May 15, 2008

Of Special Note

Name: Maine Audubon Rare Bird Alert

Reporting Period: 10 May – 15 May 2008

Area: State of Maine

Compilers: Eric Hynes, Stella Walsh, and Kay Gammons

Rare birds found recently include: SNOW GOOSE, TRICOLORED HERON, WHITE-FACED IBIS, SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, CASPIAN TERN, BOHEMIAN WAXWING, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, SUMMER TANAGER, BLUE GROSBEAK, and ORCHARD ORIOLE.

Some other noteworthy species mentioned are: GREAT CORMORANT, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, PURPLE SANDPIPER, ICELAND GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, RAZORBILL, WHIP-POOR-WILL, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, CAROLINA WREN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, COMMON REDPOLL and EVENING GROSBEAK.

After almost a complete absence this winter, PINE SISKINS were reported at a number of locations this week.

York County

A BLUE-WINGED WARBLER was seen in Rotary Park in Saco on May 14.

Two WHIP-POOR-WILLS were in Dayton on May 11.

A CASPIAN TERN was at Hills Beach in Biddeford on May 14 but has not been seen since. An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, an immature ICELAND GULL and many COMMON TERNS were seen at Hills Beach on May 15.

Lingering birds found off East Point Sanctuary in Biddeford on May 15 included: GREAT CORMORANT, PURPLE SANDPIPERS, an immature ICELAND GULL and an immature GLAUCOUS GULL.

Greater Portland

An immature male SUMMER TANAGER was foraging in a South Portland backyard the morning of May 15. Another male SUMMER TANAGER was seen on Flying Point Road in Freeport on May 10.

Three AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were seen at Pine Point in Scarborough on April 12.

Seen in the marsh behind the Pelreco building on Pine Point Road in Scarborough were a TRI-COLORED HERON on April 11 and a WHITE-FACED IBIS on May 12.

An immature GLAUCOUS GULL was in front of the gazebo in the park across from Hannaford's in South Portland on May 12 and May 15.

Twenty species of warbler were seen at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland this week including: a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER on May 11, a CAPE MAY WARBLER on May 10 and 14, two BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS on May 12, and a PRAIRIE and a CANADA WARBLER on May 14. Another unusual bird at Evergreen was a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER on May 14.

Two male ORCHARD ORIOLES were at Capisic Pond in Portland on May 14.

A first summer ORCHARD ORIOLE was seen on Laurel Pines Drive in Gorham on May 13, while a female and first summer male ORCHARD ORIOLE are visiting feeders in Windham.

A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was snacking on oranges and peanuts at a feeder in Gorham on May 14.

Birds at Maine Audubon's Gilsland Farm in Falmouth included: a SHORT-EARED OWL on May 10 and a SNOW GOOSE and two ORCHARD ORIOLES on May 15.

A SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was seen from the hawk watch at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal on May 10.

Midcoast

A CAROLINA WREN was heard on Hermit Island in Phippsburg on May 13.

A report of a possible WESTERN TANAGER at a feeder came from Waldoboro on May 10.

An immature male BLUE GROSBEAK was seen in Union on May 9.

An aggregation of over 300 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were following a splashing school of fish in Atkins Bay in Phippsburg on May 12 and were joined overhead by seven BALD EAGLES and 16 OSPREY.

An ORCHARD ORIOLE was seen in Warren at a feeder on May 14.

Birds out on Monhegan Island this past week included an INDIGO BUNTING, an ORCHARD ORIOLE, ROSE-BREASTED and EVENING GROSBEAKS, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS.

Kennebec Valley (Augusta-Waterville)

A male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER is being seen in a yard in Waterville .

Western

Highlights at Brownfield Bog on May 11 included: two BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, two singing YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS, winnowing WILSON'S SNIPE, and eleven species of warblers.

A BLUE GROSBEAK was perched on a wire along Rt. 117 in Denmark on May 11.

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS arrived in Sandy River Plantation on May 10.

Penobscot Bay

A GLAUCOUS GULL was seen in Trenton near the Route 3 Bridge to Mt. Desert Island on May 11.

Downeast

Twenty PURPLE SANDPIPERS were at the Reversing Falls in Blue Hill Falls on May 12.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was seen on Mt. Desert Island on May 11.

A tardy BOHEMIAN WAXWING was spotted on the Schoodic Peninsula on May 14.

Gulf of Maine

Seen at Seal Island in outer Penobscot Bay on May 9 were 35 RAZORBILLS, 17 GREAT CORMORANT nests, 800 BLACK GUILLEMOTS, and a BALD EAGLE.

Other island sightings on May 9 included 11 GREAT CORMORANTS on Little Roberts, 400 BLACK SCOTERS at Yellow Rock, and 15 HARLEQUIN DUCKS at Channel Rock.

Northern Maine- Aroostook

EVENING GROSBEAKS are still being seen in much of Aroostook County with scattered reports of COMMON REDPOLLS.

Migrants reported included WOOD THRUSH, BLUE-HEADED VIREO, NORTHERN PARULA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE AND BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, OVENBIRD, LINCOLN 'S SPARROW, and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK.

Forty WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS visited a yard in Houlton.

A GREAT EGRET was seen at Lake Josephine on May 11.

Two AMERICAN BITTERNS were seen in Talmadge on May 13.