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Warbler Walks and Bird-a-thon

by Doug Hitchcox

Birds, Maine's Naturalist ·

I’ve found myself at Evergreen Cemetery almost daily so it must be May! One of my favorite events of the year, Maine Audubon’s “Warbler Walks” at Evergreen Cemetery and Capisic Pond are a great opportunity to see a large variety of birds in Portland’s green spaces during the peak of spring migration. We offer these walks for two weeks, Monday through Thursday at Evergreen Cemetery and Fridays at Capisic Pond from 7:00-9:00AM, and best of all, they are FREE! Read more below for a summary of our first week.

On the Saturday after these walks end, Maine Audubon holds its annual “Bird-a-thon” fundraiser where teams of birders spend the day celebrating the diversity of Maine’s birds by trying to see as many species as possible. Money raised from this event helps fund the free programs, like the Warbler Walks, that Maine Audubon offers throughout the year. These are important in helping us spread our mission of protecting Maine’s wildlife and habitats to a diverse audience by removing barriers and making them more inclusive to locals where these programs are offered. Please consider donating to a Bird-a-thon team to support this programming.

https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/2019-maine-audubon-birdathon

There is still time to form your own team! Why not see how many species you can find in your home county? Or start a “green team” and count birds by foot or bike! Will this be the year that Linda Woodard’s team, the Mighty Marsh Muckers, takes back the crown for top species count?! My team, the Wicked Pishers, are really hoping this will be the year we crack 150 species!

Warbler Walks Week 1 Summary

During the first week of our Warbler Walks, we saw a wide variety of weather and how it impacted the species we saw. There was a big push of migrants overnight leading to our highest count of 53 species (including 14 warbler species) on Tuesday. Thursday morning we saw a drop in activity because our starting temp was a brisk 41ºF. And Friday’s drizzle didn’t help but we still managed to find 46 species at Capisic Pond. Inserted below is the eBird list summary for last week. Join me again this week for the fun at Evergreen and Capisic.

Date range: May 6, 2019 – May 12, 2019 Total # of Species: 81
Total # of Checklists: 5
Location(s):   Capisic Pond; Evergreen Cemetery

 

Summary
May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12
Number of Species 37 53 52 45 46 — —
Number of Individuals 126 199 167 164 176 — —
Number of Checklists 1 1 1 1 1 — —

 

Highest Count for a Species   (sample size)
Species Name May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 7
(1)		 7
(1)		 6
(1)		 3
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) — — — — 2
(1)		 — —
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 5
(1)		 — 4
(1)		 4
(1)		 6
(1)		 — —
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) — — — 2
(1)		 15
(1)		 — —
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) — — — — 1
(1)		 — —
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) — — 1
(1)		 — — — —
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) — 1
(1)		 3
(1)		 2
(1)		 — — —
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 3
(1)		 3
(1)		 4
(1)		 6
(1)		 3
(1)		 — —
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
Common Loon (Gavia immer) — — 1
(1)		 — — — —
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) — 7
(1)		 — 7
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Great Egret (Ardea alba) — — 1
(1)		 — — — —
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) — — — 1
(1)		 — — —
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) — — — 1
(1)		 — — —
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) — — 3
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — —
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 4
(1)		 — 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — —
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) — — 1
(1)		 — — — —
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — 1
(1)		 — — —
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 3
(1)		 — 1
(1)		 — — — —
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
(1)		 3
(1)		 2
(1)		 4
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus) 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) — 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 — — — —
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 — —
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) — — 1
(1)		 — — — —
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) — 3
(1)		 2
(1)		 — 2
(1)		 — —
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) — 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — —
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) 1
(1)		 5
(1)		 3
(1)		 — — — —
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 9
(1)		 24
(1)		 5
(1)		 10
(1)		 6
(1)		 — —
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 4
(1)		 3
(1)		 2
(1)		 4
(1)		 5
(1)		 — —
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) — — — — 2
(1)		 — —
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — 1
(1)		 — —
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) — — — — 5
(1)		 — —
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 6
(1)		 6
(1)		 6
(1)		 7
(1)		 6
(1)		 — —
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 4
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 2
(1)		 4
(1)		 3
(1)		 5
(1)		 2
(1)		 — —
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) — 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 — — — —
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 10
(1)		 12
(1)		 8
(1)		 8
(1)		 4
(1)		 — —
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) — — — — 1
(1)		 — —
Veery (Catharus fuscescens) — — — 1
(1)		 — — —
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) — 2
(1)		 — — — — —
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) — — — 1
(1)		 — — —
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 9
(1)		 6
(1)		 5
(1)		 8
(1)		 5
(1)		 — —
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) 1
(1)		 8
(1)		 10
(1)		 12
(1)		 10
(1)		 — —
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1
(1)		 — — — — — —
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) — — — — 2
(1)		 — —
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) — — — — 1
(1)		 — —
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 3
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — 3
(1)		 — —
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) — 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 4
(1)		 2
(1)		 — —
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 12
(1)		 10
(1)		 14
(1)		 12
(1)		 8
(1)		 — —
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 5
(1)		 6
(1)		 4
(1)		 6
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) — — — — 1
(1)		 — —
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 4
(1)		 4
(1)		 6
(1)		 5
(1)		 — — —
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) — 3
(1)		 — — — — —
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
(1)		 5
(1)		 4
(1)		 3
(1)		 6
(1)		 — —
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) — — — — 2
(1)		 — —
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) — 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 4
(1)		 — —
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 1
(1)		 — 4
(1)		 1
(1)		 12
(1)		 — —
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 4
(1)		 4
(1)		 5
(1)		 4
(1)		 1
(1)		 — —
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) — 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 3
(1)		 10
(1)		 — —
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) — 5
(1)		 3
(1)		 3
(1)		 — — —
Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) — 10
(1)		 3
(1)		 — 2
(1)		 — —
Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) — 4
(1)		 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — —
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 4
(1)		 3
(1)		 5
(1)		 — —
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) — 3
(1)		 — — — — —
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) — 2
(1)		 8
(1)		 — 10
(1)		 — —
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 1
(1)		 2
(1)		 2
(1)		 3
(1)		 6
(1)		 — —
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) — 2
(1)		 — — — — —
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) — 1
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — — —
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) 4
(1)		 4
(1)		 5
(1)		 4
(1)		 — — —
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 2
(1)		 6
(1)		 4
(1)		 6
(1)		 2
(1)		 — —
Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) 2
(1)		 3
(1)		 2
(1)		 1
(1)		 — — —
Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis) — — 1
(1)		 — — — —
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 6
(1)		 4
(1)		 2
(1)		 3
(1)		 4
(1)		 — —
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) — 1
(1)		 — — — — —
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) — — — — 8
(1)		 — —