Cape Elizabeth birding report

Midway through the second week in March is when the early spring migrants started to show up across Cape Elizabeth. On the morning of March 13 my wife called me to the window to see five Red-winged blackbirds frantically foraging on the bird feeder. According to my records, during the spring of 2018 I did not see Red-winged blackbirds on our feeders until March 25.

Also on March 13 my mother-in-law had been out in the back yard taking stock of her gardens when low and behold a Snowy owl nagged by a Crow flew overhead!

Interestingly I did not see any other reports of a Snowy owl being sighted in that general locale (Two Lights Road). Perhaps this particular Snowy had been further south all winter and was making its way back to the rolling, treeless tundra. In the last couple of years scientists have learned that some Snowy owls will take their time on the spring bound leg back north (versus more of a straight shot), wandering between hinterland and coastline and able hunt over the open ocean at night, snatching up unsuspecting, sleeping ducks on the wing a mile or more out to sea.

Additional notes concerning owls - on March 7 I was awakened by the hooting of Bubo virginianus, the Great Horned Owl. Then on the afternoon of March 13 I was very surprised to hear old Bubo calling at 3:00 p.m. along Shore Road. From what I can gather, day time hooting by these nocturnal birds is very uncommon.

On the evening of March 15, I could hear the cries of Killdeer across the starry Cape sky. Of the plover family, Killdeer are partial migrants, and in these parts, they are known as leap frog migrants because rather than compete for food and space with the year-round residents inhabiting the southern half of the US, they will fly over the southern states and head straight to Mexico and Central America.

On March 16 I noticed Common grackles arriving in decent numbers. I saw a pod of 20 or more plotting along Old Ocean House Road and a trio fly over the house. Although the grackle is not a favorite bird of mine it’s hard not to take note of the springtime plumage of the male which is a purple, green and blue iridescent sheen. I also saw four Wild Turkeys along Bowery Beach Road.

It feels to me like the birds know that they have made it through the winter for there is a certain level of energy and a contagious zest and zip exuding from our woods and yards. Two song sparrows arrived on the seventeenth and joined the chorus of House finches, Pine finches, Gold finches, Titmice and Cardinals. Our beloved resident Carolina wren couple were tea-kettling up a storm. I even noticed a pair of House finches starting to check out viable nesting nooks.