Cape birding observations for April

Spring is here and the northbound migration of birds has really just begun. During the second week of April there was a profusion of sparrow activity. Chipping sparrows arrived adding to the mix of Fox, White-throated and Song sparrows. Slightly larger than a Chickadee, the Chipping sparrow has a bright rusty crown atop its head. This bird’s song is very similar to that of the Dark-eyed Juncos and somewhat similar to that of a Pine warbler.

On the gloomy late afternoon of April 9 as the snow fell I was observing the activity around our feeders when I noticed some commotion a little bit further off in the background. Taking a closer peek revealed four Cedar waxwings fluttering and plucking at an ornamental berry bush. During the winter months Waxwings depend on fruit for survival. I noticed that one-by-one the waxwings would disappear down to the ground area where I knew there was a seasonal creek (which ultimately feeds into Pond Cove). Interestingly, the bill and esophagus of the Waxwing has evolved to allow for them to swallow berry’s and fruits whole. Because the winter fruit available to waxwings is high in sugar but largely low in water these birds must drink water more often than many.

Around dusk on April 11 Great Pond was abuzz with activity. I flushed at least seven woodcocks around “Little Great Pond” and watched the shadowy outline of three first of season (“FOS”) Great Blue herons gracefully flying over the pond before darkness set in. Additionally, there were significant numbers of clamorous Canada geese trying to get comfortable for the evening.

On April 12 my wife was walking in Robinson Woods and saw what had to be one of the first osprey’s spotted around Cape this spring. The bird was atop a snag along the far side of Pond Cove. Perhaps even more exciting was the second bird she had spied which was a Winter wren. To hear the ecstatic song of this little bird calling from the thawing bogs of damp coniferous woods or old stone wall nooks is a very special occasion indeed. Describing the voice of a Winter wren is no easy task, at times a rather sharp chick, chick, often a rippling sort of trill and with twists and turns that increase in octave from one note to another. The haunts and habits of the Winter wren are most appropriately captured by Edward Forbush when he wrote, “this little Brownie of the forest creeps like a wood mouse under the roots of trees standing on banks overhanging the water, in and out of brush heaps and wood piles along river bottoms and on the banks of woodland brooks, cautious and furtive – an absurd little creature.”

The two most noteworthy birding days so far this April were on April 13 and 14. The first Pine warblers could be heard in our woodlands. Eastern phoebes have showed up in great numbers as well. We had a Purple finch at our feeders too. Strangely I have not seen any Purple finches this past winter in Cape. Additionally, I recorded seeing 12 Swamp sparrows and not one but two Yellow bellied sapsuckers. This woodpecker is the most migratory of the woodpecker species we have in Maine. Speaking of woodpeckers there were what seemed like waves of Norther flickers (yellow shafted) rolling through Cape during these two glorious early spring days. I noted seeing more than 20 flickers which is the highest count I have had in the last three springs. On an equally impressive note, a walk-through Great Pond Preserve II yielded at least 50 Hermit thrushes. Lastly, a single Glossy ibis flew over our house headed north, around sunset on April 14.